Bees Bees go away

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

chrisasst

Minister of Fire
Aug 13, 2008
1,289
cortland ny
Every year I have hundreds ( I think) of bees around my house. They have nests in my attic vents ( soon to be gone), Under the picks of the roof and behind my old metal, discolored shutter things. I am thinking about atleast taking the shutter things down beacause a) they need replacing / updating, b) because of the bees.
Would it be wise to take these down without having any new ones to replace yet?
Also, will roofers be able to work on my roof with all the bees? Should probably call and see what they do in this case.
 
What kind of bees?
 
Hornets... (the yellow and black bees) for the most part. Some are big and black.

Roofers are going to want them dead, at least I would. Hammers working close to a hornet/wasp nest is no good. Best thing to do is get some knock-down spray and hit their nests hard in the evening when they are in the nest and relatively docile. If you don't like chemicals get some borax powder or diatomaceous earth. It scratches up their exoskeleton and kills them, but is harmless to humans (unless you count the potential of stings when applying it).
 
Roofers are going to want them dead, at least I would. Hammers working close to a hornet/wasp nest is no good. Best thing to do is get some knock-down spray and hit their nests hard in the evening when they are in the nest and relatively docile. If you don't like chemicals get some borax powder or diatomaceous earth. It scratches up their exoskeleton and kills them, but is harmless to humans (unless you count the potential of stings when applying it).

I see some of their nest at the very peak. I can't reach them up there. I guess I should call a insect killer company to see how much they charge.
 
I see some of their nest at the very peak. I can't reach them up there. I guess I should call a insect killer company to see how much they charge.
Some of those knock down sprays shoot 12-15 feet or more. How far up are they?
 
Hornets... (the yellow and black bees) for the most part. Some are big and black.

As stated above, they are not bees. They are wasps. The big black ones are Bald Face wasps, and commonly called hornets. The yellow/black striped ones are wasps, commonly called yellow jackets. There are several types of yellow jackets here, the ones that make small nests in trees and under eves of houses, and the ones that make nests in the ground. Ground wasps are the most aggressive. Bald Face wasps/hornets make large football shaped paper hanging nests, usually in trees, but also on overhangs and eves on houses. They can be very aggressive when provoked. I had a large hornet nest here last year in a plum tree, and I went out at night and burned it out, using a long stick burning a rag on the end of it with some gas on it. For wasps on eves of the house, the wasp sprays work pretty well. For ground wasps, I would go out at night and burn them out with a propane field burner. They are less aggressive at night, but they will come out and attack if provoked, any time of day.
 
Can you reach them with a shot from your hose?
I've used a paintball gun too. Fun but it made a bit or a mess.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.