How to Identify Bee Hives

Learn how to identify bee hives.

The many different types of bees have different types of hives. If you find a bee hive, or worse -- several hives, you will need to know what type of nest you have on your hands. A simple cursory check can help identify certain hives, while other nests will require more time and a bit more exposure. None of the checks will require you ever to touch the hives; nevertheless, you will be able to determine your specific pest problem.

Instructions

1. Look for carpenter bee nests that are active during the late spring months and beginning summer months. Nests at this time are found under decks, eaves and similar areas and surrounded by small, drilled holes.

2. Inspect dry areas of ground on hills and banks for large groups of small holes. These are mining bee nests and the bees inside will come out early in the spring.

3. Check inside walls, hollows and attic voids for large nests throughout the year. Honey bees build their hives in these empty structural spaces, and the hives can live for years in these spots.

4. Inspect inside abandoned burrows and animal holes as well as under bushes and shrubs for hives. Check the bees exiting from these hives for striped black and yellow bodies to find a sure indication of a yellow jacket hive.

5. Watch the bees leaving any of the nests you find to see if they have fuzzy bodies with thick bands of yellow and black. These are bumblebees; bumblebees build their hives in almost all of the places where other bees would.

Tips & Warnings

• Take a picture of any nest that you find and show it to a professional exterminator for a definitive identification of the problem you have.

• Do not attempt to remove any bee hive with your bare hands and without proper preparation.

References

• The Bee Guy: Identify & Control Your Pest
• Extension: Wasp and bee Control