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Why You Should Never Use Poison
A typical bee colony has 20,000 – 60,000 bees. When the entrance to a beehive is sprayed with wasp spray or other poison, only a small fraction of the colony is reachable. Often a part of the colony is killed off, while the rest of the colony survives. Those surviving bees will abandon the section of combs that were poisoned and build new combs further into the structure, making the eventual removal more difficult and costly. Additionally, the bees will sometimes chew a new colony entrance/exit, which could cause them to start “exiting” inside your home.
If the poison does kill the entire colony, you will still have a mass of 20,000 – 60,000 bees decaying in the wall, emitting the delectable aroma of rotting fish. All of the undefended combs full of eggs, larvae, and honey will still remain, typically holding 20-100 lbs of honey and brood.
Poisoned bees
Without bees to defend the honeycomb, uncured honey will start to ferment, attracting small hive beetles. These beetles will lay thousands of larvae that slime the combs and tunnel through the wax enclosing the honey. As they do this, honey will begin to seep from the combs.
Small hive beetle larvae sliming combs
Bees maintain tight control of the temperature inside the hive at all times, preventing the wax combs from melting and collapsing under the weight of the stored honey. In the absence of the bees, the wax will soften and the honey-laden combs can collapse.
Collapsing honeycombs on ceiling
Pests such as roaches, ants, wax moths, flies/maggots, rats, and mice can all access the unprotected combs and treat themselves to the buffet. In the process, opened honey can drip down the walls and ceilings. In the end, the combs will need to be removed.
Honey dripping through walls
Spray foaming the entrance hole is another DIY idea that does not work. Bees can easily chew through the foam.
Call us to safely and professionally remove your unwanted bee colony without chemicals or poisons.
512.525.9473
Bees chewed through spray foam applied at entrance