Why You Should Never Spray Honeybees — And What to Do Instead
Every summer, thousands of homeowners across the Mid-South discover a honeybee colony in their walls, attic, or eaves — and their first instinct is to grab a can of pesticide. It feels like the fastest fix. It isn't.
Spraying Creates a Bigger Problem
When you spray a live colony, you kill the bees — but you don't remove the hive. A healthy colony can store 30–60 pounds of honey inside your walls. When the bees die, that honey has no one to regulate it. It melts, ferments, and seeps through your drywall. The wax comb collapses. The smell attracts other pests — rodents, ants, and yes, more bees looking for an established home.
What started as a bee problem becomes a structural damage problem that costs far more to fix.
Live Removal Protects Your Home
A professional live removal means every bee is captured alive, the entire comb is extracted, the cavity is cleaned, and the entry points are sealed permanently. You're not just removing the bees — you're removing the problem at the root.
At Bees Knees Apiary, we open the structure, remove every frame of comb and every bee by hand, clean the void, and seal it so no colony can return. The bees go to our apiary or a partner farm. Your home is protected.
Honeybees Are Worth Saving
One in three bites of food you eat exists because a honeybee pollinated it. Colony populations are already under pressure from habitat loss, pesticides, and disease. Spraying a healthy colony is a loss the ecosystem can't afford.
When you call a live removal specialist, you're not just protecting your home — you're protecting the food supply.
What to Do When You Find a Colony
- Don't spray. Don't seal the entry point (trapped bees will find another way out — through your living room).
- Keep people and pets away from the area.
- Call a licensed beekeeper or removal specialist immediately.
- The sooner you call, the smaller the colony and the lower the cost.
If you're in Memphis, Tennessee, Mississippi, or Arkansas — call us. We answer 24/7 and we'll tell you exactly what you're dealing with before we ever show up.
