The industrious and useful honey bee is endangered in Warminster and across the country. This means that pest management professionals exercise exceptional care when they are called in to deal with honey bee problems.
Most of the time, honey bees are not an issue. They forage in flowering plants and trees, performing essential pollination duties. Additionally, honey bee hives produce honey, which is a welcome commodity. For these reasons, most people are happy to see honey bees in gardens and agricultural fields.
However, honey bees can be a nuisance when they place their nest too close to or even inside a man-made structure, home, or business. It is never advisable for honey bees and humans to be in close proximity because honey bees are virtually guaranteed to feel threatened at some point, leading to a stinging attack.
Honey bees have a barbed stinger, meaning they can only sting once because a significant portion of their body is left behind in the victim with the stinger. They die after stinging.
To preserve honey bee populations, it is best for people to give them a wide berth. However, when hives are placed too close to residences and commercial buildings, this may become impossible.
If honey bees become a nuisance, it is time to contact a pest management company. Working in concert with a local beekeeper, it is possible to safely relocate the hive so that no harm comes to the bees.
Most honey bees are dark brown or black with yellow stripes. These stripes warn predators and unwelcome visitors that honey bees can sting. Their bodies are thicker than a wasp’s and shaped like an oval. Like other insects, they have six legs and antennae and tend to be quite hairy. Adult workers are approximately 15 millimeters long.
Their eyes, feeding structures, and antennae are located on the head. They have compound eyes that help them see color and light, as well as simple eyes that detect light levels. With their antennae, honey bees detect odors and measure flight speed. Their mandibles assist with eating pollen, shaping and cutting wax, grooming, fighting, cleaning the nest, and feeding the queen and her larvae.
Worker bees spend much of their time foraging for pollen and nectar, typically performed by older workers who are stronger fliers. Honey bees have a “honey stomach” in their gut where nectar is stored after collection. They also have a basket on their hind legs for pollen storage.
When fully loaded, they return to the hive to store the pollen and nectar. Nurse bees transform pollen into royal jelly, which is fed to the queen, her larvae, the drones, and older worker bees. Nectar is stored and converted into honey.
The hive is central to the life of a honey bee colony. It is where honey is produced and stored, providing food throughout the winter when foraging is impossible.
Honey bee hives consist of hexagonal tubes. This shape holds the most honey while requiring less wax for construction. Honey bees produce wax, chew it until softened, and bond it together as honeycomb. Hives may be found in hollow trees and rock crevices, though they may also be built inside man-made structures.
Honey bees are not generally considered dangerous or destructive. However, problems may arise if they nest inside man-made structures such as wall voids or attics.
While the hive is active, there is no damage. Honey bees maintain a constant temperature inside, preserving the wax structure. However, when a hive inside a structure is abandoned, honey and wax begin melting, leading to insulation, siding, and drywall damage. Serious mold and mildew issues may develop if the nest is not entirely removed.
A licensed pest management company can remove abandoned hives to help preserve residential or commercial buildings.
Honey bees are generally gentle and try to avoid confrontations with people. However, they may display territorial behavior near their hive, which is why a nest inside a building can be dangerous. As long as people minimize their contact with honey bees in Warminster , the risk of stings is low.
No illnesses are transmitted from honey bees to humans through stings or contact. Most sting victims experience localized reactions such as slight swelling, redness, itchiness, and pain.
Some people may have moderate reactions involving extreme redness and swelling. In rare cases, severe allergic reactions may include hives, flushed skin, breathing difficulties, swollen tongue and throat, rapid pulse, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, and loss of consciousness.
Signs of a honey bee presence include:
To reduce the likelihood of honey bees nesting near structures:
Newtown Termite & Pest Control understands the ecological importance of honey bees. We recommend contacting a local beekeeper for the safe removal of honey bee hives from homes and businesses in Warminster .
