The city of Spring Valley is named for it’s natural spring. In fact for many centuries, Spring Valley was known to Native Americans as a “well watered little valley”. Today many bees in Spring valley get their water from the Sweetwater reservoir.
Spring Valley is the largest unincorporated are in San Diego County and its population resides in a mix of homes, apartments, and ranches. One common problem Spring Valley residents report are bees in their Owl or Bird box. For some reason, bees love to build hives in Owl and Bird boxes!
A few years ago we performed a bee removal from an owl box on a ranch in Spring valley. It was an unusual job because the bees invaded the owl box while a Mama Owl was raising her newborn babies. This was a delicate job that required extra precaution. Luckily the home owner called us right away and we were able to remove the swarm live. Because there were no chemicals used, the owners were able to round up the baby owls that had been driven out by the bees, and put them back in their owl box. It was an amazing feeling to have the baby owls reunite with their mom.
So what can you do if bees invade your bird or owl box?
1. Don’t start up lawnmowers, Motorcycles, weed whackers. For some reason motorized equipment that’s noisy and/or vibrates really sets them off.
2. Don’t attempt to do it yourself. Hire a professional. Remember the couple in Lemon Grove who got attacked by bees in their birdhouse.
3. Call us as soon as you notice the bees in the bird or owl box. The longer the bees stay…the bigger the hive gets. The bigger the hive gets, the more the bees will defend their home. The cost of removing bees from an owl or bird house goes up the longer the bees have been there.
