Facts About Honey Bees
What Is Attracting Honey Bees To My Property?
Bees will seek out food and resources wherever they can. When they return to the hive with these
resources, they inform other forager bees where they can find them. They will return until they
find a better source of food or water if the food or water source remains available.
When bee colonies reproduce, they swarm, taking the queen and up to 70% of the population of
the previous territory with them (the old settlement usually stays in its spot). The new colony
will send out scout bees to find a suitable location for a new hive. They used to look for hollow
trees in the woods, but these are becoming scarce, so they are increasingly choosing to make
their new home in the voids of buildings and structures. They usually build their hives high off
the ground in the wild so that predators can’t easily get to them.
How Do Honey Bees Get Into Walls?
Swarms of honeybees first enter walls through a small crack or opening. A swarm of bees
looking can enter walls through a fallen knothole, a broken spot in the mortar, a space around a
light fixture, hose faucet, electrical meter, or a space between the brick and the building’s siding.
The bees quickly construct combs for brood and food storage once inside the wall. The comb can
grow to be several inches long and the width of the studs in just a few days. The colony may go
unnoticed at first, but bees become noticeable if they are in a frequently visited area as the
colony grows in size.
Is It Illegal To Kill Bees In Texas?
Killing bees is not illegal, but it is not recommended. Honeybees can produce more than 60 pounds of honey in a single year. However, it has been known to ooze out of ceilings and walls, causing a mess and attracting other animals and pests.
Pollinators are also important in food production; without them, we would have a much smaller variety of foods to choose from. The Critter Squad is happy to help humanely relocate any beehive to a bee-friendly location.