How to React When a Swarm of Honey Bees Decides to Invade Your Home
What Happened?
My incident with the swarm of Honey Bees happened one Fall day. The weather was pleasant, and we had screens in the house windows to let the fresh air in. It was getting towards dusk when I went upstairs and walked into my bedroom. I stopped cold in my tracks when I saw part of the wall was covered with Honey Bees. They were crawling over an area that measured about five feet square. How did I react when a swarm of Honey Bees decided to invade my home? I quietly walked backwards out of the room and closed the door. Excited? You bet I was! But I didn’t want to rile the Honey Bees up.
Being I had had some prior experience with other flying, stinging insects, and had used a local exterminator a few times around that time, I called the owner of the company. Lucky for me, Chuck was home on that Saturday evening. He understood my excitement when I explained the situation, and, he told me what to do.
How to React When a Swarm of Honey Bees Decides to Invade Your Home
1. The most important thing to do is to stay calm, which is easier said than done. Chuck said that Honey Bees swarm in the spring and in the fall. When a hive becomes overpopulated, a second queen is crowned, so to speak, and she and some of the newer residents head out to make their own hive. In my bedroom??? Chuck suggested this swarm of Honey Bees was using my house as a motel for the night. He doubted they were actually setting up housekeeping. That was a relief.
2. Chuck instructed me to leave the bedroom windows open so the Honey Bees could leave the same way they came in. Shutting the door was a good idea. That would keep them contained in that room in case they did get disturbed. He also had me lay a rug in front of the door to seal off the gap.
3. Finally, Chuck advised that we not disturb the Honey Bees at all, not even by making loud noises anywhere in the house. I sent the kids and the dog to spend the night at Grandma’s. I slept on the couch… with one eye open, I might add, while the Honey Bees quietly stayed upstairs.
How Did The Swarm of Honey Bees Get In My Home?
My home is a remodeled house that was built in the 1800s. Years ago, when the Honey Bees entered my house, the windows were the original wooden ones that were installed more than 100 years ago. Over time, the wooden frames had shrunk. This allowed the windows to move back and forth inside the frames. Those gaps were plenty of room to allow Honey Bees into my home.
Honey Bees differ in size. They aren’t very big, so they can easily crawl into any small hole or gap and enter your home. According to the Virginia Cooperative Extension, the worker Honey Bees measure 2/5 to 3/5 of an inch long; the drones measure 3/4 to 5/8 of an inch long; and the queen bee is about 3/4 to 3/5 of an inch long. So you can see they don’t need a large space to enter your home.
Conclusion
I learned a lot during this experience. Since swarming Honey Bees don’t have a hive to protect, they are usually not as aggressive. Unless you swat at them or bother them, that is.
Chuck said by sunup the next morning, the Honey Bees should be gone. In case they decided to take up permanent residence, I was supposed to call him back. He then would have brought out a beekeeper to remove the swarm.
When I checked my bedroom, the Honey Bees had indeed left, as quietly as they had come in.
Since that time, I had the old windows and doors replaced. I haven’t had any more close encounters such as this one with a swarm of Honey Bees. I hope to never again.
