SAN DIEGO — It’s peak bee season here in San Diego!
Bee Man Dan - also known as Dan Luong- has been a “bee wrangler," as he likes to call it, for more than 15 years.
"I've been stung hundreds of times, absolutely," Luong laughs.
CBS 8 News reporter Ariana Cohen put on a bee suit to learn how to safely rescue and remove bees rather than exterminate them.
"There could be 30,000 to 50,000 bees. It's like playing 'Where's Waldo?' where everyone is Waldo and the queen doesn’t have a crown," said Luong.
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To learn how to safely remove any unwanted bees, CBS 8 reporter Cohen went to the top of a roof to use a smoker to calm the bees down before safe removal.
"The smoke helps chase them off. If you can displace them and make them feel uncomfortable, then the bees think 'screw it, I'm out of here!'" said Luong.
"This process is involved. We open roof tiles, reveal the hive, and kidnap the babies and that’s how we get the babies to one of our boxes. The queen then follows the bees," he adds.
Bee Man Dan also has some home remedies you can try to remove bees from your home which include:
- Use a smoker
- Essential Oils
- Diluted Beach Solution
- Vinegar
"You can also use a crock pot with vinegar and the fumes will get the bees to scatter," said Luong.
Since bees pollinate what we eat, Luong says it's important to keep them alive and eventually bring them to a new home.
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Bee Man Dan scoops the bees into boxes and brings them to a farm in Escondido that he calls the "BeeHab" where bees rehabilitate and adapt to their new safe home.
"We've rescued every single hive. It's always possible," said Luong.