Bee Removal
How Do I Identify A Bee Infestation?
Appearance- Bees and wasps can be mistaken for one another, as both can sting. Wasps however are more aggressive, while bees will more commonly only sting when provoked. Knowing the difference between a bee and a wasp is important for treating a sting received, as well as taking care of the wasp or bee problem. Bees are usually black bodied or sometimes with brown or orange or yellow striations. Bees are also hairy, while wasps usually have a smooth and shiny skin. Another way to tell the difference is a bee will be fat bodied, while a wasp will have a narrow waist. If after reading this you've decided you don't have bees, learn more about our wasp control here.
Behavior - Bees are social and live in large colonies with a queen and drone workers. Bees seek out flowers for their nectar, the primary source of energy, which they turn into honey for food in the winter. Bees will swarm when virgin female bees leave the nest to form a new colony elsewhere, or bees will swarm when disturbed and in defense of the colony.
Why Could I Have Bees?
Like us, bees want a safe and secure place to call home in close proximity to a good food source. Sometimes this can mean in the siding of your house or in or around a tree on your property.
Why Should I Treat My Bee Problem Immediately?
Bees can sting and will swarm when disturbed. Even one sting can be enough to send a person with an allergy into anaphylactic shock. While bees are beneficial to the environment in many ways, they can be inconvenient or even dangerous if they locate their hive close to your home or living area.
When using any method of bee control it is necessary to know effective application strategies as well as the limitations and dangers associated with each method. Special licenses might even be required to treat the infestation. The only way to really get rid of bees is to remove the hive completely. This task is best suited for a trained professional for safety and efficiency reasons. Give us a call today.
How to Get Rid of Bees
Bees are an important insect to have in your yard. These pollinators play an important role in our natural biodiversity. However, sometimes the bee situation can get a little out of hand. A queen bee can lay almost 2,000 eggs per day. That's an unbelievable number of bees if they all live to adulthood.
You don't want your home and yard to be full of bees. Many people are allergic to bee stings, so their presence on your property could be dangerous. Additionally, bees can cause major damage to your home or other structures. If bees are causing you problems, the advice below will help you solve the issue.
How Do I Spot a Bee Problem?
There are many species of bees. Where the bees live depends on their species. For example, bumblebees make their nests underground. Honeybees, on the other hand, nest in tree cavities. It doesn't matter where their nests are, though. If you notice the following signs, you have a bee infestation.
- Lots of bees.
Lots of bees, especially if they are in your home, are a sign of an infestation. Many types of bees, such as honeybees, do swarm from April to May. They swarm when looking for a new hive. During this period, if you leave them alone, the problem should resolve itself. However, if you notice swarms any other time of the year, it could be a sign of a major bee issue. - Dark spots on ceilings or walls.
Honeybees that nest in a house can cause damage to the ceilings or walls. You may begin to see dark patches, which are actually caused by honey. - Spotting a beehive.
If you see a beehive on your property, you likely have a bee issue. The issue is even direr if that hive is built in or on your home. In that case, it is important to have the bees removed immediately.
How Do I Get Rid of Bees?
There are a lot of ways to get rid of a bee problem. You can buy traps. These are often geared towards carpenter bees. Other methods of bee removal include the following:
- Hive removal.
Often people opt for hive removal. You will want to choose this option if the hive is in your home. Hives can cause a lot of structural damage if left to rot.
Hive removal should be done by a professional. It involves subduing the hive and then removing the bees. Then the comb is completely removed. Hive removal can be done humanely. Make sure to talk with your exterminator about their process.
- Killing the hive.
Some people put tarps over the hive and thus kill the bees. This is a dangerous method and is generally not recommended.
Caution: Never try to remove or kill a hive by yourself. Bees, especially in large numbers, are very dangerous. Bee removal should only be done by a certified and qualified professional. To find a good bee removal company in your area, use GoLocal Pest Control. We can connect you with excellent pest control companies in your area with the push of a button.
How to Prevent Bees
Bees can bring some benefits to your yard. These pollinators help keep our plants and flowers looking good and propagating. However, enjoying bees flying around your yard and wanting their nest in your home are two different things. All bee species can only sting once before dying. Yet, disturbing a hive means a potentially large number of bees stinging you at once. This coupled with many people's bee allergies could create a very unsafe situation.
The best way to keep yourself and your family safe from bee stings are to prevent them from nesting on your property.
Why Do I Have Bees?
Bee prevention starts with understanding why bees are attracted to your property. Here are a few reasons why you may have a bee infestation.
- March through July is when bees swarm.
They appear in large, scary-looking swarms because they are looking for a place to build their hive. If you notice a large group of bees on trees or buildings during these months, they may be thinking about building a hive nearby. - Your home may appear to be a suitable spot for a hive.
Bees need an appropriate place to nest. Any structure or building that provides shelter is appealing. It also needs to protect the bees from predators. This is why bees often build their hives under eaves, along the roofline, or in walls of buildings. - In addition to a good nesting place, your property likely provides ample food and water.
Bees, like all animals, need food and water to survive. If you have a lot of flowers on your property, it will make it even more appealing to bees. They harvest the pollen. An easy water source will also attract bees.
How Do I Prevent Bees?
Bee prevention does not mean that no bees ever enter your property. Bees are too important ecologically for that. However, you do want to prevent them from nesting in your yard or buildings. There are a few ways to keep bees from overstaying their welcome on your property.
