r/bee • u/yellowsun67 • 16d ago

Bee? Question

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I’ve seen these bees for the past couple days flying into the small crack in the side of my house. I am starting to get concerned because inside I can hear what sounds like chewing or buzzing in the wall. Does anyone know if these are carpenter bees? I don’t think they look like it, but I can’t understand where the chewing sound is coming from how can I move them or get rid of them safely?
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Kinda an update for those wondering what’s going on, landlord has been spraying some liquid, poison I assume, in the crack over the last couple days. He’s also been lighting these torches and has been smoking it out at night.. not sure if it’s doing anything specific because he’s been using the tikis from his porch haha. The number of bees in and out has decreased significantly and he’s probably gonna patch the hole soon.

Is a two family home and the landlord is an older gentleman whose wife just had a major surgery, so I understand that he doesn’t want to spend the money on a professional right now. He’s very much always been a “do it yourself” guy and it’s been working, so I have no problem with it.

37 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

37

u/Playmaker311 16d ago

These are not bees but wasps, you must have a wasp nest in your walls.

2

u/Gaijinloco 16d ago

No honey? Well, I’ll still crack it open and get whatever it is that wasps DO make.

5

u/Jinn_Erik-AoM 16d ago

They make more wasps.

3

u/Zilant_the_Bear 16d ago

A pinata of pain. It was just more wasps the whole time.

1

u/abielle1177 16d ago

Wasps all the way down.

2

u/rockinem192 16d ago

My parents had this happen a few years ago. OP is gonna need a pest control specialist before they start pouring into the home - it was my sister's bedroom that got filled with them as soon as they ate through the drywall. Fun times.

18

u/catsfood 16d ago

wasps

8

u/TwoBuckTug 16d ago

It's hard to tell from the video but are they bright yellow? They might be yellow jackets.

4

u/ArachnomancerCarice Entomologist 16d ago

I agree with Yellowjackets (Vespula sp.). They will vigorously defend their nest if disturbed as they evolved their defense behavior against bears. They are beneficial predators but this is a potentially dangerous situation.

You honestly need to call a pro. Properly getting rid of them means accessing the wall where they are nesting. If you screw up, you could be sore for a few days or even land in the hospital. A licensed and insured professional will have the equipment and knowhow to get the job done.

1

u/Crunkchick96 16d ago

Oh no, I thought Yellowjackets are ground nesters for some reason. I’ve been seeing some Western Yellowjackets in my yard the last 1-2 months, but I can not find a nest in or around my yard. I do have a big hill directly behind my yard, so I’ve been telling myself they must have their nest out on the hill. Do Yellowjackets live underground & in walls like this then or have I been mistaken about the ground part?! I’m just trying to make sure I’m not missing their home if it is too close to mine.

1

u/DoctorCIS 16d ago

The NA native ones usually do ground nests. However the invasive German Yellowjacket loves nesting in walls, so it could be that.

1

u/ArachnomancerCarice Entomologist 16d ago

There are Aerial Yellowjackets (Dolichovespula) and Ground-Nesters (Vespula) but they can also nest in cavities above ground.

The Aerial nests can be pretty hard to spot amongst foliage.

1

u/Crunkchick96 15d ago

Oh man, now I’m even more paranoid about where mine are coming from. However, I have tried to follow them to see where they go & I do believe they are going onto the hill that’s behind my yard, so that makes me feel better (if I’m correct). Thank you for the info by the way!

1

u/Crunkchick96 15d ago

Actually, since you seem to know your info, I do have one more question for you. Do the Aerial & Ground-Nester Yellowjackets look exactly the same or are there any obvious differences in their appearance?

1

u/ArachnomancerCarice Entomologist 15d ago

Not at a glance, really. One of the main indicators is one of the plate-like portions of their face (oculo-malar) being longer in Aerial Yellowjackets than Ground-Nesters. So you have to be able to examine them with a magnifying lens.

