How To Get Rid Of Bee Nest?

Allergies

It is necessary to remove a bee hive when you, a family member, or a guest who regularly visits you is allergic to bees. Common bee venom allergic reactions include sharp-burning pain, slight swelling, and itching at the sting site, while severe allergic reactions or anaphylaxis can cause breathing difficulties, swollen throat or tongue, nausea, or even loss of consciousness. 

As such, all allergic people should maintain a safe distance from the hive or remove it. Once the hive has been removed, the bees will continue flying in the area for an entire day. It may take an additional day or so for the area to be completely safe.

Inconvenient Location

Sometimes, bees build their nests in an inconvenient location that necessitates nest removal. Nests close to entry points in your home may make their way inside or attack people entering and leaving the house since they feel threatened by noise. This inconvenient location makes it difficult to leave the nest alone.

Therefore, the further a nest is, the further bees are, the less likely they are to sting, and the less likely you will accidentally be a threat. Do consider the location before you remove it. You want to ensure the bees are not an inconvenience anymore. 

Structural Damage

The risk of stings aside, another good reason to remove a hive is structural damage caused by bees. Some bees build hives inside the wall or ceiling of a home, which can grow to a massive size. They will chew plasterboard, creating bigger holes, and eventually make their way inside the house. 

These holes can cause severe structural damage, increasing the extermination price and lowering the property value. Hives also build up in and around internal wires and pipes. The location of these hives can be a potential shorting or fire risk when these need to be cleaned and repaired.

Increase in Bee Nests

Although it is best to leave a bee nest alone if you are not allergic or it is not in your way, ignoring it may sometimes exacerbate the problem. Every year, the hive appoints a new queen to maintain its natural reproduction mechanism. The old queen leaves with half the population. 

They don’t venture far out to look for the right cavity to set up a new hive. They often set up their new colonies in a different part of your home. And, to make matters worse, the new hives will multiply, and the new swarms will move into another part of the house to start another hive.

Risks of Sting

As long as bees are nearby, you and your family will always be at risk of stings because leaving them alone is not enough to protect you. The beehive is disturbed by loud sounds and vibrations by mowers and vehicles. These disturbances can result in multitudes of bees attacking to defend their hive.

Additionally, bees are confused by artificial scents such as perfume, cologne, aftershave, or scented deodorant. They think these scents are flowers and will fly into any person wearing such scents, only to realize they are wrong and sting the person in the process. If this happens often, it is best to remove the hive. 

Feral Bees

If you are a beekeeper, you should consider removing the nests of feral bees. These bees live outside beekeeping systems and are not managed or monitored for diseases. They may suffer from American Foulbrood, a highly infectious bacterial disease that can spread rapidly from hive to hive. 

American Foulbrood can devastate hives and cause massive damage to the beekeeping industry. This disease does not affect us, but the consequences do. With fewer bees, the pollination of plants that result in fruits, grains, and vegetables may be affected. Crop yields and quality would drastically decline, leading to food shortages.

Before you get rid of the bee nest, you need to chase away the bees inside the nest. For that, you can use the methods below:

1. Use Bee Nest Spray

Spraying bees using the right products is another long-lasting solution to bee infestations in your home. Be mindful when using sprays, as some can kill the bees, which you should avoid.  Most sprays do well when applied at night and come with instructions on the label.

Therefore, wait until after dark to remove the nests. Use a red light because bees cannot see this color, but you can see them. The light allows you to spray them more effectively. A good bee spray will drive them out within hours. Repeat the process until your home is free of bees. 

2. Vinegar

Vinegar is a brilliant bee repellent. Its foul smell can help chase away the bees from your home without killing them. It will also prevent the bees from setting up new hives around your home. You can use vinegar as a bee repellant in two ways:

Fill several water cans with several drops of vinegar in each of them. Place the water cans strategically near the bee nest. Or, mix an equal amount of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Then, spray the nest while wearing protective clothing as you approach it. Note that the spray makes it hard for bees to fly and, at times, may kill them.

3. Remove the  Nest with Bee Powder

Applying bee powder at the entrance of a bee nest can also help eliminate undesirable bees from your home. The powder works in the same way as the sprays, meaning some powders can kill bees, so ensure you are using non-toxic ones. If you are unsure of which powder to use. Seek help from a bee control service to determine the best one to apply. 

Before using the powder, wear gloves to avoid contaminating your hands. Cover the exposed parts of your body with appropriate clothing to prevent bee stings. Wear a helmet as well to prevent accidental stings on your face. 

4. Design A Bee Trap

Commercial bee traps are designed to trap unwanted bees, and their designs can be duplicated using easy-to-find items in one's home. The traps should have a narrow entryway into a broad chamber. Add a sweet solution or syrup to lure the bees inside the trap. You can use natural sugar, artificial nectar, or maple syrup mixed with water.

