How long do bees stay after the hive is removed?

When beehives are removed, not all of the bees are present, as some may be flying around in the air outside the hive. Some worker bees might be a short distance away from the hive, pollinating plants. These leftover bees are called straggler bees. When these straggler bees return to the nest, they try to find the queen for a while before settling down into a small ball where the hive was located. Some bees who broke off from the original colony to start a new colony will try to return to their original colony if they can’t find their own queen. These straggler bees can only survive for a week or two outside their hives.

To minimize the number of straggler bees, it is recommended to try removing hives or swarms early in the morning or later in the evening. If done early enough in the morning, the worker bees will likely not have left the hive for the day and if done later in the day, it is more likely that the worker bees will have returned from their pollination responsibilities. It is important to note that some straggler bees never leave after the hive is removed. In those cases, the straggler bees can often be relocated with the help of a skilled beekeeper or a professional pest control service such as Pestwise.

Should you have some straggler bees or other concerns with bees in or around your property, don’t hesitate to contact the experienced team at Pestwise. Our technicians are familiar with all of the common pest control issues across West Florida.