How to Kill Yellow Bees

Yellow bees belong to the group of wasps and are most often in conflict with humans. Unlike honey bees and paper bees, yellow bees are highly social, active in foraging and can be quite aggressive when provoked. Yellow bees are considered beneficial insects, but sometimes we also have to deal with these nasty wasps and their nests.

Table of Contents

Single yellow bee treatment

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Determine that it is not a honey bee. It can be difficult to identify in the short term when trying to observe a creature circling around you, but discernment is necessary. Yellow wasps belong to the group of wasps and are one of the most aggressive species. Unlike many common wasps, they also have alternating yellow and black stripes like honey bees. However, yellow bees have thinner, less hairy bodies than honey bees. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Avoid killing honey bees, which play an important role in the ecology but are not overly aggressive towards humans. Speaking of honey bees’ contribution, it is believed that they are responsible for 1/3 of our food! ^{[2] X Research Source}
Honey bees will die after stinging once and are generally not aggressive towards humans. They are gentle, only burning to protect themselves and warn the whole nest. ^{[3] X Research Source} In contrast, wasps can sting countless times and are not reserved.

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Open doors and windows if you are indoors. The goal here is to eliminate the hazard. You can sometimes do this by leaving an escape route for the wasps. However, you should not drive yellow bees; Your efforts may get you stung by a bee.

On the other hand, you should not open a window or door if you know that there is a yellow honeycomb on the opposite side.

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Leave food that they like. Trying to get your food back can make the yellow bees angry. Don’t touch the bee food. Quickly cover up any other food, then get it out of sight of the bees. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Stay calm when a yellow bee lands on you. Sudden movements will only increase your risk of being stung by a bee. ^{[5] X Research Source} If a yellow bee lands on you, do not move suddenly. It’s best to wait for it to fly away on its own. If this tactic doesn’t work, you should slowly and gently avoid it.

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Do not make war with wasps. A roll of newspaper or a fly swatter can kill a yellow bee, but also puts you at risk of injury. When you try to hit the wasp but fail to kill it, you run the risk of getting stung. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Likewise, you should not use any insecticidal spray to deal with a yellow bee. Sprays are contaminating if used indoors and can be harmful to anyone nearby.
Killing wasps (or inciting them) can also make their companions extremely aggressive. Wasp venom is a “warning venom,” which can attract other yellow wasps to come and target you. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Use food to lure and trap wasps. Yellow bees often come into conflict with humans over food. You can see yellow bees buzzing around trash cans, and they are especially fond of fruit, meat, and sugary drinks. ^{[8] X Research Source} You can take advantage of this feature by using food to lure them down.

Place the food in a sealable jar or soft drink bottle with a screw cap. When a yellow bee lands, lock it inside and throw it away (or release it if you’re in the right environment).

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Making soap traps is a bit more complicated. Pour soapy water into a bottle or bucket, hanging a piece of protein (a piece of meat will work) over it, about 2.5-5 cm above the surface of the water. When bees fly to get the meat, they will fall into the soapy water and drown. ^{[9] X Trusted Source University of California Integrated Pest Management Program Go to source}

You can put a net over the top of the bucket if you are worried about other animals coming to eat the meat.

Honeycomb treatment

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Make sure you are not allergic. It is best to rule out the possibility of an allergy before entering a situation where you can get burned many times if things do not go as expected. If you’re not sure if you have an allergy, contact your doctor for allergy testing.

Depending on the severity of an individual’s allergy, a wasp sting can be life-threatening. Stings can cause anaphylaxis within minutes, leading to swelling, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. ^{[10] X Research Source}

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Locate the hive. Yellow bees are insects that nest in burrows. ^{[11] X Trusted Source University of California Integrated Pest Management Program Go to the source} They nest in the ground, in overhangs of houses, under patios, sometimes in hollows in walls. The treatment of hives will vary depending on their location.

If you don’t know where the hive is, you may need to lure them in with food and watch as they fly back to the hive. Yellow bees usually fly straight in and out of the hive, not swooping down or circling. ^{[12] X Research Source} A piece of meat, jam, tuna, cat food dipped in water or soft drink can be used as a very effective bait.

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Assess infection status. Small hives can be treated by spraying and leaving, but larger hives will require you to apply careful protection measures. In addition, the location that yellow bees choose to nest is often in places that are difficult to reach and handle. If you are having difficulty, are concerned or feel unsafe, you should call a professional pest control service to have this done.