Bees will locate the treat, enter through the opening, and get trapped since they cannot escape from the container. You can use a two-liter bottle for this.  If the bottle is full, put the cap on and transport it to a desirable location to free the bees.

5. Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a viable bee-removal spice. It helps chase away the bees naturally without the need for extermination. The cinnamon stench is unbearable for bees. Hence, when cinnamon fills their nest, they will abandon it and look for another place to stay.

You can chase them away by sprinkling them on or near the hive. Wear protective gear before sprinkling the cinnamon because some bees will attack you if you are in the way of their escape. It may take a few days for all the bees to move from home completely.

6. Garlic Spray

The premise for using garlic is the same as cinnamon. Garlic gives off quite an acrid and pungent smell which bees cannot tolerate. So if you have this spice in your kitchen you can use it to repel bees.

To create a repellant, put two heads of minced or crushed garlic in half a cup of boiled water. Leave it for the night to worsen the pungent smell, and strain the mixture into a spray bottle the next day. Spray the mixture on flowering plants to alter bees’ food sources. You can also spray directly on the hive while wearing protective clothing.

Once you don't see any bees flying in or out of the hive, you should physically remove the nest. Removing the beehive prevents other bees from moving in. Here is a step-by-step:

Step 1: Physically Remove the Nest

The location and accessibility of the nest will determine how easy or difficult it will be to remove it. You can gently cut or pry it loose to keep the hive intact so it can be relocated safely if the bee nest hangs visibly on a tree limb or underneath a carport. 

However, when the hive extends deep into a hollow tree and inside walls, ceilings, or other hard-to-reach places, you may have to resort to significant demolition. This demolition can involve removing wood, drywall, or siding sections, requiring tools like saws and drills. Given the complexity and potential risks involved, it may be wise to contact a professional. 

Step 2: Dispose of the Nest

If you do not want bees near your house and have no plans to relocate the nest, you can discard it in a contractor-grade or two thick trash bags. These bags can handle the weight and potential roughness of the nest, preventing it from breaking apart or leaking.

Place the nest inside the bag and secure it so other bees are uninterested in moving in. The security will also prevent the remaining bees from escaping. If the nest is too big, you can break it apart. Do not bother collecting the honey for consumption. They may be contaminated from when you were chasing the bees away.  

Step 3: Scrub Away Nest Remnants

It is crucial to clean the area after removing the beehive. Beehives contain bacteria that decompose the remaining nest structure and dead bee bodies and release a stench. For best results, scrub the area with soap and water. Remove as much of the hive and the honey. If not, the leftover honey and dead bees may attract other bees, wax moths, or ants.

Leave no part of a hive inside the structure of your home. You may use wax to block the nest entrance, but eventually, it will rot, causing stench and trouble. Also, the wax may melt and damage your home wiring and structure.

Step 4: Seal Off the Area

Future swarms of bees may build nests in the same spot if there are openings. These insects can find and enter cracks, holes, or gaps in the walls, ceilings, or surrounding structures and build their nests. To prevent that from happening, use caulk or weatherstripping to block potential access for new swarms

If the nest was in a tree trunk, use expanding spray foam or concrete to seal off the entry. If the nest was against your home, garage, or other structure, patch up any larger structural openings and repair the damage. 

Step 5: Call Bee Experts

The best thing to do, however, is to call bee experts. They have bee management experience to provide long-term solutions. They use safe removal techniques that do not harm the bees. With their experience and knowledge, they move the bees from your residence and help them find a new dwelling. 

They remove the honeycomb and transfer it to another hive at a different location without disturbing the queen bee. The worker bees naturally follow suit. A significant advantage of hiring professionals is their use of approved methods and products to safely and effectively remove unwanted bees from your property. 

Now that you know what to do, here are some things you should not do. After all, removing bee nests from a structure requires extensive knowledge. 

Smoking Bees Out 

Beekeepers often use smoke while working with their hives, and homeowners copy this. However, if you smoke bees inside your house, it usually drives them further into the house. This is because the bees do not have an open space they can fly off to.

Attempting to smoke the bees out of your dwelling can also be dangerous. Inexperience or lack of training might cause a mishap, resulting in you setting your house ablaze. Outdoors, the shrub below the bee nest may end up burning. 

Seal the Nest’s Entry Point

Sealing the entrance keeps the bees from coming and going freely. You may not see bees outside the nest and think the nest is safe. However, with plenty of food and air inside the nest, some bees may live inside and survive for a long time. 

When their resources run out, these bees will find ways to escape. Sometimes, they may escape inside your home. They may become your housemates for months if they cannot enter their nest again.

Leave the Nest Alone

According to experienced beekeepers, bees can cause more harm than good if left alone. The chances of getting stung also loom over your head. Additionally, the nest may be more onerous to remove as it gets older and larger. 

Furthermore, the colony of bees will likely swarm in the spring because half the hive leaves and moves to a new location. You risk having them move into a second spot in your home or your neighbor's home.