Bees in the vinyl soffit

Help! I've discovered a large hive of smallish bees going in and out of a corner of our vinyl soffitting, 25 feet up. I can actually hear these bees at work from inside which makes me rather anxious. Anyhow I've tried spraying but it barely reaches let alone gets inside the soffit. I'm afraid to go into the attic for fear the hive might get agitated and I'll be trapped. I don't even know if I can access the soffit from the attic. I want to know if there is an easy way to remove the soffit from a ladder, during the night to get the spray directly on the hive? Can the bees become active at night if I disturb them or will I be OK on a ladder prodding at this thing? I'm not afraid of bees myself although I don't relish the idea of being stung repeatedly. My husband, on the other hand, is allergic, so having bees around like this is not a good thing. Any ideas are much appreciated.

 

Hi Honeybee,

In your case I think I would call a pro. If you are certain that they are bees and not hornets, you might contact some beekeepers to see if they want them. Then there should be no charge to you. If you can't find any beekeepers locally you might need to contact a professional exterminator. I wouldn't think of going into the attic to see what's up unless it was after dark and they were sleeping. If you do consider this, be sure to wear protective gear.

Newt

 

One more thing about attacking a hive under the cover of darkness....do NOT hold a flashlight in your hand.

I once had a nest of yellow jackets in the wall of my house and made 2 mistakes.

Mistake #1 was to block the openning to their nest...that drove them to eat their way into the house!

Mistake #2...attack them at night with flashlight in hand...they went after the light.

In my case a professional had to come out twice to puff powder into the openning. $125, but worth it in my case.

In your case, if they're not honeybees and they're not being aggressive to you 25 feet below, they are probably fine to be left alone. They shouldn't move to the inside of the house if they already have access to the outdoors. A stray bee might wander in however.

You mention that your husband is allergic to them...and that of course is a concern that only you can measure. If it's a severe allergy then that may dictate your next move.

Also, you may have limited results if the nest is not accessible and only the openinng is. btw...a hornet nest dies every year (at least in the northern us) so you should be able to plug up the oppenning in late winter\early spring without fear.

 

I suppose a lot depends on how much ventilation is in your attic. but something to try (it worked for me, but I was able to get the fogger close).

I took a couple cans (1 each time, I did it twice to make sure) of an indoor fogger and taped them to a paint roller extension pole (close to 20 feet long). I went into the attic at night, set the cans off and placed them as close to the approximate nest location as possible (I could not see it). I repeated the second night. So far so good.

 

You should wait until dusk to puff insecticide powder into opening where bees travel in and out. They will carry the insecticide to the nest and assist you in distribution. Then, when there is no more bee activity, seal the opening.

 

Thank you all for the advice. I'll look for an insecticide powder and something to puff it in with first. If that doesn't work, I'll call in a professional. My neighbor said that she has a contract with a pest control service and that they puffed in the powder for a nest behind her siding. Sounds like a plan.

 

Hi -

I had the same issue you describe last year. I actually taped a can of Fogger to the end of a long extension pole (used the pole from my roof-rake) and simply held the can against the opening into which the bees had been emerging during the day. I did this at dusk so I could see what I was doing, and so bee activity would be at a minimum. The fogger worked like a charm. The fog obviously penetrated deeply enough into the opening (where spray would not) and not one bee came out of the hole. No problems since. It worked like a charm. Just make sure that nobody is in the house when you do this and that you air out the house well once your finished (just to dissipate any seepage that may come into the house via your attic). Again, I didn't go into the attic, but used the fogger on a pole from outside and directed the "gas" into the hole where I saw the bee activity originally. The fog does a great job to get into the places where the standard bee spray will not.

Total cost = $5 (and I got 3 cans - but only used 1)
Total time = 10 minutes
Result = Totally killed all bees, none emerged from the nest and none came after me.

Good luck!

 

I just wanted to say thanks. I read this thread and used the fogger for bees in my soffett as well. I used the can of fogger taped to a pole. Approx. 80-100 bees came out while I was fogging them. I used the second can but not a single one came out because the first can worked. Thanks for the advice all.

 

great post, I got a lot of info out of this.

A couple of questions (I also have a small hive in my soffet/attic):

Specifically, what fogger should I use? I bought one that said it kills ants, wasps, hornets, etc but didn't specifically say bees. I used one can and about 50 bees came out, I then used another can and didn't see nearly as many flying around but I am not confident this was the right stuff (didn't hurt to try).

I haven't been in the attic to see if they have nested there but that is the most likely place. Once I do get rid of them what is the best way to verify? If they don't go in the crack from the outside, is that verification enough?

thanks.

 

im sure that any fogger for wasp or hornets would also kill bees without a problem if you dont see them flying in and out, more than likely they are dead.
if a colony of bees have been there for very long they will probably have wax combs and possibly honey stored wich could cause problems and attract pest in the future unless they are removed, while they may be in the attic or inside the wall.
bees can be aggressive even at night so would be prepared with protective equipment to reduce your chances of getting stung.

 

my post may have been premature, there are no more bees

 

if they are bees the dust may not be effective
I have never killed a bee hive with dust
The dusts absorb moisture and do not work when wet
honey is wet

Bees and hornets will attack at night if threatened I have first hand painful knowledge of this

Dust work great on hornets
For bees use an aerosol or liquid

I have used similar methods to what Paul J's method once

Raid fumigators work very well and you have a few seconds to place the device before it starts smoking

If they are bees do not forget to remove any honey before it causes damage to the home

If you want to be sure that you have gotten them all go out at night a shine a very bright light on the entry exit hole
Mine is 15,000,000 cp

Oh
And yess you can access the soffit from the attic and it would be safer than trying to do so from a ladder provided you have an escape path or a suit