Honey bees are extremely helpful and contribute to the pollination of plants, providing us with food. Many homeowners, however, find honeybees to be pests if they take up residence on their properties. Here are steps to take if you discover a honey bee nest in your yard.

Protect Vulnerable Family Members With Some Caution

To reduce the potential of someone in your household getting stung by a honey bee, it is best that you alert each member about the presence of a nest and its whereabouts. Inform each person you live with to stay away from the bee's nest so the bees do not become agitated by sudden movements or bright colors. Honey bees often come out of their nest and congregate on a fence, rock, or tree nearby where they monitor movements that indicate the queen of the nest is at risk of injury. If people stay out of the distance of the nest altogether, there is a better chance that no one becomes stung by a bee.

Contact A Bee Relocation Specialist

Since honey bees are so beneficial to our environment, they are protected. Pest control services do not use pesticides to remove honey bees from a yard. They are relocated instead. Hire a professional relocation specialist to come to your home to evaluate the location of a bee's nest. A beekeeper has the tools necessary to safely place honey bees in a protective container to be brought to a new location where the bees can set up a new home. This service offers recommendations on how to keep bees from returning to your property in the future.

Check For Remnants To Avoid Reinfestation

If the honey bee nest you had removed was located in an area where it was touching your home, clean the area thoroughly with soap and water to remove any leftover honeycomb remnants left behind. This way new honey bees do not smell this and decide to try to take up residence in the same area themselves. If bees were found inside of walls in your home, remove drywall to clean the interior thoroughly before replacing it with new drywall. Check over the exterior of your home for any areas that require repair so bees do not make their way inside of your living space. This includes sealing around windows and doors and filling in holes or cracks in the siding or foundation. 

For additional tips, reach out to a local honey bee relocation specialist.