Ok, I’ve got to start with this…I don’t know anything about bees and honey, other than “we need the bees” to pollinate our gardens AND bees make honey. I do have a garden, so this I know. I also know that my neighbors cut down their ‘bee tree’ that was providing my garden with all of this lovely pollination and when the tree went, my garden kinda did too…but those bees have been slowly finding us again.
This story is about Guerilla Beekeepers, and it started because my lovely neighbors Shannon and Alex (that’s them over to the right –>) had a hive 
that needed removing…and I got a text about what a great story this would make on my blog! In no time at all, I received a call from the Beekeeper himself Bill Walter, we had an exchange, and now I’m writing about him. Their bee biz is located in Silverado Canyon, but they can be found at our very own Farmer’s and Artisans Market each Saturday morning. In fact, I’ve already bought their honey several times and found it to be DELISH!
Here’s what Bill the Beekeeper offers up: Live honey bee removal (see photos below of the neighbors getting theirs removed) for residential and commercial; treatment free bee keeping (more on that in a bit); treatment free wax production; pollen harvesting in the spring; beekeeping lessons; and he speaks to gardening groups and other venues about bees and why we need them!
What I really want to tell you about is the whole ‘treatment free’ part of his beekeeping because he told me that 98% of beekeepers medicate bee hives and use a chemical to treat Varroa Mites that is passed into the honey. What that means is that just about all of the honey you’ll find in the grocery store has antibiotics in it, even when it says PURE…yuck! Peanut butter and honey is a standard in my house, so this matters to me a lot!
What I loved learning about Bill is that Beekeeping is not something he’d been doing his whole life. He formerly had a career in graphic design and web development, but beekeeping became an absolute passion for him. What started as a hobby has become a full time way of life, and I don’t know about you, but meeting people that are actually doing what they’re passionate about is always inspiring to me!
Here’s where you can buy honey from Guerilla Beekeepers: Farmer’s and Artisan’s Saturday Market in OTO, The Bite Market, Dragonfly Shops and Gardens and soon you may find it in your local Whole Foods!
Here’s some photos of the honeybees getting removed in my ‘hood…looks pretty scary to me!