- Caulk up any hole a quarter of an inch or larger.
Bees can enter extremely tiny holes in a building. By caulking up even the tiniest holes, you will be able to keep them from building a hive in your structures. - Keep outdoor clutter to a minimum.
The more items you have outdoors, the more places there are for bees to build a hive. Keeping your outdoor clutter to a minimum will make your yard less appealing. This means storing all unused lawn equipment and appliances indoors, picking up old wood and other items, and keeping your yard trimmed. - Start your own beehives.
Bringing in your own beehives allows you to control the bee population near your home. You will be providing them somewhere to live—and potentially getting free honey in the bargain—which will make it less likely that they will nest in your home. - Contact a professional bee removal company.
Completely preventing bees from making their hives on your property can be a daunting task. Your best bet will be to hire a good exterminator who can help you with proper bee control. Let us at GoLocal Pest Control connect you with the best bee removal experts in your area.
What Do Bees Look Like
Bees come in all shapes and sizes. When you think bee, you likely picture the honey bee. But that is not the only bee species in the world. In fact, there are likely way more species of bees than you realize.
In many ways, bees are important insects. They are pollinators. This makes them essential to farms and gardens worldwide. They also make honey. Your name doesn't have to be Winnie the Pooh for that fact to excite you. Honey is one of the best substances around.
For all of their benefits, bees can be a pest as well. Some species of bee are more aggressive than others. Some also build their hives in inconvenient locations. Being able to identify the most common bee species is an important part of bee control. Knowing what bees are coming into your yard, will help you make a removal and prevention plan.
How Many Species of Bee Are There?
As mentioned above, there are probably a lot more bee species in the world than you realize. In fact, there are over 20,000 bee species worldwide. 4,000 of those are native to the United States. In addition to those 4,000 native species, the honeybee is also a common bee species in America. Honeybees were actually brought by European settlers. It is not native to the United States.
There are so many species of bees because most have evolved to feed on specific flowers. For example, the extremely small Perdita minima genus (which has about 600 species of bee) feeds off of the spurge family of plants. These tiny bees only live in the southwest desert. Most bee species are equally specialized, which explains their great variations.
What Do Bees Look Like?
Such a great number of bee species means they vary greatly in size, shape, habits, and even color. We can't describe every species of bee here. But we can go into detail about the most common varieties. Carpenter bees have their own page, and so we have left them off the list below.
- Honeybee:
The honeybee species Apis mellifera is the most common type of honeybee in the world. This is the bee brought by the early European settlers. There are 7-12 other species of honeybee worldwide. Apis mellifera is brown or red with black bands. The abdomen has yellow rings. The worker bees are about 10-15mm long, male drones are 15-17mm long. All honeybees can sting, but they will die afterward. - Bumblebee:
Bumblebees belong to the genus Bombus. There are about 40 species of Bumblebee. All are about 0.5-1 inch long. They are hairy and are usually black with yellow bands. This big bee is not aggressive. They typically nest in the ground. - Sweat bees:
Sweat bees are some of the smallest bees around. They are solitary bees and appear in a variety of genera. There are two main types of sweet bees. The first is bright green. The other is black or brown with light hairy bands on their abdomen.
If you notice signs of a bee problem, contact GoLocal Pest Control. We can help you find the best bee removal services in your area.
How to Find an Exterminator to Help with Bees
Bees are important pollinators, especially honeybees. But that doesn't mean you have to let bees nest on your property or in your home. Bees can only sting one time, but they are social insects. Getting stung by a hive full of hundreds of bees can still be dangerous. Plus, honey can damage your walls and other structures.
Unless you are a beekeeper, you should not allow bees to nest on your property. In order to keep them out, you need the help of an exterminator. They will keep you safe and save you time. You will just need to find a good bee exterminator. The best way to do that is to follow the advice outlined in this article.
What Should I Look for in a Bee Exterminator?
When deciding on a bee removal company, you need to make up a list of questions. These questions will tell you more about the exterminator and give you a sense of their bee removal process. Always talk to a pest control company before hiring them. You want to hire the best, and that means doing your research ahead of time.
Here are a few questions to ask any potential bee exterminators.
- Do you remove the bee humanely or kill them?
- What does your bee removal process look like?
- If the bees are nesting in my home, will you also do any structural repairs?
- Do you have technicians that specialize in bee removal?
- What is your policy if the bees return?
What Should I Expect from Bee Exterminators?
Some bee exterminators will kill the hive, and some will just relocate it. Which procedure the exterminator performs will determine the treatment plan.
- If pesticides are used.
If pesticides are used, the technician will likely follow this procedure. They will first perform an inspection to determine what bee species you have and the size of the hive. They will then spray pesticides to kill the bees in the hive. Once the bees are dead the hive will be removed. - If the hive is removed intact.
If the exterminator prefers to keep the bees alive, they will still perform an inspection first. Then they will use a substance to confuse the bees or make them sleep. They then remove the hive and relocate it off your property.
How Do I Find an Exterminator to Help with Bees?
Pest control companies often opt to kill the hive. So, if you want the hive removal option, you may have to search a bit for that. Either way, a good bee removal company can be hard to find. At GoLocal Pest Control, we take the guesswork out for finding an exterminator to help with bees. Our location finder has the names of hundreds of exterminators from all over the country. No matter where you live, you will be able to find a good bee removal option. Contact us today or visit this page to learn more.