Feb 14, 2023 | Pest Control
Honeybees have a significant role within our environment, the food we eat, the flowers we plant, and so much more. They are extremely hardworking and support so much of the sustenance of life. There are many reasons why honeybees and their honey are so important to humans; find out why below!
They Pollinate Our Food
To look for pollen, honeybees will travel long distances. Through these trips, fertilization takes place between food crops. They do this by using the hairs on their bodies to carry large grains of pollen between plants, helping crops produce better. In the US alone, honeybees are known to pollinate more than 100 crops! Because of their pollination, we can enjoy foods like cucumbers, cherries, apples, limes, and lemons. These insects also pollinate our wild plants, helping provide food to a wide variety of insects, birds, and animals, and overall, playing a major component in our biodiversity.
The Importance of Their Honey
Honeybees carry nectar extracted from plants and taken back to their hive. They create honey by mixing this nectar with their saliva in a cell within their hive. Honey is known to provide immense benefits to humans and our health. It’s been found that honey can prevent cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, heal wounds, and fight bacteria! There are also several products made from honey that can support us overall. The most common products we often see come from honey, including bee pollen for health benefits and bee wax for skin care products, candles, and even furniture polish!
Caring for Honeybees
The importance of honeybees is significant to our environment and overall well-being. At Northwest, we are proud to offer our honeybee relocation and protection services to continue keeping honeybees active and alive! Our Certified Honeybee Keepers are trained to safely remove, relocate, and care for the honeybees that have found their home in yours! If you’re interested in Northwest’s Honeybee Relocation & Protection Service, call our team today for a free inspection!
Apr 19, 2022 | Pest Control
When you’re planning and planting your garden this year, every homeowner should consider adding some plants that attract honeybees to your yard. Allowing honeybees to enter your yard can help assist them with the very important job they have – pollinating. Honeybees alone can pollinate up to 80 percent of all flowering plants, including fruits and vegetables. It’s vital to give them the space they need to complete this task.
Honeybees have incredible ultraviolet vision. They are unable to see the color red but can see colors that are on the ultraviolet spectrum. They can also use odor cues to locate flowers nearby. Many flowers attract bees, including bee balm, echinacea, snapdragon, hostas, and evening primrose. Continue reading to discover which flowers you should plant in your garden next.
- Bee Balm: This fragrant foliage is also known as wild bergamot and will attract these little pollinators to your yard. Keep these planted in a sunny spot for spring and summer blooms.
- Marigold: These golden flowers are typically planted alongside food-producing plants to keep unwanted pests away, but they still attract honeybees to the area. This will help aid in the growth of your other plants.
- Mint: This is a great herb that any gardener should keep in their garden, but it is also a good attractant for honeybees. Don’t forget to place this herb in a pot by itself, as it is known to choke nearby plants.
- Pansy: These year-round flowering plants love the cool weather, so it’s best to plant them in early fall and spring. They are great for an added touch of color and keep the bees happy.
- Lavender: Bees love this fragrant plant and will make a beeline for it. Lavender also provides many other benefits for your health and can be used in many recipes.
- Sunflower: These flowers are best planted in the spring for summer blooms. They can be placed in the back of the garden or dispersed throughout, but they supply a great place for honeybees to work.
These are just a few of the flowers that attract honeybees to your garden to help elevate pollinating. Making sure honeybees have a place to work is important for all humans and the environment. Even planting just one of these plants in your yard is enough to assist the bees.
If you notice a bee colony is nearby and needs to be moved to a safer location, then reach out to your local pest control company that can provide a safe bee relocation.
Apr 12, 2022 | Pest Control
At Northwest, we know how important all bees are and we understand just how fragile their ecosystem truly is. Our Honeybee Relocation Program is designed to protect these important pollinators, while also protecting you and your family.
If you see an increase in bee activity near your home, contacting a local relocation service is the first step in protection. What happens during these relocations, though? Many important steps occur during the honeybee relocation process to ensure the safety of all bees. Keep reading to discover how this process works.
Inspecting & Locating
The very first step after contacting a bee relocation service is the inspection of the hive location. Our honeybee experts complete a home inspection to help identify the type of bee and determine how the hive is holding up. This inspection helps the team determine the best plan of action for the safest removal possible.
Honeybee Removal
After determining where the hive is located, the removal process begins. The team carefully removes the honeybees from their hive. After the bees have been removed, the team will then remove the hive. Depending on where the hive is located, our team decides which method is needed in the hive removal process.
