If you are talking about a honey bee hive, I would recommend that you contact a beekeeper to have him/her look at eliminating your problem without the killing of the bees. We are having a die-off of honeybees and need every hive we can get. Most beekeepers will gladly come and collect the bees, especially if they are easy to get.

Bees don't "declare war" - they simply want to go about their business. As a beekeeper myself, I hope people try other methods to alleviate the problem before trying to kill the bees.

+1 on Steven's comment!

I'm not sure... there have been times that if I had wanted to take a bee / wasp nest out I would have had to rip off the siding or take off the deck. I think this is a nice choice if you don't have the luxury of having it professionally removed. Avoiding the chemicals is great.

I also agree with the first 2 comments.

And I would add: those critters in the photo? Those are wasps. Wasps are waaaaay more irritating than bees, because they don't die if they sting you. And though wasps are pretty efficient predators for other bugs, they tend to be pretty terrible pollinators. So yeah, if you have a wasp problem, go ahead, build a trap and kill some wasps. But definitely think twice about doing the same to the bees.

I would completely agree. There's a HUGE DIFFERENCE between bees and wasps. Wasps can be a ginormous pain in the @$$ because they nest in the house. I've never heard of bees nesting in a house, and, like Steven said, please contact a beekeeper!

I'm always shocked when people still don't know the difference between bees and wasps.

Now that's just sad. Frankly, I'm surprised to see this on AT. I would have expected better.

Beekeeper/Bee Removal Specalist here. Thanks NextThursday for identifying those as wasps, when I first read the title of the post and saw that pic I was quite amused.

Bees in general will leave you well enough alone as long as you don't go poking around in their business, but (umbrella or paper) wasps on the other hand can be quite vindictive little beasts. That said, if you do need to remove bees from, or around, your home call around to a Bee Removal team that doesn't use chemicals. Most teams that use chemicals just spray and go. They don't bother to seal up the entrance the bees found, fill the cavity to prevent future bees or pests, or remove the honey and comb left over. The problem with this is not only are the chemicals very toxic, but dissipate in potency over a short period of time. Yes they will kill the first bees, but all that left over comb and honey will attract future bee swarms and the chemicals will not be strong enough to kill those bees the second time around.

Try to find a Bee Removal team, like ours, that will come and suck the bees up (they don't get hurt, but just live in a cage for a little while), scrape out the honey and comb, fill the space with some type of insulation, patch it all up again, and then give the bees a new home with a local bee keeper. Heck, they may even give you what honey they find.

Bad news is if you've already sprayed once and new bees have found their way in many bee relocaters wont be interested because the honey has been contaminated, and that hive will be susceptible to mites and disease that can infect their other hives.

As for wasps, by all means buy or make a non toxic trap. They have their part in the ecosystem, but are quite sorry pollinators and painful pests.

Park ranger here. While I understand the danger of wasps, it is rare that an undisturbed nest will cause any trouble. One just has to be aware of it. Add to that the fact that wasps, if I remember right, parasitize and kill crop pests.

They also eat rotting meat and fruit. So wasps protect our oranges and tomatoes, and keep places clean. No offense to any beekeepers here, but the european honeybee is an invasive species and has all but killed off our native bees.

If we would focus more on not polluting our planet, native bees might return and the balanced insect populations would ensure that no species becomes too abundant.

wasps are pretty damned nifty too. we have two small nests in our yard, and they're our first line of defense in our organic garden. they eat the little caterpillars that predate on my veggies, which takes care of our needs for pesticides. while it is true that they may be poor pollinators, they deserve to be respected as well.

I agree with Hudson 33, it's a bit disappointing. I'm a huge AT fan because of the respect they show towards nature and wildlife, the rest of the time.

Ironic that fewer wasps may mean more crop pest species and more pesticides in the food supply!

Wow. Seems like everyone is jumping on the attack bandwagon today. I don't think AT is saying we should kill all wasps or bees or stinging insects- I think they're just saying that when you have a situation when they are a problem this is ONE solution.

+1 for galaxiekat's comment. Well said.

My neighbor has a problem right outside her front door- thanks for the information- I will pass it along as a great chemical-free solution!

+1 steven, save the bees

As someone with a severe allergy to stings and an unusual wasp and hornet problem in our yard this year, I'm glad to see a post that gives us an option that doesn't involve the wholesale negative environmental impact of chemicals (my refusing to spray is why we still have the wasps) and lets us target the problem.

I'm totally making one of these! Wasps have decided to nest under the eaves of my second story and have been dive-bombing my downstairs tenant's front door.

My child and I have an allergy, they really like to nest in her Outdoor Playhouse. This ensures I wont have to spray her favorite place, and they wont kill her. They can nest elsewhere.Thank you.

European wasps: I have had 3 European wasp nests, 2 in the ground and 1 in a tree trunk hollow, in the Adelaide Hills (3/4 acre). The wasps were killed professionally in their nests with a powder (can't remember what) which unfortunately remains as a toxin. I was told: 'don't worry, the powder will wash into the ground in the first rain', but that IS a worry. The wasps here are not aggressive away from their nest, and so far haven't attacked or stung, even if you walk through their flight pass and wave them aside. But they do get panicky if disturbed.
Bees: Twice I have had bees nest in my HOUSE CAVITY WALL, entering through a minute gap.
As soon as I observed the bees at the wall and established their entry hole I made certain that all other gaps were closed up (eg under window sill) waited until dusk to ensure they were all 'in bed', enlarged the entry hole and then, taped a garden hose to my car exhaust and stuck the other end of the hose into the entry hole, made sure my house was unoccupied, and ran the car engine for about 1/2 hour to be certain. CO2, CO, etc, did its work (probably instantaneously on contact with the bees) effectively, efficiently, and very cheaply. Next day and since, no bees in wall. That was several years ago. Naturally my house was vacated for a considerable period of time after each session. I have been advised that if the bees have had time to establish honeycombs then wasps can get in, attracted by the honey.