Bees are fascinating creatures. While most species are feared for their lethal stings, some are valued for their honey and wax. Regardless of their benefits, you should be concerned if you see them in an unusual location.
Your house is the wrong place to be. Despite the promise of honey, you can’t be comfortable having bees around your house. Bees are destructive, in addition to buzzing around and scaring you.
Can Bees Chew Through a Drywall?
Bees can be destructive by chewing through drywall, for example. Caulk, foam, drywall, and wood are just a few materials bees can eat through.
Bees prefer to build their nests in trees or near flowering plants. They will, however, construct their nests in unusual locations. Bee nests can be located under your shed or porch, on your home’s siding, or in sideways or driveway cracks.
Bees chew practically everything with their mandibles (two long sharp antennae linked to their heads). They will chew through it if they have established that drywall is the best area to make their nests.
How Do You Tell If Bees are in a Wall?
There’s nothing like hearing unusual noises from your home’s walls to give you the creeps. But, before you panic, you need to figure out what’s causing the weird sounds, so you can find a remedy.
Bees are one of the most common pests that can cause damage to your walls. A few bees will not bother to build a hive in your home. However, if you observe a lot of bees and can’t manage to get rid of them, you might have a beehive in your house.
Here are a few pointers if you want to know if bees have a beehive on your wall:
- When you can’t discover their nest even after following them around, they appear to be moving to and from a pollen-laden location. Most likely, the hidden nest will be in a wall.
- Dark stains on your wall could indicate that bees have established a colony there. Honey produced by the bees is responsible for the dark patches.
- Bees are building a nest inside your wall if you hear buzzing sounds from inside. If the buzzing persists, there is a possibility of an immense swarm.
- When you observe a single bee flying around your house, don’t dismiss it; it could signal there are many more. It may be within your house if you can’t see the nest.
Do Carpenter Bees Eat Drywall?
Carpenter bees, however, do not eat wood. Rather, they prefer to eat nectar and pollen. Why do they like eating through drywall if they don’t consume wood?
Carpenter bees seek a safe and secure area to build their nests when they chew through the drywall. Drywall is primarily comprised of thin gypsum board panels.
Carpenter bees are excellent chewers and can readily chew through drywall materials.
What Do Bees Sound Like in a Wall?
You are mistaken if you believe that bees produce the same sound. Bees make various sounds, and it can be tough to become acquainted with all of them. However, larger bee species vibrate slower and emit a lower-pitched buzzing sound than smaller bee species. Listen to the sound of honey bees buzzing.
If you have a beehive on your wall, you might hear a buzzing and tapping sound behind it. Because all the bees are in the nest at night, the sound is more apparent. Using a stethoscope, you can find out where the nest is and how big it is. Due to less activity, the buzz is only lower in the winter.
Bees’ buzzing sound is caused by their thorax muscles’ movement and their wings’ agitation. The pitches differ based on what they wish to say to one other. Most beekeepers can deduce what is happening in a hive based on the bees’ noises.
Common Signs That You Have Carpenter Bees At Home
Unfortunately, this specific type of bee is not a social insect and does not travel in swarms or colonies. It’s challenging to realize the extent of the damage they’ve caused to your home.
Fortunately, we’ll go through a few typical indications that indicate you may already have carpenter bees in your home.
- Holes in wood: Carpenter bees are notorious for burrowing into wood surfaces and tunneling through them. Carpenter bees’ unique design distinguishes them from other animals or pests burrowing into wood. They make smooth, practically flawless circular holes large enough for their bodies to fit through.
- Buzzing sound in the walls: With all their work of boring wood, the carpenter bees will find it difficult to remain silent. A buzzing sound or vibrations should be audible near the wooden surfaces.
- Presence of sawdust: Carpenter bees are known to drop frass, another word for sawdust when they bore into the wood. You will likely notice a tiny pile of sawdust beneath the bees’ holes. Sawdust will also be visible near the tunnels’ entrances and wooden surfaces.
- Damaged wooden structures: Carpenter bees are known for wreaking havoc on wooden surfaces. There’s a good chance you have carpenter bees in your house if you find tunnels, holes, or cracks in your wooden surfaces.
- Presence of the actual insects: There are many distinct species of bees, and it can be difficult to tell them apart. Carpenter bees are distinguished from bumble bees by their absence of yellow stripes. Their abdomens are gleaming black.
What Happens If You Block The Entrance to a Bee’s Nest?
Depending on the sort of bee we’re talking about, blocking the entrance to a bee nest might be beneficial or harmful.
It is not a good idea to block the entrance for any other type of bee other than the honey bee. Because bees are capable of chewing through various materials, limiting their entry will compel them to seek another. They’ll chew through another entry, and your house will have many holes.
The best option is to wait a few months for the bees to die naturally. Otherwise, blocking the entrance will excite the bees, causing even more damage as they try to chew through the walls. If you don’t want the bees to return the following year, you should consider closing any entrances to the nest.
If you’re dealing with honey bees, block the entrance to their colony. Remove all honeycombs to keep robber bees from finding the honey and polluting it back to their colonies.
How Long Can Bees Live in a Wall?
If there isn’t much disturbance, bees inside a wall may decide to start a new colony there. Laying eggs, building wax combs, and storing honey and pollen will take time. The length of time the bees will nest in your walls is determined by the following factors:
- They can remain there for years if left alone, and the living conditions, are also favorable.
- Bees can leave the nest for a variety of causes, including disease. Because there is already a nest, a new colony can form in the exact location. It gives people the impression that bees have resided in one place for a long time, which isn’t always true.
It’s safe to assume that the bees will have stopped coming and going from the entrance by autumn. Bees in a specific nest typically live for around 2-3 months. The queen, her sons, and the laborers will all perish. If new queens are born, they will leave the nest and mate while waiting to establish their colonies the following spring.
If there is no human interference, the above is true. The bees can die within one or two weeks if you seal their new home with a material they can’t chew. They could be able to search around the walls and chew a new route out, so death is not a sure thing.
How Can I Remove Bees From My Wall?
The idea of bees inside your wall is terrifying and can keep you awake for several nights. Most people will not relax until the bees inside the walls have been exterminated. The most frequent method for removing bees off walls is as follows.
- Neutralization:
The term “neutralization” refers to the process of totally removing bees, honey, and combs from within the wall while causing as little harm as possible. The most challenging part is getting rid of the honey.
You will need a few items if you undertake the removal yourself rather than hiring specialists. A ladder, stethoscope, flashlight, rubber gloves, smoker, veil bee suit, bee brush, hive chamber, bee vacuum, and a first aid box with stinger kit are among the items on the list. The procedure is as follows:
- Wear protective clothing and make a wide hole in the wall to fit your arm if the wall material permits it.
- Use a smoker to calm the bees before using the bee vacuum to remove them. Place the bees in a hive chamber after vacuuming.
- Pull the hive out gently with your hands. Because most hives are layered, you may need to do this in sections.
- After checking that all bees have been evacuated, clean the wall’s interior with soap, water, and bleach.
- Allow a few weeks for the hole to be visible. To avoid this, plug the hole and go around the house, sealing any other holes.
While it appears to be a simple technique, you should not do it if you are allergic to bee stings. Before proceeding with the removal, ensure all pets and family members are out of the house.
Conclusion
Bees are excellent chewers, capable of chewing through a wide range of materials. They can also be harmful to persons who have severe bee allergies. If you don’t want to be attacked, approach them with caution.
The most deadly bees are the ones that have already infiltrated your home, either by nesting inside the wall or elsewhere. If you’re unsure how to remove bees safely, the best action is to consult a professional.