Our work

Real Jobs, Photographed: Nests, Cutouts and Colonies

37 photos from real jobs: honey bee colonies cut out of walls, hornet nests off eaves, yellow jacket nests opened up out of the ground, and bumble bees moved somewhere safer. No stock photography, and no customer names or addresses.

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Recent jobs 2
Honey Bee removals and cutouts 10
Wasp and hornet nests 10
Yellow Jacket ground nests 2
Bumble Bee relocations 3
On the job 12

Recent Jobs, Written Up

Individual jobs with the date I did them, what the nest situation actually was, and how I got it out. The photo galleries further down are the wider back catalogue.

Yellow jackets on white window trim around the seam they were using to get inside the wall

Yellow jacketsMilwaukie, OR

Yellow Jacket Nest Inside the Wall Above a Window

Colony inside the wall, getting in through the seam above a window. Dusted the void off an extension pole, then vacuumed the returning workers off the siding.

August 14, 2026Read the job

Vacuum hose positioned at a yellow jacket nest opening among rocks and fern fronds in Richmond, Portland

Yellow jacketsPortland, OR

Two Yellow Jacket Ground Nests in Richmond

A ground nest removal in Richmond turned up a second nest. Both were removed on the same visit, with photos of the fern-covered rockery and the vacuum at the opening.

August 11, 2026Read the job

Honey Bee removals and cutouts

Live colonies opened out of walls and ceilings, and swarms collected off the property. On these jobs the bees left in a box.

About this service

Thick honey bee swarm cluster covering the top of a collection bucket in a backyard during honey bee removal — A honey bee swarm bunched up on my bucket in a backyard, ready to be moved.

Honey Bees clustered inside an opened exterior wall cavity below the roof trim during a live bee removal — Opened up the wall under the roofline and found the honey bee colony tucked into the cavity.

Honey Bee comb covered in bees inside an opened wall cavity during a live honey bee removal — A honey bee colony I found after opening up the wall. Comb, brood, and bees packed into the cavity.

Honey Bee comb and thousands of bees exposed in an opened wall cavity during a live bee removal — Opened up this wall and found the colony built right into the cavity next to the insulation.

Honey Bee comb covered in bees inside a lined bucket during a honey bee removal beside white house siding — Comb and bees I pulled during a removal, set into a lined bucket to keep it intact.

Gloved hand holding a round piece of removed honey bee comb with capped brood, over grass — A round piece of comb I pulled during a honey bee removal, capped brood in the darker center.

Gloved hand holding a slab of honey bee comb covered in bees during a live cutout removal — A slab of comb loaded with bees that I pulled out during a cutout.

Sam in a white bee suit and veil holding a honeycomb slab covered in live honey bees during a cutout — A slab of comb full of honey bees I pulled out during a live cutout.

Gloved hand holding honey bee comb covered in live bees during a cutout from a wood porch ceiling — A slab of honey bee comb I cut out of a wood porch ceiling, bees and all.

Gloved hand holding a slab of honey bee comb still covered in clustered bees during a removal — A slab of comb still covered in bees that I pulled out during a honey bee cutout.

Wasp and hornet nests

Enclosed paper nests, open combs and the awkward spots they get built in. Eaves, shrubs, umbrellas, insulation.

About this service

Large gray paper hornet nest attached under a home's roof gutter with one entrance hole — A big enclosed hornet nest tucked up under the gutter line on a house I was called out to.

Dozens of yellow and black wasps swarming in the air between a wood fence and blue house siding — Heavy wasp traffic in the side yard between a fence and the house.

Removed wasp nest comb with capped cells embedded in pink fiberglass insulation beside a vacuum collection jar — A wasp nest I pulled out of the insulation, comb and all, next to the vacuum jar I collect them with.

Removed wasp nest comb with capped cells and gray paper envelope held in a gloved hand — A wasp nest I took down in one piece. You can see the capped cells and the papery outer shell still hanging on.

Gray papery wasp nest combs with capped white brood cells exposed inside the folds of a closed patio umbrella — A wasp nest tucked down in the folds of a closed patio umbrella, opened up so you can see the brood combs.

Large enclosed gray paper wasp nest hanging in a leafy green shrub with an entrance hole at the bottom — A big enclosed wasp nest built right into a leafy shrub, entrance hole at the bottom.

Round wasp nest comb tier with white capped brood cells lying in grass after nest removal — A comb layer out of a wasp nest I removed, set down so you can see the capped brood.

