Some bugs you kill. Some bugs you chase away. And then there are bees. Unless you have a bee allergy, a few bees here and there are no cause for alarm. Bees plays an important role in our ecosystem, serving as plant pollinators, honey producers, and natural enemies of other insects. Bees only become a problem when they decide to move in permanently. Whether they build a hive or find their way inside the walls of your home, a colony of bees must be dealt with professionally. A single colony may contain 10,000-20,000 or more bees, depending on the type. That’s more than enough to cause significant property damage and pose a serious risk to people and pets, even if no one in the household has bee allergies. Using a professional for bee removal is always recommended.

Bees Can Cause Damage to Your Home

Bee damage to homes can happen several different ways: Bees can cause structural damage to a house as they build and expand their colony within the structure of a home, often underneath the eaves or inside the walls. They can also chew through drywall in search of a way out. When a bee hive melts, the sticky remnants can attract other insects that will cause even more structural damage. And the longer you wait to have the bees removed, the more damage is done – and the more repair work is necessary. This includes cutting out large sections of wall, removing the bees and the hive, cleaning out dead bees and honey, then repairing, sealing, and repainting the wall.

Bee Colony Cleanup

After a bee colony is removed, the damaged area must also be thoroughly cleansed to remove the surprisingly strong odors created by bee colonies. This is a must if you want to prevent bees from returning in the future. Similar damage can occur to detached sheds, pergolas and built-in barbeque structures. There’s the potential for a bee colony anywhere there is shelter, even in unexpected places like between the cinderblocks of a wall or under the hood of a car that’s not driven very often. Try to imagine the actual (and emotional) damage resulting from a melted bee hive on the engine of a restored ’57 Chevy. Unlike most other pests, where the goal is to simply exterminate the bugs, bee hives should be professionally relocated. There are four main reasons for this:

Agricultural Benefit of Arizona Bees

Different species of bees have different jobs, ranging from honey and wax production to pest control to plant pollination. Bees’ impact on our agriculture cannot be fully appreciated until you realize that an estimated two-thirds of the bee colonies in the United States spend their lives pollinating crops and producing honey and beeswax.* In fact, 35% of our crops depend on bee pollination to exist.

Difficulty

Despite the thousands of DIY articles and videos instructing you how to “safely remove bees” from your property, it’s not an easy task. Removing 20,000 bees in a manner that harms neither the bees nor you requires special equipment, clothing, and expertise, not to mention transportation, containers, and knowledge of a proper destination. It’s a complex process best left to the professionals.

Danger

Two dangers exist in the bee removal process – the danger of falling and the danger of dealing with 20,000 angry bees. You don’t want to be perched atop a 10-foot ladder when a bee gets inside your homemade safety suit and starts stinging. If the bees don’t get you, gravity will. And bees can go into defensive mode if their hive is disturbed, attacking you, your pets, or anyone unlucky enough to be standing in the vicinity. Even if you managed to remove the hive without incident, you now have to take them on a car ride to their new home. The last place you want to be is in an enclosed vehicle at highway speed with an angry bee colony in the back seat.

Legal Protection

Some states have made bees a protected species. While the levels of protection vary by state, a home owner may be setting himself/herself up for serious consequences – including fines or even jail time – if improper steps are taken in the removal or extermination of bees. The toxicity of pesticides, geographic location, and proper methods of pest control all fall under the scrutiny of state law. Approaching bee removal incorrectly may create legal jeopardy for homeowners. A bee problem is a unique problem and is best remedied with a professional solution. For immediate help with bee removal throughout the Valley, contact the professionals at Bug Guardian. *passthehoney.com, 2019