There are two main groups of bees that appear around homes. Honeybees and bumblebees are social insects that live in colonies. Carpenter bees and ground-nesting bees are solitary insects. The two groups have very different nesting habits.
Honeybees and bumblebees live in colonies. There is a queen and many workers. A bumblebee colony might have 1,000 workers. A honeybee colony might have as many as 80,000 bees. Bumblebees often nest in the ground in abandoned mouse burrows.
Honeybees often nest in hollow logs, storage sheds, and even inside the walls of houses. A line of bees coming and going during the day is a sign that bees might have made a nest.
When scouting for the bees' nest, homeowners should watch the bees from a safe distance. The bees will attack if their nest is threatened. Africanized honeybees look like European honeybees, but they are much more aggressive. They have been known to attack an intruder at a considerable distance from the nest.
Carpenter bees make their nests in wood. They often attack siding, windowsills, eaves, and decks of homes. They have even been found making their tunnels in patio furniture. While the female carpenter bee makes the tunnel, the male bee flies around aggressively. The male carpenter bee has no stinger, so he is not a real threat. The female has a stinger, but she is usually too busy to sting unless she is provoked.
Leaf cutting bees, mining bees, and many of the sweat bees make nests in the ground. The ground-nesting bees make chambers where they place their eggs with some pollen and nectar.
Sometimes there are large clusters of these in-ground nests. If they are close to a home, the nesting activity of the bees often frightens homeowners. These bees are normally not aggressive. Most of them are pollinators of flowers and crops, so they are beneficial.
Since honeybees are the only bees that carryover from year-to-year, not all bee problems need to be treated with insecticide. A pest control professional can help identify the insects and confirm whether they are bees.
Most people prefer calling a pest control professional when bees must be controlled. If treatment is needed, the pest control professional will have the equipment to make the application properly. He or she will also have the safety equipment necessary to prevent stings during the treatment.