If there is a persistent buzzing sound coming from the siding of your home, an old garbage can, or any other enclosed location, you have a bee problem and will need to hire an expert.
If you happen to call Austin, Texas home, you should be prepared for your beekeeper to show up without any protection of a glove on her hand.
Erika Thompson, the creator of Texas Beeworks and a full-time beekeeper, left her office job in 2019 to pursue her passion of growing the number of bees and hives in the Lone Star State. Her objective is to expand the population of bees and hives in the state.
As a result, she embarks on a journey each day with the purpose of protecting bee swarms that have been lost.
She maintains their previous hive with great care, dividing it up into portions that she will later move to the new hive that she has brought with her. After that, she places the hive in her vehicle and drives it to her property, where it will be safe for the bees to recuperate.
Erika is like a bee whisperer. When she comes on the scene, she is able to determine by the behavior of the bees whether or not they will sting her based on whether or not they are aggressive.
She will provide those broods with safety, but the most of the time she will operate in harmony with them.
Thompson will use her bare hands and a soft grin to remove bees that have entered garbage cans or home siding.
Throughout the whole process, she will be demonstrating for the camera, for her TikTok or YouTube channels, how kind, well-behaved, and well-organized bees truly are.
The question that is asked to Erika more than any other is, “How come they aren’t stinging you?” Erika’s response is that the secret is to understand the bees’ moods.
Although it may cost up to one hundred dollars or more to have an established hive removed from your property, Thompson is trying to encourage individuals to maintain bee populations by providing free removal of swarms.
Texas Beeworks does not sell any honey from her hives because she believes that it would be disrespectful to the hard work of the bees. Instead, she earns her livelihood solely via bee removal and beekeeping workshops.