Summerlin Bee Removal and Live Bee Rescues.
- 5 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Why Summerlin Keeps Calling Us About Bees
Living in Las Vegas for 35 years, I have watched Summerlin continually grow up.
When a friend of mine moved into the then new Pueblos community eons ago, I laughed. Who would live so far from the strip? Have fun driving a half hour to work from the sticks.
Well, today the jokes on me. We live close by Summerlin, and Betsy and I love working in all of their communities.
It's no secret to us that Summerlin is blessed with lots of honeybee colonies.
They have beautifully landscaped grounds and parks. It's as if they took the bees into consideration when deciding what to plant.
We love working with Summerlin homeowners and business owners who go out of their way to make sure the bees are rescued and relocated safely.
What most people don't realize is that the landscaping is only half the invitation. The other half is the architecture. Block walls with weep holes every few feet, tile roofs with gaps under the ridge caps, stucco over foam that a scout bee can find a soft spot in faster than most contractors can.
Between the flowers out front and the real estate built into the walls, Summerlin might be the best-designed neighborhood in the valley for a colony that's house hunting.
The HOA side of things is its own conversation.
A lot of homeowners here will sit on a bee problem for weeks because they're more worried about a violation notice than they are about the bees themselves.
We understand it, nobody wants a pest control truck parked out front for the neighbors to see. The irony is that our live removal is the quieter option. We're not spraying anything or leaving equipment sitting out for a week.
Most Summerlin jobs start the same way. A swarm moves into a hole, crack, or an irrigation valve box in spring, nobody notices for a month, and by the time we get the call there's an established colony with comb, brood, and enough honey that opening the wall without a plan would ruin everyone's afternoon.
We find the comb, remove it intact, and relocate the bees to one of our own hive boxes. The wall gets patched. The bees get to keep being bees, just somewhere that isn't your guest bathroom.
Monsoon season is when the bee removal calls really pick up.
Desert colonies swarm to find new real estate right as the humidity climbs, and Summerlin's block walls and drainage features are exactly the kind of dark, sheltered cavity a scout bee is trained to look for.
We've had homeowners tell us they heard the hum before they ever saw a bee, which makes sense, since a wall cavity works a lot like a speaker enclosure.
We also spend a fair amount of time talking people out of handling it themselves. Every colony we pull out of a Summerlin wall has the potential to be Africanized, and you cannot tell by looking at it.
People occasionally try to remove the bees themselves. It rarely ends the way they pictured it going. Extremely wrong.
What homeowners actually want out of this isn't really "bee removal." It's being able to use their backyard again, walk past that section of wall without flinching, and not end up with a cavity full of rotting comb and fermenting honey a few months down the line.
Exterminated colonies left behind don't just disappear, they leak, and the smell shows up long after everyone else has gone home. Live removal sidesteps all of it.
We don't exterminate. We relocate. That's the whole business, and thirty-five years later, we still like doing it in the neighborhood we used to make fun of.
Here are some places we have removed bees from in Summerlin:
Walls & Weep Holes: Brick, stucco, and exterior wall cavities.
Rooflines & Eaves: Soffits, fascia, and attics.
Irrigation & Water Boxes: Valve boxes, utility vaults, and sprinkler covers.
Outdoor Living Areas: BBQ islands, patio covers, pergolas, and pillars.
Landscaping & Trees: Palm tree skirts, dense foliage, and garden structures.
Outbuildings: Sheds, garages, playhouses, and light fixtures.
Vegas Bees is Safe for your family, safe for the bees, and 100% HOA compliant. Serving all of Summerlin.
Betsy & Pete
🐝Las Vegas’s All-Natural Live Bee Removal Team
About Us: The Authors
We’re Betsy Lewis and Pete Rizzo - Beekeepers on a Mission in Las Vegas
We’re not just in the bee business, we’re in the bee-saving business. Trained by a master beekeeper and backed by hundreds of successful removals, we are dedicated to rescuing and relocating honey bees with care and precision.
Every swarm we save and every hive we manage reflects our deep love for the bees.
At our Joshua Tree Preserve in Arizona, we care for dozens of thriving hives. Some wild, some honey-bearing, and all are part of our commitment to ethical, sustainable beekeeping.
Why Vegas Bees? Because We Never Stop Learning or Caring
Beekeeping is always evolving, and so are we. We stay on the cutting edge by continuing our education, connecting with fellow beekeepers, and refining our beekeeping practices and techniques to ensure the best outcomes for both bees and people.
Whether it’s advanced bee removal strategies or the latest natural methods, we’re always one step ahead.
We’re also proud to support the beekeeping community with high-quality beekeeping supplies for everyone. If you’re ready to suit up and start your journey, we’ve got what you need.
