Yard holes
Close the hole before a swarm picks it.
African honey bees nest in more places than a managed European box. Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens is the UF/IFAS yard page. O'Malley, Ellis, and Neal. Bee-proofing is closing or screening the cavities a swarm would take. A closed meter, a screened downspout, a caulked siding gap. The job is cheaper than cutting a colony out of a wall. living with African bees is the neighbor page that points here. hive removal is who you hire if the nest is already live.
If bee activity is detected within or around a hole, do not seal off the opening as this would force the bees further into the wall and possibly into the structure. The colony must be removed first, and then the opening can be sealed.
Think like a swarm
Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens: a favored site is a small opening into a protected cavity. Water meters. Manholes. A hole in siding that opens a wall. Gutter downspouts. Pipes. Tree cavities. Look for those first. African honey bees also take eaves, hollow trees, abandoned cars, empty containers, fence posts, lumber piles, old tires, garages, sheds, chimneys, playground gear, and holes in power poles. Some of those you cannot close. Those you walk every week.
European stock in this paper mostly nests in cavities. African honey bees also build exposed nests. They send hundreds. European stock sends a dozen. Closing a wall void does not stop an exposed nest in a shrub. Walk the shrubs anyway. Bees on flowers are forage. Bees going in and out of a hole are a colony.
Screen, caulk, foam, then walk it
Screening is 1/8 inch hardware cloth or standard insect screen stapled over the hole. Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens prefers that for tree voids, vents, drains, downspouts, and plumbing, because air and water still pass. The cloth if you are covering a pipe or a tree void, not a hole bees already use.Get this.
Caulk is 100% silicone on cracks 1/8 inch or larger. Latex concrete crack filler is the cinderblock and concrete job. Exterior silicone if you are closing an empty gap.Get this. Expanding foam fills wall holes. Paint foam that sees weather so it does not crack. Wood filler or concrete patch is for voids where foam or caulk will not hold. Duct tape is named for water-meter lids and other small holes. Tape is a temporary lid, not a wall repair.
The paper's kit is silicone and latex caulk, a gun, screen, clippers, a staple gun, wood filler, concrete filler, a putty knife, duct tape, expanding foam, and a bucket to carry it. That is a yard walk, not a spray can.
March through July, every week
Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens: swarm season is March through July. Southern Florida can run later. Inspect weekly in those months. Look for bees entering or leaving a hole. Repair screens that rusted. Recaulk gaps that opened in the rain. You will not close every possible nest. Close the ones people walk past. A playground, a meter at the sidewalk, a downspout by the door.
A live nest in a wall is still hive removal for the hire, and live removal if a registered keeper is taking it live. Killing it is pest control. This page is the empty cavity before that call.
The bees are on the porterweed. Is that a nest?
No. Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens: bees visiting flowers are not a threat. Watch the hole, not the bloom.
Can I foam a hole bees already use?
No. Seal after removal. Closing a live entrance pushes the colony deeper into the wall.
Sources
- Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens. O'Malley, Ellis, and Neal. Screen, caulk, foam. Weekly March through July.
- Living with the African Honey Bee. Ellis and Bammer. The neighbor page that points at this one.
- Choosing the Right Pest Control Operator for Honey Bee Removal. Hire if the nest is already in the wall.