Extension pole reaching a gray paper wasp nest tucked under the eave of a white house — A gray paper nest tucked up under the eave. I reach jobs like this with an extension pole and a ladder.

Extension pole inserted into a gray papery wasp nest under a home's gable eave during nest removal — This papery nest was tucked up in the peak of the eave, so I went after it with my extension pole.

Black and yellow paper wasp with orange antennae and dangling legs resting on green unripe fruit — A close look at a paper wasp. The long dangling legs and narrow waist are what set them apart from yellow jackets.

Yellow Jacket ground nests

The nests nobody sees until they mow over one. Opened up so you can see how much is under there.

About this service

Exposed yellow jacket nest comb with larvae in a dirt ground cavity surrounded by green plants — A ground nest I opened up. You can see the brood comb packed with larvae and a few workers still on it.

Gloved hand holding a yellow jacket comb with larvae and live wasps beside an open ground nest hole — A yellow jacket comb full of brood that I pulled out of a ground nest hidden under groundcover.

Bumble Bee relocations

Small native colonies moved rather than killed, whenever the spot makes it practical.

About this service

Fuzzy black and yellow bumble bee clinging to a pollen-covered willow catkin on a slender branch outdoors — A bumble bee working an early spring catkin. These pollinators are worth relocating, not killing.

Bumble Bee nest of clustered waxy tan cells inside pink fiberglass insulation, removed and set on pavement — A bumble bee nest I pulled out of fiberglass insulation, wax cells and all.

Clear bottle held in hand containing live fuzzy black and yellow bumble bees collected for relocation — Bumble Bees I collected so I could move the colony somewhere safer.

On the job

Ladders, poles, respirators and the truck. This is the whole crew.

About this service

Sam smiling in a white bee suit standing outdoors in a green residential yard — Me in my bee suit out in the yard. This is who shows up when you call.

Sam in a respirator and goggles applying pest control treatment into a bathroom floor vent register — Geared up in a respirator to treat a floor vent from inside a bathroom.

Sam wearing a headlamp applying crack and crevice pest control treatment along the base of a bathroom vanity — Treating along the bottom edge of a vanity, right where they were getting in.

Sam in a respirator and orange gloves spraying along an indoor baseboard during interior pest control treatment — Treating along the baseboards inside a living room with a handheld sprayer.

Sam in orange gloves spraying pest treatment into the base of house siding beside a backyard patio — Treating along the bottom of the siding where it meets a back patio.

Sam in safety goggles and orange gloves reaching a hand tool up under a house eave — Goggles on and gloves up, working an eave from the back patio.

Sam in safety goggles and orange gloves holding a handheld pressurized sprayer on a backyard patio — Geared up with goggles, gloves, and my sprayer on a backyard job.

Sam seated in his branded Sam The Bee Man pickup truck carrying two extension ladders on a rack — My truck and ladders, parked out front and ready to go to work.

Sam in a white protective bee suit and mesh veil with insects flying overhead against blue sky — Suited up and veiled on a job with insects flying all around me.

Extension ladder with buckets and hose leaning against a second-story eave, drop cloths staged below — My ladder and buckets set up at a second-story eave, drop cloths down before I start.

Extension ladder and long telescoping pole reaching a house eave, hose running to a bucket vacuum — My ladder and extension pole set up at a roofline eave, vacuum rig ready on the ground.

Extension ladder leaning against a house roofline with a bucket and long pole staged on the lawn — Ladder and gear set up outside a house with a tall roofline.

About these jobs

Questions about the work in these photos

Are these real photos from your jobs?

Every one of them. These are photos I took on jobs around the Portland metro, not stock images. I don't name customers or show addresses, so you'll see the nest and the work rather than whose house it was.

What happens to the honey bees you cut out of a wall?

They go into a box and then to a hive. In a cutout I'm trying to keep the comb and the brood intact so the colony survives the move, which is why you'll see comb going into lined buckets rather than a bag. Getting the bees out alive is what I aim for on honey bee and bumble bee work, though a cavity I can barely reach does not always allow it.

Why do so many of the nest photos show insulation and open walls?

Because that's where colonies actually end up. A honey bee colony in a wall is behind siding and insulation, and the only way to get the bees and the comb out together is to open it up. Spraying it from outside leaves honey and comb rotting inside the wall.

Can you get to a nest that's up under a second-story eave?

Yes. Several of these were reached with a ladder and a telescoping pole, which is how I handle nests at a roofline without needing to get right up next to them. Send me a photo and I'll tell you what it'll take.

Call or Text (206) 817-7782

For the quickest response to your bee, wasp, or pest concern.

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