A hive of bees is considerably less aggressive than a wasp nest, and less likely to produce stings, but they can still make uncomfortable neighbours. Sydney and greater metro area residents may need professional bee control services in order to keep the local bee population in check.
Bees are less aggressive because they are incapable of stinging a mammal more than once – a bee attack is suicidal for the insect, since the stinger is barbed and rips out of the bee’s body, producing a fatal wound. Bees are also eaters of nectar and pollen, meaning that they are less aggressive by nature than the insect-killing wasps. There are around 1,400 species of native bees in Australia, most of which do not have particularly dangerous stings.
Bees can be distinguished from wasps by the fact that their bodies are hairy or fuzzy, rather than hairless, armoured, and glossy like wasp bodies usually are. The social bees form a hive where a queen lays eggs and workers provision the honeycombs with pollen for the bee larvae to eat. Solitary bees build small nests – often burrows or small mud constructions – which they provision with pollen for their young.
Pest bees and bee risks in Australia
Any misplaced beehive can be a serious pest as the defensive insects “protect” the entrance of their nest from “intruders” – such as a home owner beside whose door the bees have constructed their home. Solitary bees are completely non-aggressive, though their nests occasionally create an unsightly effect.
Some bees are pests and should be wiped out regardless of whether or not they are in an inconvenient spot in your yard. Asian honey bees are a recently introduced pest species which rob the hives of the native honey bees, destroying their honey reserves and thus their ability both to sustain themselves and to provide humans with a supply of honey. Asian honey bees like warmth and thus likely to build their hives close to or inside human habitations, which tend to collect or radiate heat, depending on the season and local climate.
Fortunately, Asian honey bees are fairly timid and unlikely to sting unless you make direct contact with their hive. Still, any Asian bee is capable of stinging, and a cloud of angry insects is a danger to anyone nearby. Since several thousand bees can live in a hive, a severe attack can produce hundreds of stings.
Stings from bees cause painful, itching welts as well as other symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. If you are allergic to bees, then their stings can present a real risk of hospitalisation or even death – the allergic reaction tends to worsen with each successive exposure to bee stings. Generally speaking, it is best to control bees living close to your home rather than discover the “hard way” that you have an allergy to their stings.
Professional bee control by Nationwide
Our team of professionals can provide bee management services in the Sydney area for all types of bees that may be in the vicinity of your home. Although it is possible for a home owner to find and kill a hive, this is a risky job that could result in massive stinging, and is best left to us to handle with our specialised protection and management equipment. Your unwanted, flying guests will soon be brought under control and ownership of your home will be returned to you by the speedy, effective action of Nationwide Pest Control.
