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BEE SAFE!
Protect yourself, your family, home and property from honey bees and stinging insects
Bee & Wasp, hornets, yellow jacket services starting at $124.99
Price will
vary due to the type of infestation. Please call the office for further information and pricing.
BUMBLE BEES
Bumble bees are one of several types of bees
that live in and around Texas homes. Bumble bees
and their relatives, the carpenter bees, are
relatively large (15-25mm-long), robust bees
covered with numerous hairs. They often have
black bodies covered with black and yellow hairs
that create a banded pattern. Approximately 50
species of bumble bees live in North America,
most of which are important pollinators of
flowers and considered beneficial.
Carpenter bees are similar in appearance to
bumble bees, but lack hairs on the top surface
of the abdomen. These bees sometimes destroy or
damage wooden decks, patios and other structures
due to their habit of boring nest holes in soft
wood, see our wood destroying insect page for
more information on Carpenter bees.
For Carpenter Bee information, please see our
Wood Destroying Insect page
AFRICANIZED AND EUROPEAN HONEY BEES
Africanized honey bees, or "killer bees,"
arrived in Texas in 1990 and have since migrated
to other parts of the United States. Their
"killer" reputation, however, has been
exaggerated. Africanized honey bees are very
similar to normal honey bees, but they are much
less predictable and more defensive of their
nests. When provoked, Africanized honey bees
respond quickly
in swarms and will pursue their victims for a
quarter of a mile or more.
Africanized honey bees are well established in the wild population of honey bees
in Texas. The Africanized bee is a hybrid (mixture) of African and
European honey bee subspecies. Both are not native to the Americas. As a hybrid the
Africanized bee appears identical to European honey bees. Individual foraging European and
Africanized bees are highly unlikely to sting. A swarm rarely stings people when in flight or
temporarily at rest. However, established Africanized colonies are more highly defensive toward
perceived predators than European colonies.
SIMILARITIES
- Look the same
- Protect their nests from predators by
stinging
- An individual bee can sting only once
and then dies
- Have the same kind of venom
- Pollinate flowers, produce honey and wax
AFRICANIZED BEES
- Respond quickly to disturbances by
people and animals 50 feet or more from the
nest.
- Sense vibrations from power equipment
100 feet or more from the nest.
- Sting in large numbers.
- Will chase an enemy up to a ¼ mile or
more.
- Have a higher rate of reproduction
(swarm more frequently).
- Nest in smaller cavities and sometimes
underground (e.g. water meters and animal
burrows).
POTENTIAL NESTING SITES
Bees will choose a nesting site in many places
where people may disturb them. Nesting cavities
may include: buckets, cans, empty boxes, old
tires, or any container ranging in volume from
as little as 2 to 10 gallons and more. Bees will
also choose infrequently used vehicles, lumber
piles, holes and cavities in fences, trees, and
the ground, in sheds, garages, and other
outbuildings between walls or in the open, low
decks or spaces under buildings. REMOVE
POTENTIAL NEST SITES AROUND BUILDINGS.
Call
BugFREE, 281-373-0086 if you find bees on
your property. Do not attempt to exterminate
them yourself.
BEE PROOFING YOUR BUILDINGS AND YARD
- Remove potential nesting sites.
- Inspect outside walls and eves of your
house and other buildings.
- Seal opening greater than1/8-inch in
walls, around chimneys, pluming, and other
openings.
- Install screens (1/8-inch hardware
cloth) over rain spouts, vents, cavities of
trees and fence posts, water meter/utility
boxes, etc.
- From spring through the fall inspect
once or twice per week for bee activity
around your house and yard.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND BEES ON YOUR
PROPERTY
- STAY AWAY FROM ALL HONEY BEE SWARMS AND
COLONIES.
- GET AWAY FROM BEES AS QUICKLY AS
POSSIBLE.
- WHILE RUNNING AWAY PROTECT YOUR FACE AND
EYES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
- TAKE SHELTER IN AN ENCLOSED AREA SUCH AS
A CAR, TRUCK OR BUILDING.
- CALL BugFree 281-373-0086 sales@bugfreetx.com
- DO NOT HIDE IN WATER OR THICK BRUSH.
- DO NOT STAND STILL AND SWAT AT BEES;
RAPID MOVEMENTS WILL CAUSE THEM TO STING.
If you have a problem with
bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets on your
property,
BugFree can help
you eradicate any bee nests.
In addition, following are some tips to
help protect yourself from bees at home:
- Listen for buzzing indicating a nest or
swarm of bees.
- Examine your yard for bee nests before
doing any yard work or allowing children to
play outside. Also be aware when in school
fields, parks and other open areas.
- Never disturb a bee nest or swarm. Teach
your children to avoid these dangers.
- Check with your doctor about bee sting
kits and precautions to take if you are
sensitive to stings.
- If you encounter a swarm of bees,
protect your face and eyes, run away and
take shelter in a car or building.
- If you are stung by a bee, scrape out
any stingers, avoid squeezing the wound,
wash the area with soap and water and apply
an ice pack to reduce swelling and pain.
- Seek medical attention if you’ve been
stung several times, if you have trouble
breathing or if you are allergic to stings.
Call 911 in an emergency.
- Don't leave opened cans of sweet drinks
or beer standing around. Always check before
drinking from an open container, even if it
contains only water.
- Do not go barefoot on lawns with
flowering plants nearby, or wear open toed
sandals, as you risk a painful sting on the
foot.
- If attacked, place your hands and
forearms across your head to protect your
eyes, throat and neck.
