The bee whisperer

When Janet Andrews saw a swarm of bees in the roof of her home about a decade ago, she wasn’t scared or alarmed. Instead, she was inspired.

Andrews, who founded Backyard Bees in Orange six years ago, said she thought the bees were a beautiful sight.

She said she called a professional to relocate the bees to her garden, where she said they pollinated her flowers and thrived off the various vegetables planted there.

“When I saw him taking out these nice big frames of honey, it looked so pretty,” she said about the process of removing the hive from her house.

Andrews read about bees to educate herself and decided to rescue bees from other people’s homes.

At first, it was just a hobby. She turned the hobby into a full-fledged business in 2009.

After the bees are rescued, Andrews transports them in special wooden boxes to places that have requested them. They have gone to large backyards, apiaries, small organic farms and the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach, where guests can observe the bees from behind glass.

The cost of removing unwanted bees starts at about $150. The people who receive the flying insects pay nothing, but they are required to give Andrews 90% of the honey produced.

She sells the all-natural honey, along with products made from bees wax, like lip balm and lotions, at local stores including Mother’s Market and Whole Foods Market.

People from outside Orange County will soon be able to order the products, Andrews added.

She believes the honey has medicinal benefits. She said many of her customers who are allergic to pollen eat one tablespoon of her honey, which includes the pollen, a day to possibly counter the allergy.

Andrews said she handles about 90 hives per year, and each hive can produce about 60 pounds of honey in a year.

Unlike commercial companies, which heat and filter their honey, Andrews said Backyard Bees uses all-natural methods, like straining the honey straight from its source.

Honeybees have been dying because of pesticides and other harmful materials used on plants, but in natural settings they thrive, she said.

“From my perspective, our bees do so well because they are in healthy conditions,” she said. “I can tell if the bees have gotten into areas that have been sprayed for roaches or pesticides. I live with nature. When we interfere, that’s when it seems we get problems. It’s better to really educate and look at all the sides.”

Andrews hosts educational workshops during which she demonstrates the honey-making process and shows off vegetables from her backyard garden.

“If you see bees foraging on flowers, they’re not interested in you,” she said. “Unless you swat at them, accidentally bump into them or step on them, they’re not going to sting you.”

She said she does not see Backyard Bees becoming a staple brand, like Burt’s Bees, which also produces lotions and lip balms.

Instead, she wants to keep her company local.

“I’d like to provide Orange County with good, natural honey and beeswax products,” she said. “I think that would be a good thing.”