Bees in wall - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

ChainsawCharlie · 06-10-2009, 08:02 PM

Came home one day last week to find bees flying in and out through a gap at a has bib in the wall. not many. I shot some malathion in there, and it seemed to chase them all away within an hour.

Came home yesterday, to find the bees had returned. Different location this time. I have an outdoor shower and they were going in and out behind the handle/valve to turn the shower on. The cover on the wall behind the handle was loose.

There were a LOT MORE bees this time. I could go inside, put my ear to wall, and the level of activity I heard was insane. Tried the malathion thing again. Little effect, till I got my big sprayer and a flex wand. Stuck it in the hole, shot about a pint.

Bees by hundreds came pouring out. It was crazy.

So....Can I/do I need to do something to stop them from returning to yet another location?

And should I open the wall to see what they did in there? They had 36-48 hours to build whatever empire they may have been working on.

I just moved into this house a couple months ago. it sat empty for ten years, and I'm in the process of remodeling. Unfortunately, the wall they were in-I just finishe new drywall and paint. If I do have to open the wall, I'm thinking pulling the siding (t-111) from the outside may be easier.

In the meantime, I'll be sealing whatever gaps I can find now as opposed to later after I finish the interior.

ChainsawCharlie · 06-10-2009, 08:08 PM

And for the record, as a landscaper I love bees. I would love to have them hang around. Just not in my walls.

Budget for pro bee removal is out of the question though, and none of the beekeepers here interested in a free swarm, or exchange of services.

**Teetorbilt** · 06-10-2009, 08:16 PM

Sounds like you have a new swarm. As long as the queen is alive and giving off phermones the workers will die by the thousands to get to/protect her.

I'd try a small tent made with visqueen/duct tape. Encapuslate the area and set off a smoke fogger inside, the ones for fleas should kill anything. Black Flag, purple box, cannisters that you drop into a little cup of water.

ChainsawCharlie · 06-10-2009, 08:38 PM

I think they are gone now. I'd prefer not to kill if I can avoid it.

My biggest concern is what they left behind and should I open the wall? I've been in houses with decaying honeycombs in the wall. Did NOT smell good.

I think it's just that time over here. I had a swarm fly over me on a job I was on earlier today. Pretty awesome sight.

**Teetorbilt** · 06-10-2009, 09:13 PM

My next reply was going to be to get someone to relocate them. Here we are having some major problems with bees and are trying to keep the population up. Not to mention the influx of the Africanized bees.

I doubt that they could set up much housekeeping given the timeframe. A sheet of T-1 is pretty cheap, maybe you should get in there and take a look.

ChainsawCharlie · 06-10-2009, 11:00 PM

We don't have the verroa mite here on this island-yet. I heard the africanized bees were on Oahu or the Big Island. I guess cracking the wall will be the weekend project. I can check all the plumbing out again too, it's all coming in where they were.

Funny thing is, I planned on bringing bees in for my gardens and fruit trees. If they would have just showed yp two weeks later...I would have been ready to deal with them.

If they come back, I'll try the foggers-but I'll leave them an escape route.

**Teetorbilt** · 06-10-2009, 11:39 PM

Charlie, my personal experience with bees is with the ones that manage their way into the truck. They die!

Much of my info comes from a longtime friend who was a beekeeper in the Orlando area until MouseWorld swallowed it. I've also spent some time with this guy http://www.alpinefarms-bees.com/?gcl...FZpM5QodampTdA whos creds are impeccable.

The last time that I talked to him he said that the Africanized bees were way overblown and that he'd had 3 confirmed cases in 10 YRS. Our own honeybees CAN get wicked when provoked and mistaken for or accused of being Africanized.

ChainsawCharlie · 06-11-2009, 01:48 AM

Nice site. Some cool pics in the gallery. These bees were pretty mellow. I had to be right in the middle of them as I pulled the shower knob and plate behind it off...no stings.

The species page was nice too. Great pic of the yellow jacket. We don't have much of a problem with them here. But when I lived in Kansas, I seen nests that covered a good 20 sq. ft. And being the dumb kids that we were, we just HAD to throw rocks at them....then RUN LIKE HELL!!

Thanks for the link.