Spring is coming and with the weather warming up you may have started to notice honey bees swarming around the blossoming flowers, but as we open up our windows to let in the Spring air and natural warmth from the sunshine, your home can certainly attract honey bees inside.
Some honey bees are more social than others and become much more active after winter. As the temperature drops below 10°C the worker bees retreat and build up a ‘winter cluster’ to stay warm in the winter months, with the queen kept safe and sound in the warmest section of the cluster. Whilst honey bees are certainly a lot less active they are not completely out of action, and will be doing all they can to keep warm. When Spring comes around and they finally emerge from the cluster they seek out to feed on the nectar of the spring flowers to build up their energy before they begin to build their new nest.
Prevention is key
With the weather only just warming up as of late there is still plenty of time to put in preventative measures in your home to ensure that you don’t find yourself caught in a much bigger problem in your home and need professional intervention
Here are some of the key ways to prevent honey bees from entering your home:
- Reducing outdoor clutter that could attract honey bees to swarm and look for space to build a nest.
- Sealing your home, especially your roof areas which is one of the most common places for honey bees to enter your home to build hives and thrive in a warm and largely unused area of your home.
- Making sure any old honeycomb or hives around your home or garden are cleared before the weather warms up as the pheromones left on the nests and honeycomb could attract honey bees back.
- Don’t plant large attractive flowers too close to your home, keeping any flowers or vegetables several yards from your home will stop honey bees from swarming too close and finding comfort in and around your home.
If you do notice anything suspicious, swarms of honey bees or a nest close to or inside your home it is extremely important that you contact professionals to deal with your infestation and don’t take matters into your own hands.
