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  • From: road's end farm <organic101 AT linkny.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Honey Bees in house
  • Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 23:02:01 -0400


On Sep 4, 2007, at 9:43 PM, ktk2a wrote:

My neighbor raises honey bees. A month or so ago they swarmed and many
(hundreds) came over to my place and gathered on a tree. My neighbor
rescued as many as he could. The rest seem to have taken up nesting under
the shingles on my home. I have sprayed a couple of times to get rid of
them, but they persist. Does anyone know what kind of damage the honey bees
can do to my roof, and better yet, how to get rid of them for good?

I have had honey bees in the house. This is a serious problem, and, I hate to tell you this, but you'll have to take the shingles (and/or siding) off (or hire someone to do it) and get the hive cleared out and the space cleaned. You might be able to find a beekeeper to do this, or to work with a contractor to do it, and to rescue the bees; or you might only be able to find someone who will kill them in the process, which is a shame; but otherwise you're liable to wind up with large portions of your house turning into a beehive. The hive will smell and the moisture will damage the house; and the number of bees (which will steadily increase) will increase the chance of people getting stung; though this last will temporarily be worse while the hive is being removed as the bees will (understandably) not be in a good mood.

All traces of the hive have to be removed from inside the house; the area painted to remove the scent; and all holes that give access into the space have to be sealed up when the shingles are replaced. I would get the whole house gone over for holes big enough for a bee to get in and have them all caulked; any survivors might try to start up somewhere else in the house, if they can get in.

Make sure the people who do the job know what they're doing. If the hive only gets disturbed, and doesn't get entirely removed and all holes sealed up, it may swarm again, some of the bees can pick another spot in the same house to move into, and you can wind up with multiple hives in the house; that happened here. I tried to work with the wrong beekeeper and have a story much too long to type out tonight. The mess did eventually get cleaned up but it was a very stressful summer. Honeybees are fantastic and we need them badly -- but they are not compatible with house walls or roofs. At all.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale



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