So we have started getting onesy-twosy bees in the master bath. Couldn’t really find them, they just appeared. Well, today we found them. They are under a concrete tile at one corner of the house. Don’t seem to be aggressive. Our pest people are going to refer a bee keeper to us for removal. Hopefully they won’t have to remove roof tiles to get in there, but I suspect they will.
You need more than a beekeeper. You also need someone to figure out where the ingress to the house is located. It should be sealed. Even if bees congregate under a roof tile, the roof itself (the plywood, underlayment, and/or tar) should prevent ingress to the interior of the house.
For bees, they usually smoke them out and then you seal the opening before they come back.
Honey bees? With a hive?
I have a bee barn. Lots of small bees help pollinate your garden. My bee barn is full. They don’t sting and are harmless. Fun to watch!!
@1poorguy not all “bees” are alike. Are they European honey bees (Apis mellifera)? Or are they carpenter bees (Xylocopa)? Or are they wasps and not actually bees? (Bees evolved from wasps so many species look similar and some people call all striped flying insects “bees.”)
If they aren’t European honey bees they wouldn’t be of interest to a bee keeper.
Wendy
They seem to have taken up residence under a roof tile. Don’t know if they are honey bees, but probably. Need someone to remove them. I assume they remove the queen, and all the others come with her.
I agree they shouldn’t be able to get in. It’s only single-digit bees per day. Sometimes none at all. I agree we need to seal whatever opening they have found, no matter how tiny. The pest guy actually found the hive. I looked all around the house and couldn’t find it. It’s not visible from the outside, but he spotted where the bees were going.
So, the bee guy says that live removal isn’t an option. They’re in the structure. An external hive, OK. But not one in a structure. Apparently there is a gap between the soffit, roof deck, and tiles. I’m not going up (lot of angry bees), but so far he’s dragged down a LOT of honeycomb. He “gassed” them, and is still removing as I type. Not sure were all the live bees are coming from (i.e. “lots of angry bees”). Maybe they returned from foraging to find their home destroyed.
Gonna be expensive, too…
My parents retired in Bradenton, FL and occasionally various insect infestations would happen in the neighborhood. The solution was to put the entire house under a large plastic envelope. Certain chemicals were then pumped into the envelope & house killing the insects. My recollection of the specific insect(s) is fuzzy – but bees does not fit. I think the process was referred to as “tenting”.
He gave us about 30 lbs of honeycomb. The other 40 lbs he had to take away because it was directly “gassed”. (Weights are approximate.) Some of it still has larvae in cells. We have no centrifuge to extract the honey, but 1poorlady doesn’t seem too worried how to get at it.
Now they have to seal, patch, and otherwise repair the roof and soffit. Guy is supposed to show up either this afternoon, or worst case tomorrow.