Seeing bees on your plants and flowers outside can be a welcome sight as they are beneficial, and essential to pollinate your garden. Stumbling upon a beehive can be dangerous though. Bees are protective of their hives and depending on the species, some are more aggressive than others. They will attack in large numbers if their hives are threatened. 

If you find a hive on your property and it’s in a high traffic area where the bee activity poses a threat then removal might be the best option. Here are 3 steps to take.

1. Identify the bees if possible. Removal of a hive or extermination of the entire nest are your two options (unless it’s in an area where it won’t be disturbed and can be left alone). Deciding on which route to take will depend on what type of bee or wasp is residing there. If it’s a honey bee colony it may be best to have an expert come out and humanely relocate them. If it’s a wasp nest or other type of bee hive and they’re in an area where they can’t be safely contained then exterminating the hive might be the only option. Identifying them safely can be tricky but if you can take a video or snap a picture you will be able to determine if it’s a honey bee. 
2. DIY removal. As with any pest control, doing it yourself can be risky and ineffective. Bees especially can be difficult to eradicate on your own. They are protective and their hives are usually not located in the most convenient places for removal. Their hives can be in a wall, high up in a tree or on a high peak of your roof. If a small nest or hive is found and it’s posing an immediate threat to pets or children you can spray it with a can of wasp spray, but remember if it’s a highly aggressive species or a large colony you’ll likely be attacked, and it could result in a swarm of very upset bees chasing you. 
3. Call a professional. This is the recommended approach for everyone’s safety. A professional possesses the equipment and know-how to not only remove the hive, but to do so without incident. Pest control performed correctly by professionals is safer and more efficient and less harmful to the environment. This is especially true with bees. Special clothing and containment is essential for safe and proper hive removal. 

Since honey bees are one of the great pollinators, and with 90% of wild plants and 75% of leading global crops depending on animal pollination, it is important to not just destroy hives without consideration. At Spence’s Pest Control we realize the importance of bees to the environment. Our bee relocation services are available so you’ll have the peace of mind knowing the bees and hive are gone but also not harmed. Give us a call (804) 276-6703.