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.