On subterranean beehive eviction techniques

A

A. BETTIK

1,000+ Posts
I've found no satisfactory techniques on the web for evicting a subterranean beehive I have in my back yard here in Austin. I suppose if I were to come across a woozle, and politely asked it for help, and it agreed, things might work themselves out but I don't put much faith in ever finding one in my back yard.

One bee has already stung my thumb once and I want it and its relations gone. They don't quite look like honey bees so maybe they are killer bees.

Any thoughts or suggestions on techniques for eviction that
1. Cost less than $20
2. Will give the bees a chance to abandon their hive
3. Won't get me stung
4. Involve no pesticides
would be most appreciated.

Thanks.
 
I had a similar, if worse, problem: a whole swarm of them came out from under my driveway one day. I didn't find out about it until several of them stung a kid passing by on a bicycle. Not wanting a repeat of this, not to mention lawsuits, I called an insect control specialist.

He arrived in about 20 minutes, and after donning his (Hazmat?) suit, zapped said bees with one squirt of his gun. They didn't even put up a fight.

Quick end to problem, but it cost me $250.
 
You could call a local bee keeper. I know bees are becoming endangered and bee keepers are always looking for new bee colonies.
 
Sounds like they may be yellow jackets. You can go to home depot and pick up a yellow jacket trap. You put the pheromone packet into the trap and set it near the hive and away from foot traffic.
 
I'm pretty much a DIYer, but when it comes to large numbers of stinging insects I call a professional. Others in the area may be allergic to the stings (I am) and the last thing you want to do is literally stir up a big hornet or bee nest and a swarm of the little buggers attack a neighbor.
 
Dishwahing soap and water in a pump up sprayer. You might want to get some smoke going to calm them down before spraying. I'm pretty sure it kills them though. The soap, not the smoke. I'm not sure about this, but it is my impression that neither subterranean bees nor yellow jackets are on anyone's list of helpful neighbors.
 
[b[IF they are honeybees and not some sort of wasp, call these guys:The Link

They removed two large hives from my home (one in a wall and one in the roof) and they did it quickly. The best part is that they took the bees alive. My bees are now happily living in a meadow outside Giddings and making honey to their little hearts' content.

Cost me about $375 to remove two hives. They had to cut into my wall and my roof. It probably would not cost as much for a subterranean eviction.

If they are honeybees, you don't want to kill them.
 
I had some wasps that lived underground and entered through some stones in a loose landscape border. There were tens of them, not hundreds, BTW. Insects don't bother me at all, but the kids complained.

I tried flushing them out with frequent baths using a water hose pushed up against the openings. That seemed to work for most of a season, but they always came back. I finally just got a can of no-name wasp/hornet spray and nailed them as they all flew out. It really was a lot of fun trying to catch each one.

That was years ago and they have never returned. Good luck!
 
I guess I was trying to say that honeybees don't form nests or hives in the ground if my impression is correct. I'm sure it's unfair to say that bumblebees and wasps serve no useful purpose, but since my personal opinion is that their utility is outweighed by their nuisance factor, it becomes easy to make a generalization like that.
 
I had a subterranean beehive (yes, bees) at a previous house that a landscaper I'd hired discovered. I called a beekeeper who smoked them out, but a couple of landscapers decided to hang around to watch rather than go inside and got attacked by the mad swarm. Wasn't funny at all. Even the beekeeper got stung several times through his gear.
 
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