Identifying Types of Bees
A professional pest control company can perform a free inspection to assess the type of bees you’re dealing with. But if you’re curious, there are several ways to tell the different major types of bees apart, including their appearance and where they build their hives.
It’s important to note that pest control companies will do everything they can to avoid harming beneficial pollinators like bumblebees and honey bees. These species have seen large declines, which has jeopardized our ecosystem. Luckily, some species are now protected. Many states have put protections in place, specifically banning the use of federally banned pesticides. However, it isn’t necessarily illegal to kill bees.
While you may consider bees a nuisance, remember that they can help your garden flourish and pollinate crops all over the world. It’s understandable to have concerns if you are allergic to bee stings. But otherwise, it’s best to leave them alone unless they’re carpenter bees. This type of bee, also called the “wood bee” drills holes into wood to make its nest, causing structural damage over time.
Bumblebees
Bumblebees are fuzzy and large with black and white stripes and stubby wings, and they grow to just a little over one inch in length. They typically build their nests close to the ground, like under piles of wood and compost piles. Sometimes they’ll even build nests below ground in tunnels rodents have created and abandoned. Most bumble bee hives typically have several hundred individual bees.
The males do not have stingers, while females do. However, they only sting if they are provoked. Unlike honey bees, whose stingers come off after an attack, bumblebees can sting multiple times and do not lose their stinger.
Honey bees
Honey bees are much smaller than bumblebees, at just about ½-⅝ of an inch. They build their nests in areas like hollowed-out logs and trees, and sometimes fence posts. Honey bee colonies are much larger than bumblebee colonies—there can be anywhere from 10,000 to 80,000 in one hive.
Honey bees can sting when threatened. When they sting a person, their barbed stinger gets trapped under the skin. The honey bee cannot pull it back out and dies shortly after.
Carpenter bees
Carpenter bees look a lot like bumblebees, although they are not hairy, and have a shiny black abdomen. These bees live in parks and fields, along with homes that have gardens and sheds. Unlike bumblebees and honey bees, carpenter bees drill holes inside of wood to create a series of “galleries” where they lay their eggs. They are not social creatures and do not live in colonies.
Only female carpenter bees can sting, and only tend to do so when threatened or provoked.
How To Remove Bumble Bees and Honey Bees
If you call a pest control company and they identify bumblebees and honey bees, they will not exterminate them. Instead, they will contact or have you contact, local beekeepers. Using a bait trap, the beekeepers will coax the bee colony out of the hive and into a box hive. From there, the beekeepers can relocate these harmless bees.
You should not try to do this on your own. Without the proper knowledge, experience, and tools, you can upset the hive and provoke them into stinging you.
How Bee Exterminators Work
It’s unlikely carpenter bees will sting you, but they can cause a great deal of damage to your wooden surfaces. In addition to drilling holes, carpenter bees will leave pollen near the entry hole, leaving stains.
In order to carpenter bees, you’ll have to call a pest control company. After performing a free home inspection, they’ll determine the best course of action.
One option is to remediate the structure the carpenter bees are going into. This can be done by replacing materials from wood with something the bees can’t drill into, or painting and staining the wood carpenter bees typically stay away from treated wood.
A common method for pest control companies is either dusting or spraying chemicals into the holes in your wood or the access points. Injecting the treatment will eradicate the bees over time. Keep in mind that this won’t be immediate. The treatment can kill adult bees, but may not harm any eggs that have already been laid if the treatment isn’t residual. The larvae will continue to grow, and eventually hatch. Your pest control company will likely have to return to treat and monitor over the course of several seasons.
Different companies have different plans for eliminating carpenter bees. Some offer control and prevention on a monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly basis, while others will include bee control as part of a comprehensive annual program. The specific company can advise the schedule after performing the free inspection.
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