Avoid recurring bee problems

Note: if you are trying to prevent a new bee infestation, visit Prevent a bee problem.


The info below is to help with preventing recurring, ongoing bee problems.


How to Avoid Recurring Bee problems

Recurring bee problems can be very frustrating and expensive. You can avoid recurring bee problems. Keeping bees away typically requires a small amount of knowledge.


Nest Locations

Problem areas for keeping bees from returning include:


Bee nest in ground

These are commonly yellowjackets, also called meat bees, or sweet bees.


Exposed nest under eave:

These are typically wasps & hornets building nests along the outside of eaves. Solution: after hive is removed or in wintertime, sweep the eave then apply a fresh coat of paint to suppress smell of previous nests as they commonly return to their nesting location the following season.


Honeybees may also build exposed hives under the eave. Sometimes the hive is also inside the structure. Honeybees do not build satellite sub nests, like termites and some ants do.


Inside Attic, Wall Chimney:

Keeping honeybees from returning commonly requires bee proofing after the nest is removed -- See next heading. Best success is if the bee guy who removes the bees also repairs and warrentees the area.


Recurring honeybee hives

With honeybees removing the honeycomb is critical, otherwise bees can return regularly. If you have a house of building that has had beehives exterminated or extracted were the honeycomb was left in the structure, finding the correct solution is a small balancing act. It is important to remove the honeycomb of existing or future hives.


Consider removing previously exhausted hives based on your financial budget and defiantly consider bee proofing areas of the structure that face or partially face the direction of the sunrise. Bees prefer to build hives were the sun can warm the hive in the morning.


Honeybee hives live year round. Critters that are not active year round include wasps, hornets, yellow jackets or meat bees, bumblebees & carpenter bees. Those critters start in spring time as single individual queens. They commonly return to same places as the previous year.


Structural Bee Proofing

The most costly problem people experience is with keeping bees from returning in a house or building. With any types of bees, the solution involves bee proofing exclusion: sealing gaps & cracks, any openings bees can get in. With vents, sometimes this may involve using a slightly smaller screen (not window screen). Trapping bees inside of the structure can create additional problems, as well not removing the honeycomb may cause recurring bees, insects, rodents & critters, as well as structural staining.


Wasps & hornets

With wasps & hornets, removing the nest is less critical then with honeybees, as wasps & hornets dont store large amounts of honey within the hive. Also unlike Honeybees, wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, carpenter bees, and bumble bees individually abandon the nest towards winter time, overwintering /sleeping, to return to a nearby location the following spring. The bee id chart and the wasp chart can help with bee & wasp identification.


Still removing the nest can help with ongoing problems. During winter or early spring, painting the area were they nest (if that is an option) is very helpful to discourage the wasp, or hornets from rebuilding the coming season.