Bees in Your Wall or Chimney: What to Do, and What Not To
You notice it on a warm afternoon in May or June: bees flying in and out of a gap under the eaves, a crack in the siding, or the top of the chimney. Inside, there may be a faint hum in the wall. A honeybee colony has chosen your house as its new home, and the choices you make in the next few days decide how simple this is to fix.
Quick answer: If honeybees move into your wall or chimney, don’t spray them, seal the entrance or light a fire. Bees in a wall won’t leave on their own, and a dead colony leaves wax and honey that rot, leak and draw pests. Confirm they’re honeybees, then call a beekeeper who does “cut-outs,” removing the comb and bees alive. Afterward, remove all the comb and seal the gap. If you catch the swarm before it moves in, it’s an easy pickup.
Are they honeybees or something else?
Check before you do anything else, because the right response depends on it:
- Honeybees are fuzzy and golden-brown, about half an inch long. They fly in a steady, purposeful stream, and on hot evenings you may see them fanning or clustered at the entrance.
- Yellow jackets also nest in walls. They’re smooth, shiny and bright yellow and black, and they get defensive in late summer. That’s a job for pest control. See why yellow jackets get aggressive in late summer.
- Carpenter bees drill neat round holes in wooden trim, not into wall cavities. See our carpenter bee guide.
Our guide to honeybees vs. wasps vs. yellow jackets explains how to tell them apart from a safe distance.
How did bees get in my wall?
A swarm moved in. In spring, a crowded honeybee colony splits, and about half the bees leave with the old queen to find a new home. Scout bees look for a dry, protected cavity of the right size with a small entrance, and a wall void, soffit or unused chimney fits perfectly. Our post on how a bee swarm works explains the process.
Once inside, the bees start building wax comb within hours. Within a few weeks there can be sheets of comb holding brood and honey.
What should you not do?
Don’t spray insecticide into the wall. You may kill the bees, but the comb stays. Without bees to cool it and guard it, honey ferments and wax can melt and seep through drywall, staining ceilings. The leftover honey draws ants, mice, wax moths and robbing bees from other hives.
Don’t seal the entrance. Trapped bees will look for another way out, which is often into your living space through outlets, light fixtures and gaps around trim.
Don’t light a fire under bees in a chimney. Heat can melt the comb and send honey and wax down the flue, smoke can drive confused bees into the house, and wax in a chimney is a fire risk. Close the fireplace damper or glass doors, keep the room shut, and leave it alone until the bees are dealt with.
Don’t wait for them to leave. A colony that has built comb plans to stay for years.
How are bees removed from a wall or chimney?
Usually by a “cut-out.” A beekeeper opens the wall, soffit or ceiling, cuts out the comb, collects the bees (ideally with the queen) and moves them into a hive. The opening is then repaired. It’s carpentry as much as beekeeping, so many beekeepers who do cut-outs work alongside a carpenter or ask the homeowner to arrange repairs. Chimneys often need a chimney sweep as well.
A less invasive approach, sometimes used on walls that can’t be opened, involves fitting a one-way exit over the entrance so the bees can leave but not return. It’s slow, and it can leave comb behind in the wall, so ask the beekeeper how they’ll deal with that.
Can Nettie’s Bees help?
Sometimes. We usually don’t take on jobs that need carpentry, but send us photos of where the bees are going in and we’ll tell you if we can help. If we can’t, your county beekeepers’ association is a good place to find someone who does cut-outs; the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association suggests contacting your county club for bee removal information.
If you catch the bees before they move in, while they’re still hanging in a cluster from a branch, fence or eave, that’s a swarm, and collecting swarms is exactly what we do. Call us for swarm retrieval on the South Coast.
How do you keep bees out of your walls and chimney?
Close the doors before anyone knocks:
- Seal gaps in fall or winter, when no bees are active. Caulk cracks in siding and around pipes, and screen soffit and gable vents.
- Cap the chimney with a screened chimney cap, especially an unused flue.
- After a removal, take out every bit of comb and clean the cavity. The smell of old comb and wax attracts future swarms to the same spot.
- Watch for scouts in May and June. A few dozen bees investigating the same crack for a day or two may be scouts picking a home. Sealing that gap promptly, once the scouts leave for the evening, can steer the swarm elsewhere.
Frequently asked questions
Will bees in my wall leave on their own?
No. A honeybee colony that has built comb in a wall or chimney is settled and can live there for years. It may even send out swarms of its own each spring. The bees and the comb have to be removed.
Is it safe to stay in the house with bees in the wall?
Usually, yes. Honeybees inside a wall are focused on their colony and rarely bother people indoors. Keep windows and doors near the entrance closed, don’t block the hole, and keep children and pets away from the outside entrance until the bees are removed.
Why are bees coming into my house?
If you see a few bees inside, they’re usually lost foragers that found their way in through a gap near the colony and are heading for the light. Seal any obvious gaps on the inside, and don’t block the outside entrance.
Can honey from a wall colony be eaten?
It’s best not to. Comb from walls may have been exposed to insulation, pesticides or other contaminants, and it’s hard to know how old it is. For honey you can trust, buy local raw honey from a beekeeper.
Sources
- Massachusetts Beekeepers Association, county beekeeping organizations (bee removal contacts).
The sooner you call, the simpler it gets. A swarm on a branch is a quick pickup; a colony in the wall is a construction project.