Removing bees from a stucco column

These bees found a hole in the corner of a stucco column just below the soffit. They were also getting in at the corrugation of the soffit. You can see the yellow discoloration at the front of the column. The bees track pollen as they enter and leave.

Builders leave these columns open at the top with just the aluminum soffit to cover the hole. This gives the bees access to the space inside. It happens to both stucco and block columns.


The resident said the bees were first noticed on Sunday. That means the bees had been there four days. Using a laser heat sensor I determined the bees were in the column. Cutting open the stucco revealed the bees and the comb they had built in only four days. I vacuumed off some of the bees so the comb could be seen. Examination of the comb confirmed the bees had only been there four days. Eggs were seen in the cells but none had hatched to larvae. Bee eggs take four days to hatch.

After the comb was removed a coating of repellent was applied and a screen barrier was placed at the top of the column to keep future bees out. The column was closed up and the hole the bees were using caulked closed.

Removing Bees From a House On Pilings

Bees like the space between the floor joists on houses built on pilings. On most of these houses there are gaps around pilings and blocking left by the builders. The bees only need a 1/4 inch opening to get into the floor space and start a nest. The bees had gained access through 1/4 inch gaps around the blocking. Blocking is the wood builders place at the outside of the floor joists to close them up and keep bugs and animals out.

You can see the bees going in and out in the closeup picture of the blocking.

On the other side of the support beam you can see where the bees had chewed through the drywall to make another access into the floor space.

We cut the drywall and saw that the bees had built two nests. One close to the support beam and one about 24 inches back from the beam. We had to cut a larger hole on that side.

Once the two nests were exposed we vacuumed the bees off the comb into the bee vacuum. We then removed all the comb. The bees will be placed in a regular beehive and the queen will be replaced with a queen from a breeder of European bees. This will insure they are not Africanized bees.

Removing Bees from inside a wall.

The bees were entering this stucco wall through a gap at the sill plate around an overflow pipe from a water heater. A feeble attempt to catch them with a soda bottle wasp trap was made by someone. It is not possible to stop a nest of 10,000 to 60,000 bees with a soda bottle and sugar water. Not one bee was trapped in it.


To get at the bees we had to remove the drywall from the inside wall. There was a water heater which was removed to get at the wall. Removing the drywall revealed the bees and comb. The bees were captured with the bee vacuum and the comb was placed in a tub for transport to the bee yard where the bees will carry the honey back to their hives.

The opening to the outside was caulked with elastomeric caulk and the wallboard was replaced, painted and the water heater reconnected.

Removing bees from an overhang.

The bees were in a roof overhang by the front door of this residence. They were entering through a gap in the stucco where the roof met the main wall of the residence.



Once the soffit was removed the nest was visible.



After the bees and comb were removed the place where the comb was attached was coated with a repellent. The soffit was replaced and the hole the bees were using was repaired.
First a lath backup was placed in the hole. Then the hole was repaired with stucco mortar to keep future bees from gaining access to the area.

News 7 Video - Removing Africanized Bees from Historic House

ABC News 7 Video. Click on start arrow to view.

Africanized Bee Removal Behind Siding

The bees were entering the wall where siding had separated at the corner of the building. The studs where rotted so the nails were no longer holding the siding closed. In the first pictures you can see the bees going about their business, not being defensive.

Once we began prying the paneling open, thousands of angry bees came to the attack. I used a reciprocating saw on the paneling and the bees went crazy, stinging the saw and through the cuffs of my gloves.













On the attack.
Here is my son A.J. bowing under the onslaught. He took multiple stings and went on the counter attack, using the bee vacuum to tame the swarm. Notice the duct tape around the wrists to keep stings from going through the tough canvas gauntlets of the gloves. We both put on double bee suits but some bees were stinging right through two bee suits and our shirts and trousers. Ouch! A.J. said he couldn't get his breath so we left the scene to get some Benydril, now available in melt-in-your-mouth strips. After two strips and a few minutes rest, he was back at the bees. Once we got all the comb into a tub the bees settled down. We coated the inside of the wall with our proprietary repellent and closed up the wall. When we were done there were only a few bees buzzing around our truck. All the Africanized bees had been captured.

This location had had bees some time past.
Note the old comb we found in the lower section of wall. Had this comb been removed the current infestation could have been avoided. Spraying poison on bees and then leaving the comb in the wall invites more problems. People should call a bee removal specialist to deal with bees!

Removing bees from a lanai wall

A quarter inch hole around a wire going through the wall gave the bees an entrance to this lanai wall.

The home owner had used two cans of spray, but, the bees were not impressed.







After one panel of the wall was removed part of the nest was exposed.



When the rest of the panels of siding were removed the full size of the nest can be seen. The bees were very gentle and after the bees and comb were removed the siding was replaced and the hole by the wire was caulked closed.

Africanized Bee Removal Soffit Feb 2008

This is a home with a rotting plywood soffit. The bees were entering the opening and had built a large nest in the covered space. The owner said the bees were gentle and never bothered anyone. As soon as we opened the plywood the bees showed us their Africanized attitude. They came at us with a vengence and started chasing the home owner and his son who were standing about fifty feet away. My son A.J. is shown removing the comb. These bees were relocated to a safe beeyard and the queen was replaced with a gentle European queen from a queen breeder.

Bees behind siding Jan 2008

Bees were entering an exterior wall through deteriorated siding.






When the siding was removed eight feet of comb was inside the wall. The bees

Bee Removal Mobile Home Jan 2008

The bees were entering the floor space under the mobile home through a hole in the paper covering. The owner said he had sprayed back in October and again in November, but he still had bees.





When the paper covering was removed the bees and comb were revealed. The bees and comb were removed.

A closeup shows several empty queen cells. They are the larger cells, one near the center and the other lower right. This colony had swarmed recently and half the bees had left with a new queen.

Removing bees behind hurricane shutter Jan 2008

This hurricane cover over a sliding glass door was left in place well after hurricane season had passed. The home owners were seeing a few bees inside but thought they were in the attic. The blinds covering the sliding glass door were never opened so they never saw the large nest behind the plywood and up against the glass.

I did an inspection outside and saw the bees entering behind the cover through a space left around the upper track of the door.

After the plywood panels were removed the large nest the bees had built in just a few weeks was exposed. The bees were vacuumed off into the bee-vac and the comb cleaned off the tracks and glass.