Bees can build their nest in any suitable location for nesting. The spot can be the wall of your house too. Whenever you discover bees in your house wall, the first question in your mind “How long they can live trapped in a wall?”.
When you identify a cluster of bees on your wall, it may become a matter of worry for you. You try to discover a way to get rid of them. But before removing them it is better to give them time to leave the wall on their own.
So, how long bees can live trapped in a wall? Well, bees can live trapped in a wall for a few days to even a few years. The actual duration depends on the food storage and other factors that are required to live.
So, you might be asking how to remove a bee nest from a wall. That’s what I am going to guide in this post.
So, the main objective of this blog post is.
- To learn how long bees can live when trapped in a wall?
- What can happen if you leave bees in a wall?
- How you can rescue bees from housewall.
- Frequently asked questions by people related to the fact bees in a wall.
So, How Long Can Bees Live When Trapped In A Wall?
Bees can live trapped in a wall until the available food sources have vanished. Bees can live trapped in a wall for even a few years. The amount of time they will live in a wall mainly depends on the food storage and sources of food supplies.
When bees are trapped in a wall, they try their best to rescue. So, they will start losing energy. As a result, they will die very soon if they don’t get any food supply.
Bees can die within 24 hours if they don’t get any food. So, when bees are locked in a wall and don’t get any food, they will die within a couple of days.
When food sources are available they might survive for a few months. Usually, bees don’t stuck in a place for more than a season. But this actually depends on the species of bees.
How Do Bees Get Trapped In A Wall?
Well, bees can get trapped in a wall for various reasons. The main reason is to build a new nest if the wall is suitable for their new nest. The other reasons include the following
- Bees can get trapped in a wall by a spider nest, inside small holes, or can get caught by other creatures.
- Bees can also get trapped in a wall if they enter a one-way hole. It might enter the hole and get stuck inside the hole and be unable to make its way out.
- Bees can cluster in a wall during their flight temporarily. When bees leave their old hive to build their new hive in a different location, sometimes they take a break during their flight. So, they can choose a house wall for this purpose.
- Bees also cluster together in a housewall when they don’t find any suitable nesting site around.
How Long Do Bees Can Live Without Food?
Bees usually can’t live more than 24 hours without food or water. Survival of bees without food depends on several factors like species of bees, current season, and energy loss.
Bees won’t be able to live longer without food when the weather is bad.
For example, honey bees won’t be able to survive more than 24 hours when the atmosphere temperature is high. But they can survive for a few days without any food supply in winter.
The survival duration of bees can be calculated by the speed of their energy loss. As fast as they lose their energy as fast they will tend to die.
When bees get trapped in a spider nest or in a hole in the wall they will try to get rid of that. So, they will start losing more energy. As a result, they will die if they are unable to get rid of that trap and get any food.
That’s why sometimes bees die within a few hours of getting trapped. But the actual amount of time varies for different bees and in different circumstances.
What Happens If You Leave A Beehive In A Wall?
If the bees are living inside the wall then they can damage your wall. But if they are living on the outer side of the wall, in most cases they won’t cause any damage to the wall.
If bees get any sign of threat then they will never hesitate to sting. In case the beehive has become a matter of worry for you and your family then you must remove them.
There are several problems you can face if you leave a beehive on a wall.
- They can create holes and create cracks in the wall.
- If bees live longer inside a wall then they can damage the entire wall. Because bees like carpenter bees can chew through drywall which can cause harm to the wall.
- The sticky substance left by bees can cause damage to the paint on the wall.
- If bees get disturbed by any creature they sting without any hesitation. So, leaving a beehive in a wall can be harmful to the pets and children of your house.
- After bees swarm away they may leave their nest in your wall. Having an empty nest for a long time in the wall can cause damage to the wall.
There are some other negative effects too if you leave a beehive on a wall. So, you should try to successfully remove the beehive from the wall with the help of a specialist as early as possible.
