4 Worst Bee Removal Mistakes That Homeowners Make
Bees are a common problem for homeowners. They build their nests in inconvenient places, like inside your attic, inside your walls, beneath your porch, or inside the hollow tree in your backyard. Letting the bees stay where they are is obviously not an option, but getting rid of them is fraught with danger. Here are the four worst ways to deal with your bee problem.
Sealing the entrance to the nest
Bees' nests usually have only one entrance, and this entrance is fairly small. They spread resin against the outer walls of the nest to block any other entrances. Bees build their homes this way to make them easier to defend against predators. Sealing their only entrance with caulk is an easy project, but it's also a huge mistake.
If the bees can't get out, they'll eventually die, and they'll rot inside their nest. As you can probably imagine, the smell of thousands of rotting bees is not pleasant, and not something you want inside your house!
Spraying insecticide into the nest
Insecticide will kill any bees that come into direct contact with it, but make no mistake, this is still a dangerous idea. This is because it's hard for you to spray every bee. Spraying insecticide into their nest will kill the bees near the entrance, but the bees that are further away from the entrance will be unharmed, and none too pleased with you.
The surviving bees will fly out of their nest to defend their colony, and there will be a lot of them. The average honeybee colony contains several thousand bees, and some can have as many as 40,000. As few as 150 honeybee stings can cause kidney failure or even death, and a single sting can be enough if you're allergic.
Not wearing safety gear
Beekeepers and pest control operators don't approach a nest full of bees in a t-shirt and shorts, and neither should you. There is a lot of personal protective equipment that you need to wear if you're going to get close to bees.
- A bee sting suit that completely covers your arms, legs, and torso;
- A veil that covers your entire head and neck, and attaches with a zipper to your bee sting suit;
- Thick leather gloves that reach to your forearm and are taped to your bee sting suit;
- Rubber or leather boots that are taped to your bee sting suit.
Merely having all of this equipment isn't enough; you also need to know how to use it. If the equipment isn't worn properly, bees can get inside and you'll still get stung.
Not removing the honey and honeycombs
If you manage to avoid making the aforementioned mistakes, there is still one big mistake that you can make: not removing the honey and the honeycombs from the hive. The honey that they leave behind is your major concern. With the bees gone, there is no one to maintain their honeycombs, and the honeycombs will weaken. Eventually, the honey will run out of the nest, soaking everything in its path. This is hard to clean up, and will attract other pests to your home.
If the nest is outdoors, the honeycomb is still a concern. Each spring, honeybees fly around in swarms looking for places to set up new colonies, and if they discover the nest in your yard, still full of honeycomb, they'll move right in. This is basically a pre-furnished home for the bees, so it makes sense for them to move in.
There are many possible ways for bee removal to go wrong, and some of them can cost you your life. If you have a nest of bees in your house or yard, call a professional pest control company or find one online at a site like http://www.beeremovalnow.com.