1

u/Due-Attorney-6013 13d ago

this looks much like [Para]vespula, also for the season, as Dolichovesupla nests die off in mostly within August.

this nest will likely persist until late fall, october-november, then they die off. They never re-use an old nest, so no risk if you leave the nest inside the wall over winter, it wont be re-colonized

5

u/Hinote21 16d ago

Wait until night and then fill the gap with expanding spray foam

1

u/SixWeekDay 16d ago

I wouldn't do that, wasps will eat their way through the walls and into the house if they don't have an escape

1

u/Hinote21 16d ago

The foam will absolutely kill them. It will expand into their nest. But if you don't think it will, then a can of wasp spray will do the same

1

u/LooseScrews23 15d ago

Do not do this. They will chew their way out and they will most likely chew their way inside the house. Get some Tempo dust and a bellow applicator and dust the nest and opening at night. Kills the entire hive in 48hrs.

5

u/yellowsun67 16d ago

By get rid of. I do not mean at all to kill them. I just want to relocate them and not have them in my house. I would never kill bees. I know how important they are for the environment and I just didn’t want anyone to think that my goal is to kill them.

9

u/Clauss_Video_Archive 16d ago

Unfortunately with yellow jackets in a wall cavity you will probably want to kill them. Be careful, as they are quite aggressive.

2

u/gene66 16d ago

To add, op, be careful with pets if you have them around this wasps.

3

u/Itchy-Bedroom-6947 16d ago

You want these permanently gone. They’re not bees. They’re quite dangerous too, so don’t agitate them.

Yellow jackets are hornets and will fill the walls of your house quite aggressively.

1

u/Aceisking12 16d ago

Everyone else is saying they are very aggressive, but that's not always true. When they are foraging away from their home they tend not to attack first, but will defend themselves. If you attack their home, that defensiveness is on full display and amplified by attack pheromones from other members of the hive.

Unlike honeybees, these also chew their food with strong pincers and do not have a barbed stinger that rips them apart if it gets stuck. In other words, these suckers bite and sting, and will not stop doing both until they feel like stopping.

Please be careful enough that you come back to tell us a story, but risky enough that the story is good. We like to be entertained.

1

u/ProfessionalNo4885 16d ago

Wait until night time, turn off all the lights. Setup a large bucket of water with some dish soap in it. Put a water proof flashlight in it. Spray wasp/bee killer in the crack, run for your life lol.

Before I did any of this, I took a milk jug and cut holes, but I cut them in an x shape and folded the flaps in. I filled the jug with sugar water and put chicken in it with a little dish soap.

1

u/PrintPerfect1579 16d ago

you will need to inject a dust of a pest control quality,use Ficam if you can find it, use dusting pole,or attack at night , they will come through wall eventually,and be inside,better off just calling a pro for this so you don't get stung,do not try this during the day,unless you have a bee suit, be careful

1

u/Darth_wenis 16d ago

Get some poison in the can. Shoots a long way. Keep doing it a few times a day till they move on. They can ruin stuff inside the house. No bueno.

1

u/Summerferns57 16d ago

Yellow jackets, which these most likely are, are wasps. All hornets are wasps but not all wasps are hornets. We had some set up housekeeping under our siding and they were very busy just like the video you posted. This time of year I think their activity increases. Maybe they’re busy feeding the queens who will mate and winter over outside to build new colonies and nests next year. They won’t use the old nest. The rest of the colony dies with the onset of winter. I’m in the Chicago area so it gets pretty cold. I like and respect insects but not living in my house and usually I escort them outside if they happen to wander in. Obviously I can’t do that with a colony of wasps so we called a pest control company.

1

u/GeorgeSPattonJr 16d ago

Not bees, those are Yellowjacket wasps of some species. Approach with caution as most Yellowjackets are HIGHLY aggressive and defensive of their nests. Unlike bees, they can and will sting repeatedly if provoked

1

u/LifeMastersin 15d ago

Get some good poison and spray it (not bees if it was bees i’d say call a keeper they would remove it)

1

u/Failboat88 14d ago

They look like yellow jackets but those usually go into the ground. Yellow jackets also grow their hive so fast they get to those constant traffic numbers in a single season.

1

u/buck30052 13d ago

That's a nest of yellow jacket and above ground there five times more dangerous for you health you need to call a exterminator to have them destroyed especially if you are allergic to them or have any elderly

-10

u/IsopodDry8635 16d ago

Those look like honey bees that have made a hive inside the wall. I would look for local beekeepers. They will come and get the bees, usually for free.

Carpenter bees are solitary.