With roughly 4,000 species of bees in the United States alone, you’re likely to see them around your home during the spring and summer. Although they aren’t much of a nuisance when they’re just here and there, they can start to take over your outdoor space quickly. Because there are so many different species of bees, it’s important to be able to recognize the behavior and nesting patterns of the most common ones you might encounter.
Bees’ preferences for nesting vary by species. It’s important not to get too close to a hive or nest to try to identify the species—that’s best left to the professional exterminators at General Pest Control.
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees are named for their nesting habits—boring holes on exterior wood surfaces like little carpenters. Although carpenter bees typically attack untreated wood, they will sometimes choose stained wood for nesting purposes. You should regularly check the perimeter of your home to inspect for nesting holes.
Honey Bees
Honey bees tend to build their hives in the holes of tree trunks and in rock crevices. These round hives have a distinctive honeycomb structure that makes them easy to identify. Worker honey bees have special glands that create the wax that makes up a honey bee hive, and the hives are carefully crafted by worker bees chewing on bits of wax to make it soft and then molding the wax into a hive.
Bumble Bees
Suitable places for nesting are usually on or beneath the ground, under some type of flat object like a wood board, tarp, stone, or deck. Holes from other animals like mice or chipmunks are also suitable for bumble bees.
In order to make sure we’re treating the bees in the smartest way possible to remediate the problem, we’ll do the following:
Controlling a bee infestation is something our expert team can handle with ease, but it’s always better to prevent a problem than have to repeatedly handle it. In order to prevent bees of any kind in the future, you can do the following:
In need of bee control and prevention at your home? Contact General Pest Control today to request a quote on an inspection and treatment.
Our Seasonal Pest Control Program begins with a single treatment for a specific pest problem, and then includes treatments in the following seasons to ensure your home is protected from pests year-round. Click here to learn more about the program, or contact us today to get started.
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