Though overcast and rainy skies put a damper on outdoor plans for some, the cooler weather made the morning of Saturday, June 1, the perfect day for Rob Jenkins of Bee Wrangler Honey to perform a beehive removal. He does the removals free of charge to safely rehome the bees. Jenkins allowed The Chronicle to join at the barn where the beehive was located near Napavine to see firsthand the step-by-step process on how to safely remove the hive and rehome it with a fellow local beekeeper, Debbie Cornell, who helped with the removal.
Residing and operating out of Ethel, Jenkins runs Bee Wrangler Honey and Bee Rescue, which sells honey and beeswax products while also offering free beehive and swarm removal in parts of Lewis County. A former welder, he got into beekeeping professionally after being taught how to do it by other local beekeepers who were forced to quit after one developed an allergy to bees. Also joining Saturday’s hive removal was Sam Boyer, a former beekeeper looking to get back into it, along with her twin children, Ashlynn and Dane Boyer-Burns.
With protective suits and hoods, those on hand began by first removing the plywood covering the barn’s frame where the bees had built their hive in the space between the plywood and barn’s outside wall. The bees had access to the space through a small hole on the outside wall of the barn about an inch in diameter. The plywood was nailed to the frame, so a hammer and pry bar were needed to remove it, meaning a lot of l.
