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Huge Black Bees?

3K views 27 replies 16 participants last post by  FreeRange 
#1 ·
How can I get rid of these suckers? I have moved from Oregon to NO Carolina and never dealt with anything like this before! They have infested my Air-Heating unit right off the door to/from my back porch. They go after me and my cattlekid Ben. Hope you have some suggestions!

Thanks! LQ
 
#3 ·
They are all black, quite large...as large or larger than a bumble bee.They are too fast to get a photo. The "nest" is inside my A/C-Heat unit so can't see it. They are aggressive!
 
#4 ·
Sounds like a carpenter bee. They can zoom around and be aggressively annoying but only the females can sting.

We spray insecticide inside the hole, but I've never seen them nest inside anything but wood.

Do they look like this:

Insect stable fly Megachilidae Invertebrate Membrane-winged insect
 
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#6 ·
Do this at night, cooler the evening the better your chances of not getting stung. Use Sevin dust, spray into the hole and leave a nice pile if possible. It will take a few weeks to get all but as they transverse in and out they carry into the hive. Once the queen dies no new eggs, as the larva hatch the have the dust yet to contend with. Within the the month all will be dead. Many victims of the chemical attack will be on the ground. Good luck and it does work.
 
#7 ·
As I said, there is NO hole! They are in my AC/Heating Unit! Irish Pixie has the culprit and posted a good image of one of the creatures. Thanks Pixie! Now I have to figure out how to reach inside that outdoor AC/Heat unit to impact the nest. I don't mind them being around, but they can't go after me or my dog! I have seen one female and she is really unfriendly. I was here first! LOL Thx LQ
 
#8 ·
Will long reaching insecticide, some of those sprays can go 6-8 feet, work for shooting into the AC/heat unit?
 
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#9 ·
I will try it Irish! Anyone think I may spray something inside this unit that would damage it? I'd hate to pay for a new one!
 
#10 ·
I dunno. Can you see the nest? Is it in the "workings" or just on an outside support structure?
 
#11 ·
Whatever you use, attack at night! The cooler it is the less likely they will be active. At night all the bees are back at the hive with only a few on guard duty. They will come out once hit with the chemicals. Plan your your escape path first, last thing you want to do is fall over the lawn chair while running away from angry soon to die bees. Be careful, you can out smart them but the do have the numbers on their side. And they use chemicals too!
 
#12 ·
I'm really surprised that people from a homesteading forum would support killing bees. Carpenter bees, large black bees, are harmless and needed for pollination of flowers and crops. With the amount of hives dying, please try something else if they are bothering you.

Like calling your County Ag office and asking for a referral for someone who will remove bees.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the tips Robotron. And Bearfootfarm(Hi!), these are carpenter bees and they are in that AC unit in large numbers. No idea if this could be construed as a "nest"? This evening they must move on. I appreciate we need pollinators but not if they are going to come after me and my dog. The only people here in this area who deal with insects etc are those who get rid of them. I have just realized I must change my sign-in name after many years...I am Not in Oregon any more! Maybe go to Little Quacker in NO. Carolina? Forgot how to do that! LOL
 
#15 ·
these are carpenter bees
I appreciate we need pollinators but not if they are going to come after me and my dog.
If they are truly Carpenter Bees, they are harmless.
They will not hurt you if you simply leave them alone.

I don't think the really are Carpenter Bees though or they wouldn't be where they are.

I'd put screening over all the entrances to the unit until they all die off.
 
#17 ·
There are times one must go to war with Mother Nature. I am a spirit of live and let live until threatened. If a wasp nest, bee’s or anything else in nature causes me to have to fight, I fight hard. I don’t mind the orb weavers doing there job, or bee’s at all. But get a ground nest in the wrong location and they get aggressive they got to go! I will not tolerate aggressive critters at my place. Stay where you should, leave me and mine alone and we will get along fine. I didn’t sign the Geneva Convention nor did they. If you cause me to take more than a cursory look and become aggressive, you’re out of here. Flames, chemicals, drowning all are in fair play.
Live and let live but be nice.
 
#18 ·
I am on all kinds of local list to remove bees wasp and hornets. Honey bees are all that get saved because they build honey comb and are not normally agressive here in Michigan.