How To Remove Bees From A Wall
To remove bees from a wall you should call a specialist or local beekeepers. But if you are a beekeeper, you might interested to know how to remove bees from a wall on your own.
Because for beekeepers it is not uncommon to lose bees from their apiary. Sometimes bees swarm away from the hive and create their nest in a tree or in a wall.
So, you may need to unlock the bees from your housewall and relocate them in a beehive.
How To Remove Bees From Wall Cavity
In most cases, carpenter bees create nests in a wall cavity. To remove carpenter bees from the wall cavity you can use a carpenter bee trap. You can make a carpenter bee trap on your own or purchase one from the online store.
If the bees are not carpenters then they might be honey bees. In this case, you should be very careful. If you don’t have knowledge about removing bees from housewall, you must call for a specialist to remove bees from the wall cavity safely.
If you are a beekeeper and want to learn how to remove bees from the wall, you should try the following ways. Remember for this process you will require a bee vacuum.
- First, wear a bee suit and gloves with a deeper layer and take other protection.
- Identify the location of the bees or bees at the wall cavity.
- Seal all of the entrances like cracks and holes so that bees can’t get outside the hole.
- Then place a bee vac which is a one-way vessel. Bees will come from the wall cavity and enter the bee vac. This process can take a few days.
- You can also try other methods like putting a vacuum bottle at the entrance of the hole and tapping the wall. The bees will try to go outside from the wall and will enter the bottle.
After removing bees from the wall cavity you must repair the wall. Also, take the necessary steps so that bees can’t make a nest again in the wall cavity.
Keep in mind that a normal vacuum cleaner and a bee vacuum are not the same. You can either purchase or build one according to our DIY plan to make a bee vacuum.
How To Remove Bees Nest From The Wall
To remove bees from the housewall and relocate them you can follow the instructions below.
- Don’t approach the beehive in the daytime. Wait until sunset and do the entire process of bee nest removal at night.
- Wear all types of necessary protective suits.
- At first, apply some smoke using a bee smoker to calm the bees.
- Then use a bee vac to catch the bees from the wall. This is a lengthy process.
- You can also use trapping to catch the bees and transfer them to a new beehive using a one-way bee entry device.
- After the bees are safely removed you should clean the wall and remove the honeycomb, propolis, wax, and other sticky substances left by bees.
After removing bees from the wall, you can transfer them to a new hive for keeping as you do to transfer a nuc to a new hive.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can bees be locked in their hive?
If you provide enough food you can keep bees locked in their hive for a few days. Because bees tend to stay locked in their hive for a long time during winter. Whenever the weather is not bee-friendly bees stay on their hive. So, you can also lock them for a few days but don't forcefully keep them locked for long.
Why do bees die when trapped?
They try to rescue themselves so they are losing energy fast. They are not getting any food and also losing energy continuously. As a result, within a few hours, they die when trapped.
Do bees lay eggs in walls?
Carpenter bees who create their nest in a wall cavity can lay eggs too. Carpenter bees usually create their nest in wooden material. They can live in wall cavities too. So, they will lay eggs in the wall cavity to raise their broods.
Conclusion and Helpful Resources
Bees won’t be able to live longer in a wall if food supplies are scarce. If they spend their energy very fast they will also die very soon.
It is our job to save the world’s largest pollinators. So, to save pollinators you should try to rescue them from being trapped in a wall instead of killing them.
To remove bees and beehives from a wall you can call a bee removal specialist.
So, hopefully, you get a basic idea of how long bees can live trapped in a wall, and how to rescue them. The following resources might be helpful for you to enrich your knowledge about bees.
- If you want to know how to prevent ground bees from nesting again check this.
- T. Atmowidi, T. S. Prawasti, and R. Raffiudin, “Flight activities and pollen load of three species of stingless bees (Apidae: Melliponinae).” Read the research paper here.
- To know how to get rid of ground bees naturally, you may check this.
- Removing bees from the wall. Article link.
