Pest Control
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A swarm hanging on a fence will move on. A honeybee colony that has moved into a chimney, wall cavity or roof space will not. Once the bees have built comb inside a building, they can stay for years, and the longer they stay the bigger the job of dealing with them.
Why bees choose chimneys and old buildings
When a honeybee colony swarms, scout bees look for a dark, dry, sheltered cavity with a small entrance. In nature that is a hollow tree. In a town or village it is often a chimney that is no longer used, a wall cavity behind a missing brick or open air brick, a gap under the eaves, or the void beneath a roof. Older buildings, with soft mortar, timber frames and plenty of small gaps, offer more of these than most.
How to tell you have a colony
- Constant traffic at one point. Bees flying in and out of the same gap, chimney pot or air brick all day in warm weather.
- A hum from inside. On a warm day you may hear it through a wall, a chimney breast or the loft.
- Bees indoors. Bees appearing in a room, often around a fireplace or a ceiling light, can mean a colony behind the plaster or in the flue.
- Staining. In long-established colonies, honey or wax can stain plaster or seep from a ceiling, especially in hot weather.
Check it is honeybees. Bumblebees sometimes nest under the eaves or in loft insulation, but their nests are small and finish by late summer. Our bee identification guide will help.
What a colony can do to a building
A colony on its own does little structural harm, but it grows. Over several seasons, a large mass of comb, honey and wax can build up inside a wall or flue. Honey can soak through plaster and stain ceilings. A blocked flue cannot be used safely. If the bees die or leave, the comb and stores left behind can attract wax moths, mice, wasps and robbing bees from other colonies.
The colony will also defend itself. A disturbed honeybee colony is a very different thing from a calm swarm, and for anyone allergic to stings that matters.
What not to do
- Do not block the entrance. The bees will look for another way out, and that can be into the house.
- Do not light a fire to smoke them out. It rarely works, and comb and wax in a flue are a fire risk.
- Do not spray insecticide into the gap. It seldom reaches the colony, and any honey left contaminated can be carried off by other bees.
- Do not open up the wall or roof yourself. Apart from the stings, you risk damage that is harder to put right than the bees. In a listed building, opening up the fabric may need consent, so check before any work is planned.
How it is dealt with
Every colony is different, and the right answer depends on where the bees are, how long they have been there and how easy it is to reach them. Where we can get to the comb safely, we try to remove the colony live and relocate it, because one of our technicians is a working beekeeper. In some positions, such as deep inside a tall flue, that is not possible, and treatment may be the only safe option. Either way, the comb and honey need to come out where they can be reached, and the entrance needs proofing afterwards so another swarm does not move straight back in.
Some of this work involves scaffolding, a roofer or a chimney sweep. We will tell you plainly what is needed before anything starts.
When to call us
If bees are going in and out of your chimney, wall or roof, send us a photo and tell us how long you have seen them. We will confirm what they are and talk you through the options. Our bees page explains how we work, or call 01926 632 929.
Bee nests and swarms → Honeybee swarms → Building protection →