For every thing else I use a fast acting wasp and hornet spray. Specrside Pro. can only find it local at Home Depot.



If they are aggressive they are of no good to any one they have joined the terroriest insect world like yellow jackets.


Any way Spectraside Pro is a contact killer, spray the area any where near the nest and they die, the contact killing propertys last up to 4 weeks if it doesn't get washed off by rain, lawn sprinklers and heavy dew.

:D Al
 
#19 ·
These have more yellow on them----usually between the wings and more on the back tail section, they are very aggressive. I seen some chase my BIL over 100yards and caught him and he got stung twice. I got stung by one just yesterday. They had their nest under some leaves in the dirt where I had my tomato cages stored. I have dealt with these for many years and learned to try to avoid them. These do make a community nest, the first I seen was probably mid 1980's---they had a nest in a storage building in the "snow" Christmas tree skirt---hundreds of them. Several times I have found them under fallen leaves in the dirt. I had them to make a nest with the insulation in a storage building---in the wall. They seem to Buzz louder than regular carpenter bee's.
 

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#20 ·
maybe you have bald face hornets . they nest in places like that . carpenter bees bore holes in wood and don't live together in a/c units . watch spraying your a/c unit the results could be shocking . If it is the bald face hornet set up a bucket full of water and a drop or so of dish soap and hang a light over it . they fly and feed at night and will hit the light and fall in the water .
Insect Invertebrate Pest Beetle Arthropod
 
#21 ·
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............When the outside unit is running , the fan on top is sucking air in , through the sides and blowing it out the top ! Buy a can of Black Flagg wasp spray , (it will squirt about 15 feet) spray a side of the unit while running and some of the poison will be sucked through the nest , hopefully . You may have to repeat the process several times . See if you can figure out which side of the unit the nest is on , then spray that side . The bees will be pushed up and out of the unit , if they leave the nest while it is running . , fordy
 
#22 ·
Those are "not" carpenter bees. First all a carpenter bee has no stinger. Secondly, they drill holes into wood for nesting purposes. I'm wondering if they aren't some type of hornet. Hornets are aggressive and may build a home (a community house) most anywhere.

Fordy has a good suggestion. Another might be to cover your AC unit with a tarp (while it isn't running of course) and place a "raid fumigator" under it. Those ?? will be dead in no time. The problem with this suggestion though is …. will they remain inside your AC or all fall outside that unit in attempts to escape. I think I like Fordy's idea better, though I am concerned what that spray might do to your unit.
 
#23 ·
Just curious here. Bald faced hornets are real little buggers in OR but nasty! Carpenter bees and the pretty yellow and black bee that Fire-Man posted a pix of are way bigger. You guys can tell me all day long about where those carpenter bees nest but I know what was in my A/C unit as Irish Pixie posted a perfect pix of one! I also saw one making a perfect round hole in the trim on my back porch screen door. Same bee species. They are now gone thanks to Allyyooper's tip. I see some are nesting under my storage shed this year. But it is way across my 1/4 acre yard from my home exits so I won't bother them. They must serve some type of purpose in nature so I'll leave 'em to it. LQ
 
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#24 ·
I see some are nesting under my storage shed this year. But it is way across my 1/4 acre yard from my home exits so I won't bother them. They must serve some type of purpose in nature so I'll leave 'em to it. LQ
Carpenter bees bore into wood and lay eggs. The larva once hatched devour their way out. While not a 'overnight' problem over years they can destroy wood buildings. google 'wood bee damage' to see what these little pests can do.

Great for rotting fallen trees, terrible for wooden buildings.
 
#25 ·
Oh Prismseed! I did not think of that! New here you see. So, I will get on the job and get rid of them! I don't want holes in my storage shed! Thanks!!! LQ
 
#28 ·
Did you have any problem getting them out of the air conditioner? An HVAC repairman once told us to keep an ear tag (pesticide) inside the a/c to keep out fireants. They like electrical and destroyed a capacitor. It might work for your bees too.
 
#26 ·
A non-toxic way to remove some bees or hornets is to fill a pail about 1/2 full of water. Add a few drops of dish soap to break the surface tension. Set the bucket near the nest.

They will try to get a drink of water and without the surface tension fall into the water and drown.

It works great on yellow jackets but for them it needs a piece of meat on the rim of the bucket.
 
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