Respect Bees And Their Hives

Looking out on your garden, the bees sipping from your flowers may seem like welcome visitors. The problem is, they have moved in. Either they've built their home right over your front door or maybe the side deck. Either way, these insects have placed themselves and their stingers in the path of you, your family, friends and pets. It's a risk to leave them them alone and an even bigger risk to attempt to remove them yourself.

Bees form their nests in layers, usually growing to about 45 liters in volume. They have a single entrance for a colony that can number in the thousands with, of course, just one queen bee. Usually nests are from three feet to sixteen feet above ground. Hornets, a bee cousin, are capable of stinging multiple times. Even worse, they release a hormone that alerts their kin to come to the rescue. For this reason, killing just one can actually trigger an attack by the hive. They also form colonies with just one opening, however, this process is often done more slowly and the size of their colony is around 50 to 400, smaller than the average bee hive.

Yellow jackets, also cousins to the bee, are actually small wasps and have much in common with hornets. Yellow jackets can deliver multiple stings and are very aggressive in defending their territory. At their peak, hives can number up to 5,000 insects. The wasp, much like the yellow jacket and hornet, will defend its home aggressively. One species, the common wasp, may have 5,000 to 10,000 insects in a mature nest.

To many, hive removal means a swipe at a nest with a broom, but this may result in dozens of stings. Multiple stings can cause your body to go into shock. It isn't worth the risk of the horrible discomfort of the stings much less the risk of your body becoming permanently allergic to bee stings. Even worse, many stinging insects form their hives in hard to reach places such as chimneys, voids in the walls, attics, rafters and garages. Indoor bee removal danger is increased ten times compared to an outdoor nest. Furthermore, non-professional hive removal opens the possibility that leftover bees will just re-form the hive. Likewise, any leftover honey or other residue will attract ants, roaches and other insects.

If you hire a professional bee removal company, hive removal can be done carefully and safely. It can be done without pesticides because the professional bee removal personnel know how to handle live swarms and living hives. Professionals remove all bee-created residues and destroy all remaining larvae, eggs and adult insects.

Remember one sting is a painful nuisance, but multiple stings can put a person in the emergency room and even prove fatal. Multiple stings can result in a lifetime allergy to bee stings, putting a person at risk over and over. If bees are threatening your home, it is definitely worth it to hire a professional bee removal service.