How to Eliminate Bees Living in Exterior Siding

During summer, a top priority of most homeowners is to eliminate bees from the yard and property. Common places for bees to hide and build nests include overhangs, cracks, window frames, shutters, door frames, and underneath the siding. Even though a hive nestled inside the wood, aluminum, or vinyl siding is hard to actually reach, these are in fact some of the easiest and safest types of nests to get rid of because they require no contact with the bees or nest.

Bees are valuable creatures, so many beekeepers offer free bee-removal services to people nearby. If you can, you should always try to remove bees safely. You might even consider gearing up yourself and guiding the bees into a small hive that will make honey and other goods for you, as well as supporting healthy pollination in your garden.

If your bee situation makes that impossible and you can't find a beekeeper to help, you can try to eradicate the nests in your siding instead.

Locate the Nests

Since the nest is in your siding, you have never seen it, only the bees entering and exiting. You may not know for sure how many nests are inside your siding or how large the nests are. To ensure all the bees are killed, you first must make sure to locate all the nests. Spend time outside your home paying close attention to the bees' habits and attempt to note all the specific locations where they go into or out of the siding. Since bees are active throughout the day, these points shouldn't be hard to find.

Look at all sides of your house to locate all the nests. If you find multiple entrances and exit areas, lightly mark the points using a rock or some tape to remember the spots later.

Prepare Insecticide

While wearing gloves, funnel the powdered insecticide into the empty dish soap bottle. Do not inhale the powder. A dish soap bottle is recommended because the powder can be squeezed out easily onto a target area. Similar alternative containers can be used. Make sure the container is dry before using it. After pouring the insecticide into the bottle, wash your hands, the funnel, and all involved surfaces thoroughly.

Depending on the specific properties of the insecticide you're using, you may require more than simple gloves. Read your manufacturer's instructions and obey any further safety recommendations, such as wearing a face mask.

Wait Until Dark

To be safe, you should wait until after dark to apply the insecticide. Not all bees are aggressive, but if you have yellow jackets, you don't want to go near their nest while they are awake.

Additionally, most bee colonies are dormant at night and are congregated in the same place. Applying the pesticide here and now is the best way to ensure that it reaches and impacts as many bees as possible.

Apply the Insecticide

When the bees are sleeping, squirt the powdered insecticide from the bottle at the entrance and exit points on the siding. Make sure to cover all the points, using the marks you used as a reminder. Spray the powder in the opening of the siding. If the entry point is close to the ground, squirt some powder on the ground.

Wait a Week

It will take approximately one week for the powdered insecticide to kill all the bees. As the bees travel in and out of the nests, they will carry the insecticide powder you sprayed at the entry point to other bees in the nest. If the breed you are trying to kill has a queen bee, she will also die. Eventually, all the bees will be dead due to the spread of the powder.