Why Do You Keep Finding Bees in Your House?

by Derrick | Last Updated: July 30, 2022

Bees reproduce and split during the swarming season to form a new colony and find a new home. Unfortunately, your house could be the breeding ground of the newly formed colony. Nobody would prefer sleeping in a house where bees buzz in the room a few meters away, right?

You may keep finding bees in your house because the warmth in your home creates a conducive environment for them to nest. Additionally, your house may have had beehives in the past that weren’t adequately removed, where the smell of the honey attracts the bees.

Do you want to be free of your household bees? Let’s discuss what causes bees to enter a house, places to check for the bee’s entry points, tricks to keep bees away from your home, and steps to remove bees from your house. 

Why Do Bees Enter Your House?

Bees will enter your house because of the plants in your home, the conducive warm environment, and the presence of honey. These factors can attract bees looking for a new hive during the swarming season, but you may only realize that they have moved in after the fact. 

Let’s discuss these reasons in detail.

Your Flowers Are Attracting Bees

Bees need food to survive. Some people plant flowers in their gardens and place some of them inside the house to beautify it, thus attracting bees.

Bees are attracted to flowers because they need pollen and nectar to construct their hives and produce food. The nectar gives them energy, and they may also eat the pollen or carry it to feed the larva in the hive. Ultimately, bees need flowers to survive, and various elements in flowers catch their attention.

For instance, the bees’ ability to see ultraviolet light allows them to see the nectar, thus attracting them to flowers.

You may think you’re beautifying your house with different colorful flowers, but you’re actually attracting a colony of bees to your home.

Your House Is Warm

Bees prefer a warm environment since it’s conducive to making honey.

Most people use electric heaters, furnaces, and other heat sources during the cold season to warm their homes. However, this warmth may attract bees to your home because they have to stay in a warm area to prevent them from freezing.

Additionally, having flowering plants in your house worsens the situation because it makes it easy for bees to access the nectar.

If your home is warmer than your yard, any flowers nearer to your home will also be warmer. Warm flower nectar helps the bees in thermoregulation, and it is essential for their survival during the cold season. In addition, warmer nectar is also easier for bees to consume since it has a lower viscosity.

So, when warming your house during the cold season, you may be attracting bees to your home, especially if you have decorative flowers. 

You Have Honey in the House

Bees are attracted to honey because it’s a source of food for the queen bee, worker bees, and adult bees.

Your house may have been a nesting ground for bees in the past, but the pest control services might not have exterminated the bees properly. There might be traces of honey in the bees’ brooding areas, such as wall openings and attic ventilation holes.

This honey will attract the bees, and they’ll keep entering your house.

Additionally, if you move into a property where the previous owner reared bees, some bees may be entering your house, especially if the bee experts didn’t kill all the bees.

What Are the Common Ways Bees Enter the House?

Bees may enter your house through attic vent holes, cracks in the wall, pipes, chimney, and bathroom vents. Bees live in narrow tunnels and dense hives, so they may climb into tight gaps in your siding and walls if they cannot find a more suitable place to build a nest. 

Let’s evaluate these entry points in detail.

Pipes and Gutters

Bees will enter your house through pipes and gutters, especially if they contain small holes that give them access to these pipes.

So, if you don’t want bees to make their way into your pipes, you should evaluate your plumbing system and check for holes and broken lines. Additionally, assess the rain gutters to check if there are holes where they are attached to your home.

If you find spaces where a bee could fly into, these are the bees’ entry points to your house.

Chimney Exterior

Chimneys are a popular spot for bees to hide from rain and light, especially if you have an old bricked-up fireplace that you never use. Bees usually find their way in through small gaps in the grout of brick chimneys or tight cracks in a chimney cap. 

So, if you have a chimney cap, check for small openings since it might be one of the bees’ entry points. As such, evaluate your roof and check under the eaves and around the chimney to identify various holes that could be the bees’ entry points.  

Attic Vent Holes

Attic vent holes release excess heat from the house, providing sufficient space for bees to enter your home.

For instance, box vents are usually 18×18 in (46×46 cm), thus providing adequate space for the bees to enter the house. These bees may build a hive on the roof’s underside near the attic since it offers a warm, dry, dark, secluded environment where the bees can thrive. 

Thus, you may only see a couple of bees inside the house and vent without realizing that there’s a colony of bees in the attic.

Bathroom Vents

One should check the bathroom vents since bees may enter your house through these holes even though you don’t hear any buzzing.

You may not notice this bee activity by looking closely, so you should use a pair of binoculars to observe the vents outside your home. You’ll see a few bees flying in and out of the vent if that’s where the hive is. 

Cracks in the Walls

Bees will enter your house through the cracks in the walls and other holes, including gaps under the roof tiles.

In worst cases, if the hole in your wall is significant, the bees may create a hive inside. You’ll only notice a few worker bees inside your house, which should be concerning, especially if you see them constantly flying from a hole in the wall.

Steps To Remove Bees From Your House

Did you know there are different types of bees, including honey bees, carpenter bees, and bumblebees?

They all differ in size. Whereas bumblebees are bigger and prefer nesting in dry spots, carpenter bees are more petite and prefer burrowing into wood. Lastly, the honeybees are smaller than the other two species and hover around plants and flowers.

All of these bees are important to the surrounding wildlife and plants. However, you don’t need them buzzing around and causing a nuisance in your surroundings.

Thus, there’s no need to kill them since they’re beneficial. Instead, try to ward them off humanely.

