ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The months of April and May are known as “Honeybee Season” in Texas, and for one South Abilene resident, the removal of a backyard beehive couldn’t come soon enough. She told us her regular yard maintenance worker refused to mow her lawn until she could get the hive removed.

Crissy Ward, President of the Big Country Bee Keepers Association, told KTAB/KRBC explained that honeybees are important to our eco system, and they’re defensive creatures – not aggressive.

“If you go and start messing with them, or spraying them, or try to dig into the beehive in some way, they’ll probably become defensive of their home,” Ward warned.

To put some minds at ease, Ward said most honeybees will leave you alone so long as you do the same. Although, if you have something syrupy outside like a humming bird feeder or a can of soda, they might poke around.

As the weather warms up and flowers begin to bloom, you may notice more bees around collecting pollen, water, or nectar.

“We, as beekeepers, are just very passionate about going to homes and relocating them safely for the homeowner and putting them into an apiary so they can be established beehives, and keep doing their pollination thing that bees do,” added Ward. “Anything involving honeybees, we are here to help.”

The Big Country Bee Keepers Association relocated the resident’s beehive to a safe place and even promised her a jar of their honey in the summer months.

Beekeepers encourage homeowners to go through a safe removal process with the help from professionals.

Texas A&M Agrilife Research has a list of resources for professional bee removal by county. Follow this link to learn more.