Resident bee hive.

A close-up of a bee collecting pollen.

Just this week a swarm of bees decided to take up residence in the roof of my casita.  I’m not sure why they chose my house and not the one next door or down the street? I guess I just got lucky !

My neighbor, who used to work for a bee keeper,  suggested I spray the entrance to the hive with bleach.  I guess the bees don’t like the smell, but once they have established their nest, it is hard to get them to leave.   He said that I would need to seal the entrance to the hive or open up the wall/roof and remove the nest.  The latter is expensive and would require a professional exterminator or bee keeper to remove the bees and the hive.

The bees don’t bug us too much (no pun intended), but my boyfriend and his daughter are allergic to bees.   We would love to get them to leave. We don’ want to kill them.  We are researching our options and seeing what remedies may work for our resident hive.

Bees in roof of casita. Hard to see, but they are living under the roof.

My parents have a bee hive living above their garage too.  They tried to seal the hole, but the bees just found another way in.  My parents are still trying to figure out what to do to get rid of their bees.  They’ve tried water from the garden hose and bug spray, but nothing has worked yet.

Hive above my parents garage.

Once we get the bees to leave we will then have to decide what to do about the hive they have built inside our walls.  Should we remove the hive by opening up the wall or roof?  Or should we just seal it up really tight?   My neighbor said they will try to get back to their hive or other bees may smell the honey and try and enter the nest area.

Photo of a typical bee hive.

We will post more on this blog when we find a solution to our bee problem.  If any readers out there have experience with bee hives and how to remove them from your home, please share the information with us. Exterminators are expensive, so if there are any safe alternatives we would be interested in learning about them.