The hive is usually started by a female bee in the spring and will grow for an entire year before dying. In hot climates, hives can persist from year to year, growing very large and crowded. ^{[13] X Research Sources} However this is relatively rare.
If the hive is large and spiral-shaped, you are probably dealing with wasps. If the hive looks like gray-white honeycombs, it may be the nest of the paper wasp, a species of bee that is related to the yellow bee but is less aggressive. ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Choose the right time. Yellow bees will be much more lazy to fly when the temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius. As such, they will be less active throughout the winter, regaining their strength in late spring and early summer to raise their young, then become more active and aggressive towards humans during autumn, when food sources are depleted. The best time of year to kill wasp nests is late spring or early summer, when the newly hatched swarms of bees cling to the hive.

Yellow bees are also more active during the day. While it’s harder to see at night, treating the hive at night means you’re less likely to have to deal with active bees.
If you are not in a hot climate all year round, the hive will die in the winter. If it’s late fall, you might want to wait for the bees to fly away – they’re usually most aggressive in the fall.

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Wear protective clothing. If you decide to handle the hive yourself, you need to cover as much of your skin as possible. Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, long socks, and hats that cover your ears. Wear layers, boots and gloves. Cover your nose and mouth with a towel to cover the lower half of your face. You can also buy cheap goggles at any home store to protect your eyes.

Despite being a nuisance to humans, yellow bees still play an important role in nature. They pollinate flowers and hunt flies, caterpillars, spiders and other crop-destroying pests. ^{[15] X Research Source} It’s best to avoid bright colors that can be mistaken for flowers.
Wrap the flashlight in red cellophane or use a red bulb. Yellow bees can’t see in red light and won’t be wary of flashlights if you’re approaching at night (which is a good thing). ^{[16] X Research Source} If you don’t have cellophane, you should shine the flashlight away from the nest when approaching at night.

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Attack the hive. Synthetic wasp nest killers are quick-acting and can be sprayed directly onto the hive – but they contain dangerous poisons that require extreme caution when used in areas with food or near people and pets. You can use organic chemical replacement therapy to kill wasps, using biodegradable oils and acids, which are safer for other creatures. ^{[17] X Research Source} Both options come in spray and powder forms.

Spray cans are usually designed to spray up to about 6 meters away. Take advantage of this and stand on the ground if you can. Your range of motion will be greatly reduced when you are on a ladder and it is even more dangerous if you are attacked by bees while standing on high.
If the hive is underground, cover the hive with soil immediately after spraying or spraying.
With the hives on the outside, you can spray directly into the hive according to the instructions on the package. Powdered medicine can be administered through a syringe.
Using hot soapy water to spray the hive is also an option, although the effect is not as fast. Mix 1/3 cup soap with 2 liters of water, then pour into a spray bottle and spray on the hive. You will have to spray several times per day and for several days.
Plan a safe retreat in advance (preferably indoors). After spraying, you have up to 10-15 seconds to retreat indoors.

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Wait a week to ensure results. If you spray the hive with any kind of chemical, you should usually leave it as it is for about a week. There is no guarantee that all bees will be present in the hive when you treat the hive, so you should wait for the yellow bees outside to return to the hive and be exposed to the chemical you sprayed.

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Discard the hive. It is important to properly dispose of the yellow hive after killing the bees inside. If you just pull down the hive, dogs or other animals may be exposed to the chemicals in the hive; After spraying, you can take a broom or shovel to pull down the hive and put it in a trash bag.

If for some reason you want to keep the hive in its place, that’s fine too. It is very rare for yellow bees to reuse the old hive. ^{[18] X Research Sources}
Some people prefer to keep the wasp nest because they are attracted to its natural beauty and complexity. You can display it if you like. Bee eggs can’t hatch and survive without being fed and cared for, so if the hive is dormant for a week, you’ve escaped the bees. ^{[19] X Research Source}

Advice

The best way to prevent yellow bee infestation is to cover food and keep trash cans covered.

Warning

People who are allergic to wasp stings often carry an Epi-Pen to prevent anaphylaxis. If you find that the person stung by a wasp seems to have difficulty breathing, ask if they have an injection pen and are allergic to wasps. They may need urgent medical attention.
Before spraying or sprinkling yellow bee repellent on your soil, read the product label carefully to make sure it’s safe for the soil and water.

Steps

Single yellow bee treatment

Honeycomb treatment

Advice

Warning

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