Our work

Real Jobs, Photographed: Nests, Cutouts and Colonies

37 photos from real jobs: honeybee colonies cut out of walls, hornet nests off eaves, yellowjacket nests opened up out of the ground, and bumblebees moved somewhere safer. No stock photography, and no customer names or addresses.

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Honeybee removals and cutouts 10
Wasp and hornet nests 10
Yellowjacket ground nests 2
Bumblebee relocations 3
On the job 12

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

Honeybees 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 honeybee colony tucked into the cavity.

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

Honeybee 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.

Honeybee comb covered in bees inside a lined bucket during a honeybee 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 honeybee comb with capped brood, over grass — A round piece of comb I pulled during a honeybee removal, capped brood in the darker center.

Gloved hand holding a slab of honeybee 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 honeybees during a cutout — A slab of comb full of honeybees I pulled out during a live cutout.

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

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

Wasp and hornet nests

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

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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 yellowjackets.

Yellowjacket ground nests

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

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Exposed yellowjacket 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 yellowjacket comb with larvae and live wasps beside an open ground nest hole — A yellowjacket comb full of brood that I pulled out of a ground nest hidden under groundcover.

Bumblebee relocations

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

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

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

Clear bottle held in hand containing live fuzzy black and yellow bumblebees collected for relocation — Bumblebees 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 honeybees 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 honeybee and bumblebee 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 honeybee 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

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