A vegetable farm in Saint-Hubert, on the South Shore, contacted our team at the beginning of the summer season after discovering two distinct honey bee colonies: one nestled in an old wooden tool shed, the other installed in a cavity under the sheet metal cladding of a storage shed. The situation was particularly tricky because the farm employed several seasonal workers who moved between the buildings on a daily basis, and one of them had already received a sting during an episode of nest defense. In addition, the owners wanted to preserve pollinators as much as possible in an agricultural context where bees play a beneficial role. Our approach therefore aimed to relocate the settlements where possible and secure the buildings in a sustainable way. See our work on Nova Extermination to understand our intervention philosophy.
Inspection and mapping of the two nesting sites
The inspection began with the tool shed, a forty-year-old wooden building with many gaps in the cladding boards. The main nest was located between the exterior cladding and the fibreglass insulation, approximately one metre above the ground. Using an endoscope and an infrared thermometer, we mapped the extent of the nest: about eighty centimeters long and twenty centimeters deep. The second nest, in the metal shed, had been established under a sheet metal panel peeled off in the north gable. This nest was more recent, probably from a swarm of the first colony earlier in the season. Comparative analysis of the two colonies confirmed a probable genetic relationship. Our achievements in bee management in rural areas document this type of double infestation that we sometimes encounter on large properties.
Relocation of the main colony and treatment of the second colony
The larger and well-established tool shed colony has been the subject of an attempt to relocate. Our technicians worked in the evening to maximize the presence of foragers at the nest. After the wooden cladding was partially opened, the combs were gently extracted and placed in a transport hive, with the queen captured using a specialized clip. The colony was entrusted to a beekeeper from Sainte-Catherine, who enthusiastically welcomed these bees to strengthen his production apiary. The metal hangar colony was embedded in an area that was difficult to access without major dismantling. After evaluation, we carried out an insecticide treatment by injection of insecticide powder approved for agricultural buildings, in two applications spaced forty-eight hours apart. This method guarantees complete elimination without risk of contamination of adjacent crops, because the products used comply with the standards of use in an agricultural context in Quebec.
For agricultural businesses and owners of large farms, our bee extermination service offers interventions adapted to the constraints of rural buildings, whether they are barns, silos, sheds or sheds.
Sealing and protection of agricultural buildings
Caulking entry points in farm buildings requires materials that are resistant to harsh weather conditions and rodents. For the tool shed, the degraded sheathing boards were replaced and all joints were sealed with an exterior grade polyurethane sealant. For the metal shed, the detached sheet metal panel was reattached with stainless steel screws and silicone for weatherproof metal joint. We also inspected and sealed the other perimeter openings of the two buildings, including around the ventilation ducts and cable ducts. A repellent surface treatment was applied to the most exposed areas to discourage future colonization attempts by spring swarms.
Seasonal On-Farm Prevention Program
At the request of the owners, we have developed an annual prevention program covering all the buildings on the farm. This program includes a preventive inspection in April, before the swarming period, and a follow-up in June after the first heat. Our extermination team in Saint-Hubert is familiar with the challenges specific to farm properties on the South Shore, particularly in the Sainte-Catherine and LaSalle sectors. In addition to bee management, we advised farmers on setting up a comprehensive farm-wide pest prevention plan , also covering rodents and insect pests of warehouse crops. Our in-depth knowledge of the Quebec agricultural context allows us to adapt our recommendations to the reality of each farm, reconciling the protection of workers, the safety of foodstuffs and respect for the rural environment.