The Dangers Of A Bee Infestation In Your Home
You do not want bees in or anywhere near your home.
A bee infestation in your home can be a severe problem, and if you find a hive in or near your home, you should not try to get rid of it by yourself. Removing a beehive can be dangerous even for professionals with the right kind of equipment.
Bees aren’t like most other insects, and they can cause a lot more problems than just eating your food or damaging parts of your house.
Take a look at these six dangerous reasons why you should address bee infestations right away and call a professional exterminator.
Bees Aren’t Like Other Insects.
Though you might enjoy seeing the occasional honey bee buzzing around the flowers outside, a hive of bees is very dangerous. If you find a pack near your house, especially if you have young children, you should call an exterminator right away.
Bees Are Smart
Bees are some of the most intelligent insects out there. They know how to count, and they even have their language. This language may look like a dance to us, but the bees use the movements to communicate and tell each other where the nearest food source is.
A few tests at the Queen Mary University of London proved that bees even have problem-solving skills that were previously unfound in any other insect.
Of all the house pests, these are not the ones you want living in the same home as your family.
Bees Are Dangerous
Every bee in a hive has these problem-solving skills, and there are over 35,000 bees in a single hive at one time.
(If you notice a bee infestation in your home during colder months, there will be significantly fewer bees, but most bee infestations occur during the warm months of summer.)
That’s over 35,000 very organized, very clever bees living in your house. And they can be highly aggressive. If you get too close to their hive, they will defend it. This will probably result in a giant swarm of bees attacking you.
Bees Are Venomous
Bees may not spread diseases like other household pests, but they are equipped with venomous stingers.
When a bee stings you, they release Apitoxin into your system, making the sting turn red, get itchy, and swell up. However, the amount of Apitoxin they release isn’t enough to do any real damage, and most people can withstand about 10 bee stings for every pound of their body weight.
So a single bee sting isn’t severe. However, bee stings are a common allergen, and they can be life-threatening to someone allergic to them. The sting can cause an allergic reaction and sometimes even death.
A bee infestation needs to be removed right away. Overlooking the problem is not worth the risk.
But Bees Cause Other Problems Too
Bees don’t just threaten your health and safety. They can also damage your house. Even if you kill all the bees inside, the hive will still cause problems.
Beehive Attract Other Pests
Even if all the bees are gone, beehives will continue to attract other insects and animals.
Other bees who find the hive may decide it’s an excellent place to live and recolonize it. Ants scouting for food will enjoy the sweet honey inside, and you could end up with an ant infestation on your hands.
Even animals like rats will find and feed on the hive. So by simply killing the bees and leaving the hive, you can end up with multiple other pests in your home.
Decaying Hives Stink
If you get lucky and no other pests find their way to the beehive, it will start to decay, which doesn’t smell good.
The stink can fill your entire house, and you’ll be forced to remove the beehive anyway. But now, you’ll have to work on removing the smell as well, something that adds another avoidable step to the process.
Beehives Can Leak
Most bee infestations happen during the warm summer months. This is because the beehive inside is only kept cool from the outside heat by the fanning of all the bees inside. Take those bees away, and the hive will overheat.
This means the hive will melt and leak honey and wax everywhere. It will drip down your walls and make a sticky, goopy mess over everything it touches.
So How Do I Get Rid of the Bees?
We’ve already said this, but we can’t stress it enough. Don’t try to fix the problem on your own. You do not have the same equipment that a professional pest control company has.
Killing the bees when you see them is only a temporary solution. After all, queens can lay nearly 2,000 eggs a day.
But Here’s What You Can Do
Try to distinguish what kind of bee infestation you have. The best way to do this is to examine bees who are on their own away from the hive. You should not approach the pack to figure out what kind of bee lives inside.
It is better to stay safe and tell the exterminator you aren’t sure what kind of bee infestation you have. Then, the exterminator will be able to figure it out on his own if he needs to.
Call an Exterminator
Always call in a professional to deal with bee infestations. They will be able to kill the bees safely and remove every piece of the hive.
If You Have a Bee Infestation, Stay More Careful than You Need
Bees are more aggressive than other insects, and they will protect their home against intruders, even if that home is your home.
When you are dealing with any bee infestation, make sure you remove not only the bees but also the entire hive. Otherwise, the bees may come right back.
Think you might have a bee problem in your home? Let us know, and we’ll get you the help you need.