Here’s a four-step process for eliminating bees:

Use a Metal Screen To Block Holes in Your Home’s Exterior

Take a lap around your house and focus on the foundation and siding.

If there are any holes or chips in your house exterior, you may consider a 2PACK Stainless Wire Mesh (available on Amazon.com) metal screening to secure your entry points. Screens like these are easy to tack onto your home with staples, adhesives, or small wire nails, and they aren’t permanent, so you can take them off eventually. However, the mesh is fine enough to block the hole from any home invaders of the bee variety. 

Seal the Gaps and Holes With a Caulking Material

If you only have narrow holes in your home where the bees have entered but want a permanent solution, you might consider using a Rutland Flexible Latex Sealant (available on Amazon.com). The caulking material fills cracks with a tight, lasting bond, preventing bees from entering your house.

Remove Any Abandoned Appliances and Items From Your Lawn

While this can be less convenient, moving structures, old appliances, and other hiding spots can help you keep the bees at bay. Bees will happily take up residence in an old birdhouse, rusty old washing machine, or abandoned cooler, so it’s best to get rid of them now. You can take some to a recycling station or seal them up in a shed if you want to stay bee-free this summer. 

Consider Calling a Beekeeper if You Notice Bee Swarms and Nests

If you have a deck or a patio, inspect and examine the area for bees. If you notice one, ensure that you don’t approach it. Instead, take note and call your local beekeeper to help you relocate the bees. Beekeepers can find new homes for bees where they will be out of harm’s way. Some beekeepers may even take the hive home and use it to produce honey to sell. 

Tricks To Keep Bees Away From Your House

Many people should understand that bees are essential to the ecosystem. However, in most cases, if they invade your property, they can be a nuisance, and control methods are necessary.

Here are some of the best tips and tricks you could employ to get rid of bees:

Grow or Plant Bee Repelling Herbs and Plants

Bees are naturally drawn to bright colors and sweet-smelling flowers and plants. However, only a few plants and herbs can be effective bee repellants. They include basil, peppermint, lemongrass, eucalyptus, neem, cloves, and citronella, which have strong scents that bees hate.  

You can also plant cucumbers in your garden to deter bees. Their peels are often acidic, and placing them strategically on window frames can prove repugnant to bees.

 When looking for a plant to ward off bugs, make sure you research which plants and herbs are easiest to grow in your area and safe to keep around.

Consider Mounting an Electric Bug Zapper at Your Doors

Suppose you want to get rid of bees in your outdoor space efficiently – an electric bug zapper will be helpful. Bug zappers emanate ultraviolet rays that act as an appealing lure, attracting bees and other flying insects.

Any bees that fly too close to the center of the device will be electrocuted, producing that ‘zap’ sound. The dead bee or bug will drop at the base of the device or to the ground, making it easier to clean up.

If you want to keep bees out, I recommend using this FVOA Bug Zapper (available on Amazon.com). This bug zapper uses UV light to attract insects, ranging from mosquitos, moths, wasps, fruit flies, and ladybugs, and it will electrocute them once they’re near it. So, it works for bees, but it also works for all of those other pests you may want to keep out of your home. 

Use an Ultrasonic Pest Repellant

Naturally, bees don’t have ears, but that doesn’t mean they don’t feel sound.

Bees use specialized organs such as the legs and antenna to pick up vibrations from miles away and use them to communicate with each other.

Thus, you may consider choosing the Ultrasonic Pest Repeller (available on Amazon.com), which emits a high-pitched ringing noise that deters insects. Humans cannot hear this sound because its frequency is too high, but it’s like exposing your household pests to a 24/7 rock show with blaring speakers and lousy music. If you use sound as a humane weapon against bugs, your bees will be moving out in no time.

Use Bee Traps

Using a bee trap is an alternative method you can employ to get rid of them.

You may consider using specially made bee traps such as the RESCUE! Trapstik for Bees (available on Amazon.com). This one has bee-attracting bright colors and a sticky surface that lure and traps bees, wasps, and mud daubers. So, it’ll keep all those annoying pests at bay!

Use Home Remedies

Home remedies serve as easy and natural bee repellants. They may not be as harmful as insecticides, but they aid in getting rid of the bees. 

As a parallel example, these natural remedies are like a skunk odor, but for bees. No one wants to smell skunk for too long, so they eventually move away. However, luckily, these fragrant scents are pretty appealing to humans, so you won’t have to worry about wanting to pack up with the bees and look for a new nest. 

These remedies include incorporating spices such as cinnamon and garlic with water to make bee sprays. Both of these spices have pungent and spicy smells that bees dislike.

If you consider spraying them around their nesting place for a few days, it can be helpful since these bees tend to look for a different location once they smell the spices.

You can also choose to sprinkle some ground cinnamon around your house. This barrier can help you ward off any potential loiterers of the pest variety.

While spraying and sprinkling the ground spices, you should wear protective gloves, long sleeves, and closed-toed shoes to reduce any risks of bee attacks.

Conclusion

Please note again that bees love warm environments, especially in your house, so you should consider the entry points and specific tips to eliminate them, such as:

  • Growing bee-repellant plants.
  • Mounting either a bug zapper or an ultrasound bee repellant.
  • Using bee traps.
  • Using cinnamon and ginger sprays.
  • Sealing holes and gaps in your home with a sealant or mesh.
  • Calling a beekeeper to relocate your hive. 

We hope these few points will help you keep your home comfortable and bee-free!