Got bees?

We have some critters (that we assume are bees) living in our siding.  We assume they are bees because yellow jackets look a lot the same. Does anyone have a sure-fire way of telling the difference?  Anyway, I digress.  

I'd like to save the hive (especially given the current state of bees), but we're not entirely sure how to go about this.  Apparently, they can go on living quite happily in our siding for a long time without destroying anything.  My one and only concern about this is that my mom is super allergic to bees and we don't know if T shares the allergy. 

I know that bee-keepers will come and remove bee colonies as well, although from what I understand, this will probably entail ripping big sections of our siding off.  We used the Google and found a dude nearby who advertises removal services.  Any other ideas about how to get in touch with local beekeepers?  What would you do with a colony of friendly-type bees?