Honey Bees nested in the rafters under my roof! I didn't want to have them killed or use pesticides, and called around until I found an environmentally friendly pest control company.

Date:   4/13/2007 12:05:28 AM ( 17 y ago)

Eco-Friendly Bee Removal

I had to call a pest control company to remove bees that had nested in my house in the rafters just above my daughter's bedroom ceiling. The bees had flown in through the vent holes on the side of the house, under the eaves. I had noticed a lot of unusual bee activity and called right away; fortunately, the bees were there less than one week and the two nests that were seen were very small--one a few inches in height, the second one less than that, so the bees were just starting their building process.

The company I hired--ABC Bee Control--focuses on saving honey bees. Bees are endangered secondary to Africanized bees killing them over territory; additionally, a type of bee mite has been attacking and killing them. Two very nice bee control people removed the bees out of my rafters by breaking the vent mesh and suctioning them out with a power vacuum. The bees are alive when they do this; the process is called "live capture". The bees caught in the vacuum are released in a canyon when the company accumulates enough of them. If the queen has been captured along with the worker bees, new nests can be built in the new locale. Sadly, if the queen is not caught along with the worker bees, the workers die within two weeks from stress; worker bees normally live about 4 to 6 weeks.

After the bees were suctioned up (some of them flew out on their own), an "environmentally friendly" liquid detergent was sprayed into the vent holes to mask the bee pheromones so the bees that were out and about collecting pollen wouldn't come back to the nest and start rebuilding. The actual nests were deemed too small to bother removing. If the nests were large and contained honey, the bee controllers would have either broken a hole in the outer wall or gone in through the roof for hive removal, costing about $1000 to make and fix the hole. This is necessary when there is a large hive, even after the bees are removed, because the honey in the nests melts and drips down and leaks through the ceiling, causing damage. So, I was lucky and only had to pay for bee swarm removal.

There are 23 panels of vent holes (each panel has 6 vent holes in it) under the eaves around my house, giving insects lots of access to the rafters under the roof. It's amazing that in almost 50 years, this is the first time bees have nested in the house! To prevent bees or wasps from building nests in the future, the company recommends putting up metal mesh over the vent holes and around the chimney vent (yes, bees like to nest in chimneys!) The vent holes around the house are currently covered with metal mesh meant to keep out rodents only; the holes in the mesh are 1/4", large enough for bees, wasps, and other insects to crawl in and out of. The new recommended mesh will have 1/8 inch mesh holes.

More about bees:

"Honeybees:
European honeybees are about an inch long with a black and reddish-brown body covered with hairs. The female stings one time and then dies. Honeybees are usually not aggressive or threatening. Honeybees nest in many different kinds of places, but popular sites include inside chimneys or hollow trees, and in the walls of houses, barns, sheds and pump houses. Nests can also be found hanging from trees. The nests are made of wax cells. Honeybees keep their hives at 95 degrees, so you may be able to actually feel their heat through the wall. The entire colony lives through the winter.

Bees and Wasps are Important:
Bees pollinate important food crops, and honeybees provide people with honey. Wasps, although we usually think only about their stings, are also beneficial. They kill large numbers of plant-feeding insects and nuisance flies and feed them to their young. In addition, both bees and wasps have important ecological functions. Because of bees’ and wasps’ many benefits, entomologists, like those at Washington State University, advise leaving them alone “unless their stings present a hazard.” It’s sound advice!

Nest Removal:
Never attempt to remove or destroy a honeybee hive, and remember that honeybees are beneficial insects and are not usually threatening. If you decide you must remove a hive, it is necessary to get professional help. Hives can contain a huge amount of honey and wax. Because bees keep their honey cool by fanning it with their wings, removing the bees means that the honeycomb can melt, attracting more bees and insect pests.

Prevention is the best:
• Eliminate potential nest sites (abandoned vehicles, empty containers, anything with a hole, old tires).
• Inspect trees, garages, sheds, and fences regularly.
• Fill all wall, chimney, and plumbing-related gaps that are larger than an eighth of an inch.
• Cover rain spouts, vents, etc., with eighth-inch hardware cloth."

Information from:

http://www.pesticide.org/BeesWasps.pdf
NORTHWEST COALITION FOR ALTERNATIVES TO PESTICIDES/NCAP


Honey Bees are Endangered: "The recent sharp decline in honey bee populations could have dire consequences for many food crops, according to an article in the current issue of The Sciences magazine:
http://www.monitor.net/monitor/9607a/beedecline.html



Eco-Friendly Pest Control: for more information about environmentally safe ways to control bees, wasps, and other insects:
http://www.pesticide.org/factsheets.html#alternatives



ABC Bee Control
http://www.abchoneyandbee.com

 

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