POLLINATION - BEES
HONEY - REMOVAL
in East Tennessee

 

 

 

Email us:
tessarnold@gmail.com
Call us:
(865) 693-9381
FAX us:
(425) 642-6071

 

MEMBER:

Eastern Apicultural Society

Tennessee Beekeepers Association

Knox, Roane/Morgan and
Loudon County Beekeepers
Associations of Tennessee

Frequently-Asked Questions

  1. Where are you located?
  2. I have honeybees in my house/my property/a tree, and I don’t live in the East Tennessee area. What can I do?
  3. How do I know if I have honeybees, rather than other flying insects? Do you remove wasps/hornets/yellow jackets/bumblebees/carpenter bees?
  4. What are the benefits of eating honey/pollen/royal jelly/propolis?
  5. Where can I buy Arnold Honeybee Services products locally in East Tennessee?
  6. Are there killer bees in East Tennessee?
  7. Do you catch honeybee swarms?
  8. What’s the difference between buying a nucleus colony (nuc) and buying a 3-pound package of bees?
  9. Will your nuc frames fit my beehives?

1. Where are you located?
We are located in Knoxville, which is in eastern Tennessee at the junction of interstates 75 and 40. However, our apiaries are scattered all over eastern Tennessee, so if you need to pick up bees, we may be able to arrange to meet you at a convenient site.

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2. I have honeybees in my house, my property, or a tree, and I don’t live in the East Tennessee area. What can I do?
We receive many questions like this. If you aren’t sure if you live in our service area, email us. If you are outside our area, we advise:

    • Call your local county agricultural extension agent. If you live in Tennessee, click here to find your county extension office. Otherwise, click here to find your state’s extension information. Or, check under the county government section of the phone book.
    • Your agent will have a list of beekeepers that may help you, especially if the swarm is just hanging there and can easily be captured. However, if the colony has moved into the building or tree, that is another matter entirely. Not many beekeepers will remove honeybee hives from inside structures, and the ones that do will probably charge for it. It is hot, nasty, tedious and unpleasant work, and most beekeepers don't need the hassle.
    • You can try to remove them, or trap them, yourself. (Not recommended for the faint-of-heart.)
    • Lastly, you should know that most exterminators and pest control companies will not remove honeybees. Some may try to spray or poison them, which is the worst possible remedy for all concerned. It never works, because the queen usually survives. What is left after spraying is a big, smelly and now toxic mass of dead, decaying bees, brood, wax and honey, which attracts other vermin and can melt and bleed through drywall and ceilings.

Killing honeybees is needless and irresponsible. In the U.S. Apis mellifera is becoming very scarce in the wild. Beekeepers spend countless hours and lots of money keeping them alive every year to pollinate our food crops.

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3. How do I know if I have honeybees, rather than other flying insects? Do you remove wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, bumblebees or carpenter bees?
To help you identify your flying, buzzing pests, click here for an interactive identification guide to bees and wasps from Virginia Tech.

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4. What are the benefits of eating honey, pollen, royal jelly and propolis?
The WholeHealthMD website has a very informative section on bee products. And a great place for honey facts and recipes is the Honey.com website from the National Honey Board. IMPORTANT: Infants under one year old should not be fed honey or any other apiary product. For more information, click here.

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5. Where can I buy Arnold Honeybee Services’ products locally in East Tennessee?
You can purchase our honey, pollen, propolis and royal jelly in the Knoxville area at Go Nutrition, 10961 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922, (865) 675-8886.

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6. Are “killer” bees in East Tennessee?
No. Click here for a map of the distribution of the Africanized honeybee in the U.S. For more information, read the United States Department of Agriculture’s article on Africanized honeybees.

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7. Do you catch honeybee swarms?
Yes. In the Knox County area we will remove swarms for a nominal trip charge.

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8. What’s the difference between buying a nucleus colony (nuc) and buying a 3-pound package of bees?
Packaged bees come with a mated queen and 7-8,000 worker bees. On the other hand, a nuc comes with a mated, laying queen and 7-8,000 workers; plus three frames of brood - which can yield an additional 7-12,000 bees.

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9. Will your nuc frames fit my beehives?
Yes. Nucleus hive frames are the same size as regular hive frames: 9 and 1/8.  If requested, we can provide Illinois frames (6 and 5/8).

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a typical swarm of honeybees

 

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