bees in a house, can't find the entrance

**DLMKA** · 07-30-2012, 08:15 AM

I was at my mother's house this weekend and walking through an upstairs bedroom (unused) with the lights off noticed something on the floor and further inspection showed it to be honeybees dead on the floor. Myst have been a few hundred on the floor all dead and dried up. Went outside to look around all the eaves and walls and any other gap that would be the main entrance to a hive but can't find anything. I listened to the external walls but couldn't hear anything definitive there either. She vacuumed everything up and is keeping an eye for more new bees in the room and will look for any activity on the outside. I did see a spot where there were some wasps or yellowjackets getting under the siding. Could the hive been attacked forcing these bees to find an alternate exit leading to their demise in the confines of the house?

**ken rice** · 07-30-2012, 09:02 AM

Sometimes they come into a room around a ceiling fan or ceiling light. Did you check around the chimney? If there is still an active colony, You should see some kind of activity outside.

**DLMKA** · 07-30-2012, 09:07 AM

I got up on the ladder but not actually on the roof, I stay off 12:12 pitch roofs unless absolutely necessary. They're only in the one room and my mom keeps all the doors shut so they have to be coming in through this one room somewhere.

**Jaseemtp** · 07-30-2012, 09:19 AM

do you have access to some type of lazer thermometer? I have found them to be very helpful when looking for colonies through sheet rock.

**DLMKA** · 07-30-2012, 09:26 AM

Originally Posted by Jaseemtp

do you have access to some type of lazer thermometer?

I can get one of those or a really nice IR camera from work.

**Jaseemtp** · 07-30-2012, 09:53 AM

Then I would use it to try and find them. They should show up pretty easy through drywall.

**Keth Comollo** · 07-30-2012, 11:13 AM

If you use laser thermometer or IR camera do it early in the morning before the house gets hit by sun. It helps.

**BeeTech** · 07-30-2012, 01:12 PM

You could try keeping all the doors closed as much as possible. That would keep them in whichever space they are entering.

**Mr.Beeman** · 07-30-2012, 05:52 PM

Where EXACTLY do you work? lol IR cam huh.... nice.

**DLMKA** · 07-31-2012, 08:03 AM

Originally Posted by Mr.Beeman

Where EXACTLY do you work? lol IR cam huh.... nice.

I work for a company the produces yellow construction equipment. I have a friend that does cab hvac and they use the IR cam to look for leaks in the cabs.

**reneal** · 08-01-2012, 03:10 PM

OK, I had one swarm call that was very similar to what you described. The people called & said they had bees coming in the bathroom & also some were dead on the floor & they knew where they were entering up on the roof. I went over the same day & it was pretty warm, but I couldn't see a single bee entering or leaving where they said the entrance was. Checked the bathroom & there were dead or dying bees scattered around as well as in an overhead light. I checked the attic, which was the only place they could have been coming from & no sign of any bees anywhere. I finally decided that they must have moved into the attic a couple days before, then the weather turned hot, the bees decided that the attic was simply too hot for a home, so they left about the same time the homeowner called me. I explained my theory to the homeowner & said to call if they showed up again, but never heard anything more.