Stephen Ellison

All the Buzz: Bees and Hive Removed From Wall at South Bay Nursing Home

A South Bay nursing home had some unwelcome guests removed Wednesday. They actually had been staying at the home for a lot longer than anyone realized.

A swarm of bees and their hive was discovered inside one of the walls on the fifth floor of a building at 390 N. Winchester Blvd. in Santa Clara, occupied by a senior center. Rather than fumigate, a beekeeper was called in to safely remove the bees and their hive.

The beekeeper used special vacuums to suck out the bees, and he also removed the hive so that he could later reunite the bees and their home in a safe place.

"Say your exterminator comes out here and blows a bunch of dust and kills the hive. About a month or two later you might get the hive to come right back," said Tim Dauber, master beekeeper for Bee Friendly. "That happens quite a bit."

Dauber said the bees were inside the wall for up to three years.

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