This beehive had been present in the ceiling of a Woombye home for about six months before we were called in to remove it and save the bees. The bees had found their way into a cosy location above the kitchen sink via a small gap in the exterior weatherboards.

The ceiling cavity was quite deep, and therefore the colony had constructed some impressively large combs and considering the short period they had been present, they had created an extraordinary structure and packed away more than 40kg of honey.

This beehive is a great example of why poisoning a beehive is a terrible idea. The resulting breakdown of fermented honey, caused by the inevitable infestation of small hive beetle, would cause damage that would far outway the expense of having the hive removed professionally in the first instant.

The size of the combs, combined with the angles created by the raked roof, made for an awkward removal job — most of the combs needed cutting in half before removal. The fragile honeycombs, packed with honey and nectar, which made them rather heavy, and they needed to be handled with extreme care to prevent them collapsing and spilling their contents.

At the time of removal, the local paper-bark tree was in full flower, and the distinctive aroma of tea-tree nectar filled the hive. Despite being just a few days short of winter, these bees were very actively taking advantage of the nectar flow.

Some of the honey was left with the homeowners, but the majority will be fed back to the bees in their new location in out North Maleny apiary.