Honeybee Relocation
The relocation process is the next step, and some say it’s the most important step in the whole process. Honeybees benefit from being relocated in many ways, including preventing further infestations, and it helps preserve plant reproduction. The bees that we help are relocated to a local beekeeper’s farm to continue pollination and honey production. Relocation is a way for their local honey to be enjoyed by the community, helping aid humans against seasonal allergies.
If you believe you have a honeybee hive on your property and it’s closer than you would like it to be, then reach out to your local bee relocation company and they will be able to assist you in the relocation of these beneficial insects.
Mar 30, 2022 | Pest Control
Due to their role in pollination, honeybees are extremely beneficial to our entire environment. This bee species contributes to the growth and reproduction of plants, where one bee can pollinate up to 1,000 flowers per day! It’s important to know what benefits these insects bring to us and how we can best protect them going forward.
Honeybees are big money makers for U.S. Agriculture, producing six hive products – honey, pollen, royal jelly, beeswax, propolis, and venom – which are all collected for various nutritional and medicinal purposes.
The production of honey from honeybees is extremely beneficial to the environment. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service, honeybees made 157 million pounds of honey in 2019. With the cost of honey at $1.97 per pound, that’s a value of a little over $339 million. Honeybees are seen as a big contributor to the pollination of crops and contribute up to $15 billion in added crop value.
Unfortunately, a widespread bacterial disease called American foulbrood is destroying entire colonies of honeybees. The disease does not pose any risks to humans but can severely impact the bee population. An antibiotic has been created to treat colonies and prevent the spread between colonies. The antibiotic is considered a better option over burning and destroying entire hives.
Honey is not only important for the environment, but it can also be useful in our everyday lives! There are many ways to use honey. Although not scientifically proven, many people believe honey has medicinal benefits. Honey can also aid in fighting seasonal allergies, especially if the honey is produced locally.
Although honeybees are crucial for the environment, some people can be a little wary of having them near their homes. Protecting these insects is important for the environment, and it’s recommended that the first and only treatment for these bees is removing and relocating them and their hives by local beekeepers. If you notice you have a honeybee colony on your property, reach out to a local pest control company that can provide safe relocation for these insects.
Feb 23, 2022 | Pest Control
Spring is around the corner, and that means our favorite stinging insects are making a return! Some of these stinging pests are very beneficial for pollinating flowers, but some are not so nice for your home. Check out our list of popular stinging insects in the southeast and what you should know about them!
Bumblebees
Bumblebees are relatively harmless and can be greatly beneficial for pollinating flowers. These insects can be identified by their black and yellow markings and an overall fuzzy appearance. They build their nests out of pollen buildup and will usually build them in the ground or a dense grass clump. If they feel threatened, they can become aggressive and result in stinging, so if the nest is found near a structure, then control may be necessary.
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees are often confused with bumblebees, but the top of their abdomen is largely bare and shiny. They are a serious threat to your property, as they burrow deep into wood to make galleries for nurturing their young. Male carpenter bees are territorial, and you may find them hovering in front of your face aggressively, but they have no stinger and these actions are merely for show. Female carpenter bees have a powerful sting which is rarely used.
Honeybees
Honeybees are less than an inch in size and are orange-ish brown or black in color. They are considered social insects and live as colonies in hives, where they can reach sizes up to 80,000 inhabitants. Three types of honeybees live in a beehive: worker, drone, and queen. Each has its important roles and performs specific duties within a bee colony. Honeybees are very beneficial and pollinate 85 percent of food crops intended for human consumption. They are critical to our environment and provide us with honey, which has many positive health benefits.
Yellow Jackets
Yellow jackets are less than an inch in size and are yellow and black in color. These pests reside in nests constructed of paper cartons, which can grow to be the size of a baseball. One nest can contain multiple rounded paper combs which are attached to one another and covered in many layers. Depending on the species, the nest can be near the ground, such as plant roots, logs, or timber; or aerial and attached to shrubs, houses, garages, or sheds. Yellow jackets are slow to sting unless they feel threatened. They are considered beneficial because they control many pest insect species, like flies and aphids.
Remember – it is not recommended to attempt to remove a stinging insect nest on your own and doing so can be extremely dangerous. Instead, work with a local pest control company to access your property and the nest, identify the type of stinging insect (like wasps or other dangerous stingers) and determine the best way to eliminate the threat to your family.
