Rescuing bees with bare hands
Beekeeper Erika Thompson rescues swarms of bees with her bare hands. Her method shows just how gently bees can be handled.
If an overwhelming buzzing is coming from the side wall of your house, an old rubbish bin, or another enclosed space, you have a bee problem and need a professional.
After leaving her office job in 2019, Erika Thompson, founder of Texas Beeworks, became a full-time beekeeper with the goal of increasing the bee population and the number of hives in the Lone Star State.
Gently relocating swarms of bees
Every day she is out and about, protecting stray swarms of bees from harm. She carefully preserves the old hive, cutting it into sections to transfer it into a new hive she has brought along. She then carries the hive to her truck and takes it to her property, where it can recover.
Erika is like a bee whisperer. When she arrives at the scene, she can tell from the behaviour of the bees whether they might sting her. Depending on the situation, she will protect herself, but most of the time she works in harmony with them.
Thompson scoops out bees with her bare hands and a gentle smile, even when they have made their way into rubbish bins or house walls.
Free rescue for stray swarms
Throughout the process, she explains on camera via her TikTok or YouTube channels just how friendly, gentle, and tidy bees actually are.
“How is it that they don’t sting you?” is the most common question put to Erika, who says the key lies in reading the mood of the bees.
“After we remove the bees, they are relocated to one of our more than 25 bee sanctuaries in the Austin area, so the bees can continue their important work in a place that is safer for both you and them,” writes Thompson on her website.
While removing an established beehive from a property can cost $100 or more, Thompson encourages people to protect bee populations by offering free swarm removal. Swarms are stray bee colonies that sometimes have no queen and are therefore directionless.
Out of respect for the bees' work, Texas Beeworks does not sell honey from their hives, but earns its living exclusively through bee removal and beekeeping courses. More on the protection of wildlife and their habitats can be found at wildbeimwild.com.
