Bees and wasps are two of the insects most
beneficial to human beings. Normally bees produce honey and wax and serve as
imperative pollinators. However, wasps attack and destroy numerously kinds of
harmful insects including flies and caterpillars. Despite their value, several
kinds of bees and wasps are unwelcoming in and around buildings because of
their ability to sting and their tendency to defend their nests.
Wasps are rather like bees in appearance and honey
bees are often blamed for the misdeeds of some of the social wasps such as
hornets and yellow jackets. Wasps can sting repeatedly while the honey bee
stings only once and leaves a stinger at the site of the sting.
Although, both wasps, and bees can be readily
controlled with insecticides. Honey bees present more serious removal problems
because of the larger size of their colonies and their tendency to nest within
the walls of buildings.
Honey bee swarms
In the spring and early summer season, honey bee
colonies mostly divide by swarming. Half or more of the worker bees leave their
home to begin a new colony, usually with their old queen. They cluster
temporarily on some object such as a tree branch for a period of a few hours to
several days and then enter a new home such as a hollow tree or the wall of a
building.
Swarms are not usually, a problem unless they land
in an inconvenient spot or if they are molested. They are best left alone until
they leave. Otherwise, contact the local police department or other agencies
for the names of beekeepers willing to collect swarms. Thus, the little value
of the bees themselves and other difficulties of collecting swarms have forced
numerous beekeepers to charge for the service.
An alternative is to have the bees killed by a
pest-control operator who will also charge for doing the job. If one person
agrees to come for the bees, do not contact other people about doing the same
job.
Honey bees in buildings
When a swarm enters a building, it begins to build
combs of wax in which to rear young bees and store honey. Only at this time,
when the bees first enter, can they be killed without having to open the wall
and remove large quantities of dead bees, wax, and honey. If the colony has
been in place for a month, it must be removed after it is killed, to prevent
problems from the odors of decaying bees. However, the other insect pests
penetrating the wall, and they released within the wall as combs melt or are demolished
by other insects or mice.
Moreover, the insecticides are the safest and most
suitable materials for killing bees in buildings. Do not use fumigants or other
poisonous or flammable compounds. Carbaryl (Sevin), chlordane, lindane, and
malathion are most suitable. All of them are toxic to humans and must he have
used with care according to the directions on the container label.
Before applying an insecticide, you must know the
location of the colony in the wall, especially in relation to the flight entrance.
In many cases, the colony’s nest is far enough away from the entrance that
insecticides applied at the entrance will not reach the bees.
The Honey bees’ nest should be sited by tapping on
the wall at night and carefully listening for the area of loudest buzzing
sounds. The bees keep the nest center at about 95° F., a temperature high
enough to warm the wall beside it so that you may be able to feel as well as
hear the nest location.
Either dust or spray formulations can be used
within walls or other cavities but dusts generally disperse better within them.
Apply the insecticide at night through the entrance hole if the colony is close
to it in the wall. Or else, drill a hole in the wall above the colony and put
on the dust or spray through it. After that, you need to seal the hole and all
other holes through which bees might penetrate or leave the wall.
Therefore, if there is a very large colony may need
additional treatment after about 10 to 12 days to kill emerging young bees.
After all sound and flight activity has ceased, or at least within 2 weeks,
open the wall and remove all dead bees, combs, and honey. These must be burned
or buried because they are attractive to other bees and are toxic to both bees
and people.
Do not expose the honey and wax where other bees
can reach it, or you may damage valuable honey bee colonies nearby. The
location within the wall will be attractive to other swarms unless it is sealed
tightly to keep them out. An additional application of lindane or chlordane
spray will also help to prevent the entry of another swarm.
There is an element of risk, or at least
uncertainty, in dealing with bees, and you may prefer the job done either by a
competent pest control operator or an experienced beekeeper. No matter who does
the job, it may pose problems and considerable expense, at least in man¬ hours
of labor. Systems of trapping the bees or removing them alive from the wall
usually are not satisfactory and are not recommended.
When bees or wasps enter a room or an automobile,
they rarely sting and usually fly to a window. Moreover, in a room they can be
killed with an aerosol spray encompassing one of the insecticides. If a bee
enters your vehicle, be calm, stop the car, and open the windows to let it out.
A bee or wasp on the windshield or rear window may have to be “herded” out with
a map or newspaper or crushed quickly with a handkerchief or wad of paper.
Other bees
Bumblebees are sporadically a problem when they
nest in and around buildings or near walks. Naturally, they like to build a
nest in old mattresses, car cushions, and other places such as mouse nests. The
colonies may vary widely in disposition and size, with rarely more than a few
hundred bees. They can be killed by insecticide dust or spray applied to the
nest at night. Thus, you must use the same compounds suggested for use on honey
bees.
The carpenter bees are big metallic colored bees
alike in size and overall appearance to bumblebees. They are solitary bees that
hardly sting, but often scare people when they boreholes and nest in redwood or
other softwoods around a home. They can be killed by injecting insecticide
dust, spray, or aerosol into their individual nest holes. Use the materials
suggested for honey bees.
Wasps
Hornets, yellow jackets and paper wasps are social
wasps that build gray-colored paper nests in the open or underground. Normally
they frequently sting humans who approach the nests located under eaves, in the
shrubbery, or in underground cavities close to buildings or walks. The solitary
wasps, even the very large cicada-killer wasp that nests in the ground, rarely
sting unless they are handled or get caught in your clothing. They have no
instinct to protect their nests as the social species do.
Nests above ground should be sprayed at night with chlordane or
lindane. Mix the spray from emulsifiable concentrate or wettable powder.
Aerosol spray cans are not suitable for this purpose. Underground nests can be
treated by spraying or dusting the same materials into the entrance at night.
Also, cover the entrance with a shovelful of moist soil after treatment.
Precautions
The insecticides may be injurious to man and other animals if
used improperly. Use them only when needed, and handle and store them with
care. Bees and wasps are highly beneficial insects. Kill only those that may be
a hazard to people around your home, farm, or place of business.
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