- Take care NOT to crush an insect and
risk being stung in an area you're trying to
protect. Brush insects off the skin with a
sideways motion. Move away quickly and
quietly, as agitated movement and noise can
irritate the insects and evoke further
attacks. If spotted, move away from any nest
they are trying to protect.
- Don't wear strong perfumes or cosmetics,
particularly floral-scented ones, which can
attract bees and wasps.
- Individuals who know they are allergic
to bee or wasp stings should carry an
epinephrine syringe or auto-injector
whenever they may be exposed to these
insects. Epinephrine (adrenalin) is
available by prescription from a physician.
- Seek relief of immediate pain. Topical
anesthetic such as benzocaine can give fast
relief. Use hydrocortisone to relieve
itching.
- Don't put meat tenderizer on a sting.
Though this may provide temporary relief
from itching and swelling, there are better
methods available. Meat tenderizer contains
enzymes designed to dissolve the fiber
structure of muscle tissue and may
permanently damage nerve tissue, resulting
in loss of sensation if used repeatedly in
one area.
Call
BugFREE, 281-373-0086 if you find bees on
your property. Do not attempt to exterminate
them yourself.
Please go to the PRODUCTS page and always
have on hand the best Spray on the market. Kills
wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, bees and flying
insect on contact from 15 ft away! Check out our
products page for WASP FREEZE.
Fun Information on Bees
Why do Bees Make Honey?
Honeybees collect nectar and store it as honey
in their hives. Nectar and honey provide the
energy for the bees' flight muscles and for
heating the hive during the winter period.
Honeybees also collect pollen which supplies
protein for bee brood to grow.
 The
ColonyHoney bees live in
colonies that are often maintained,
fed, and transported by beekeepers.
Centuries of selective breeding by
humans has created honey bees that
produce far more honey than the
colony needs. Beekeepers harvest the
honey. Beekeepers provide a place
for the colony to live and to store
honey in. The modern beehive is made
up of a series of square or
rectangular boxes without tops or
bottoms placed one on top of
another. Inside the boxes frames are
hung in parallel, in which bees
build up the wax honeycomb in which
they both raise brood and store
honey. Modern hives enable
beekeepers to transport bees, moving
from field to field as the crop
needs pollinating and allowing the
beekeeper to charge for the
pollination services they provide.
A colony generally contains one
breeding female, or "queen"; a few
thousand males, or "drones"; and a
large population of sterile female
“worker” bees. The population of a
healthy hive in mid-summer can
average between 40,000 and 80,000
bees. The workers cooperate to find
food and use a pattern of "dancing"
to communicate with each other.
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The Queen
The queen is the largest bee in the colony.
Queens are developed from larvae selected by
worker bees to become sexually mature. The queen
develops more fully than sexually immature
workers because she is given royal jelly, a
secretion from glands on the heads of young
workers, for an extended time. She develops in a
specially-constructed queen cell, which is
larger than the cells of normal brood comb, and
is oriented vertically instead of horizontally.
She will emerge from her cell to mate in
flight with approximately 13-18 drone (male)
bees. During this mating, she receives several
million sperm cells, which last her entire life
span (from two to five years). In each hive or
colony, there is only one adult, mated queen,
who is the mother of the worker bees of the
hive, although there are exceptions on occasion.
Although the name might imply it, a queen has no
control over the hive. Her sole function is to
serve as the reproducer; she is an "egg laying
machine." A good queen of quality stock, well
reared with good nutrition and well mated, can
lay up to 3,000 eggs per day during the spring
build-up and live for two or more years. She
lays her own weight in eggs every couple of
hours and is continuously surrounded by young
worker attendants, who meet her every need, such
as feeding and cleaning.
 The
Drones
The male bees, called “drones”, are
characterized by eyes that are twice the size of
those of worker bees and queens, and a body size
greater than that of worker bees, though usually
smaller than the queen bee. Their abdomen is
stouter than the abdomen of workers or queen.
Although heavy bodied, drones have to be able to
fly fast enough to catch up with the queen in
flight. Drones are stingless.
Their main function in the hive is to be ready
to fertilize a receptive queen. Mating occurs in
flight, which accounts for the need of the
drones for better vision, which is provided by
their big eyes.
In areas with severe winters, all drones are
then driven out of the hive. The life expectancy
of a drone is about 90 days.
 Worker
Bees
A worker bee is a non-reproducing female
which performs certain tasks in support of a bee
hive. Worker bees undergo a well defined
progression of capabilities. In the summer 98%
of the bees in a hive are worker bees. In the
winter, besides the queen, all bees are worker
bees. Workers feed the queen and larvae, guard
the hive entrance and help to keep the hive cool
by fanning their wings. Worker bees also collect
nectar to make honey. In addition, honey bees
produce wax comb.
Bumble bees are one of several types of bees
that live in and around Texas homes. Bumble bees
and their relatives, the carpenter bees, are
relatively large (15-25mm-long), robust bees
covered with numerous hairs. They often have
black bodies covered with black and yellow hairs
that create a banded pattern. Approximately 50
species of bumble bees live in North America,
most of which are important pollinators of
flowers and considered beneficial.
Carpenter bees are similar in appearance to
bumble bees, but lack hairs on the top surface
of the abdomen. These bees sometimes destroy or
damage wooden decks, patios and other structures
due to their habit of boring nest holes in soft
wood, see our wood destroying insect page for
more information on Carpenter bees.
For Carpenter Bee information, please see our
Wood Destroying Insect page.
Please,
Call BugFREE,
281-373-0086 if you find bees on your property.
Do not attempt to exterminate them yourself.
Let
BugFree protect your family, that is what
we are here for!
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