Residents of the Pines at Willowbrook were all abuzz when a swarm of bees that built a hive on the outside of building four decided to move indoors.
Cynthia Bryant, property manager, said she knew they had some bees and that it was a bit of a problem. But when she came out last Friday and saw what she described as a large black mass of bees outside the building, she knew it was bigger than she had thought.
"I started calling pest control locations, lawn care services, 911, EPA, city of Hinesville, True Tech out of Atlanta, but then my boss said everything you need can be found on the Internet," Bryant recalls. "Just look up bee catcher and that is how we found Andrei here."
Andrei Miclaus is a full-time contractor with a fondness for bees. He started working with bees as a hobby and suddenly it became a part time job.
"Bees are so important in the pollination process," he said. "It started as a hobby but then my friends would call me to help them with their bee problem and it grew from there."
Miclaus removed the outside swarm last Friday but was back to work this week.
"Andrei explained to us that there are probably more that we could not see," Bryant said. "He removed about 4,500 on Friday and now he is removing several thousand at least."
Miclaus had removed some siding and a few boards from the building to reveal a huge honeycomb hive inside the building's walls and rafters. Thousands of bees were visible as he gently worked to smoke and vacuum the bees into a specially designed bee box for safe capture.
"They are honeybees, definitely," he said as he worked. "Basically they will sting if they feel threatened but as you can see I work without gloves and they are very gentle."
"He said there might be some in the walls so I went upstairs to my apartment to make sure none were coming into my apartment," Tori Hall, a resident, said. "I didn't hear any noise in the walls and thankfully didn't find any inside my apartment.
Miclaus lives in Springfield but is originally from Romania. He rescues bees throughout Effingham, Chatham and Liberty counties. Understanding the role bees play in the pollinating crops. He is one of the few bee catchers who does not exterminate them. Instead, he takes them back to his residence where they are released into his bee farm. Later they are released so they can continue pollinating.
According to the American BeeKeeper Federation, honey bees contribute more than $14 billion to the value of U.S. crop production. Many of the country's crops would not exist without honey bees.
"When I first moved here the bees were at the other building and it appears they moved over here and there may be some more in the other building," Roslyn Butler, another building four resident, said.
"He has guaranteed us that he will be able to remove any bee and if any come back within a year he will come back for free to remove those," Bryant said. "He said once he removes the honey comb they would leave. We also placed flyers throughout the buildings so people can notify us if they have bees and also to explain what they are and what to do."
Miclaus can be reached at 754-1328 or 678-534-2717.
Cynthia Bryant, property manager, said she knew they had some bees and that it was a bit of a problem. But when she came out last Friday and saw what she described as a large black mass of bees outside the building, she knew it was bigger than she had thought.
"I started calling pest control locations, lawn care services, 911, EPA, city of Hinesville, True Tech out of Atlanta, but then my boss said everything you need can be found on the Internet," Bryant recalls. "Just look up bee catcher and that is how we found Andrei here."
Andrei Miclaus is a full-time contractor with a fondness for bees. He started working with bees as a hobby and suddenly it became a part time job.
"Bees are so important in the pollination process," he said. "It started as a hobby but then my friends would call me to help them with their bee problem and it grew from there."
Miclaus removed the outside swarm last Friday but was back to work this week.
"Andrei explained to us that there are probably more that we could not see," Bryant said. "He removed about 4,500 on Friday and now he is removing several thousand at least."
Miclaus had removed some siding and a few boards from the building to reveal a huge honeycomb hive inside the building's walls and rafters. Thousands of bees were visible as he gently worked to smoke and vacuum the bees into a specially designed bee box for safe capture.
"They are honeybees, definitely," he said as he worked. "Basically they will sting if they feel threatened but as you can see I work without gloves and they are very gentle."
"He said there might be some in the walls so I went upstairs to my apartment to make sure none were coming into my apartment," Tori Hall, a resident, said. "I didn't hear any noise in the walls and thankfully didn't find any inside my apartment.
Miclaus lives in Springfield but is originally from Romania. He rescues bees throughout Effingham, Chatham and Liberty counties. Understanding the role bees play in the pollinating crops. He is one of the few bee catchers who does not exterminate them. Instead, he takes them back to his residence where they are released into his bee farm. Later they are released so they can continue pollinating.
According to the American BeeKeeper Federation, honey bees contribute more than $14 billion to the value of U.S. crop production. Many of the country's crops would not exist without honey bees.
"When I first moved here the bees were at the other building and it appears they moved over here and there may be some more in the other building," Roslyn Butler, another building four resident, said.
"He has guaranteed us that he will be able to remove any bee and if any come back within a year he will come back for free to remove those," Bryant said. "He said once he removes the honey comb they would leave. We also placed flyers throughout the buildings so people can notify us if they have bees and also to explain what they are and what to do."
Miclaus can be reached at 754-1328 or 678-534-2717.