Bumble Bee Control in Wimberley, TX
When Wimberley residents find bumble bees, it is usually a handful of fat, fuzzy black-and-yellow bees ducking in and out of one spot: a hole under a pile of old boards, a heap of cut brush, a forgotten cushion in the shed or an old burrow at the edge of the yard. If the nest is out of the way, the kindest and simplest choice is to leave it, because the colony dies off by late fall on its own. If it sits by a door, a path or a play area, or someone has already been stung, reach Pest Trappers at (210) 281-1064 by call or text, or book an inspection.
Hill Country bumble bees, and why they get a second look #
Bumble bees are the only native social bees we have, and Texas has at least nine species. A study funded by Texas Parks and Wildlife singled out the Edwards Plateau, together with the Trans-Pecos, as a target area for conserving one of them, Bombus sonorus (TPWD study). The Edwards Plateau is the region TPWD's ecoregion guide calls the Texas Hill Country, which takes in Wimberley's part of Hays County. The same study reports that B. sonorus, B. pensylvanicus and B. variabilis are designated Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Texas Conservation Action Plan.
At the federal level, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened a status review of the American bumble bee in 2021 after finding that listing "may be warranted." A January 2026 federal notice still treated it as unlisted. We found no Texas rule that bars removing a bumble bee nest on private property, but given the conservation interest, a nest that troubles no one is worth leaving in place.
Brush piles, old cushions and abandoned burrows #
Bumble bees don't dig. The Texas Apiary Inspection Service says they move into cavities something else already made. AgriLife lists the usual candidates: clumps of dry grass, old bird nests, abandoned rodent burrows, old buildings, discarded cushions, hollow logs, rotten stumps and rubbish piles.
That list overlaps with what Wimberley's code enforcement page treats as a property maintenance problem: accumulated rubbish, refuse and brush, and grass or weeds over 12 inches (City of Wimberley). Before you haul off an old brush pile or clear a shed this spring or summer, stand back for a few minutes and watch for bees entering one spot. A disturbed colony can come out stinging as a group.
Common nest spots around Wimberley properties:
- Brush and limb piles left from trimming
- Stacked lumber, pallets and old furniture
- Sheds, barns and pump houses with dry nesting material inside
- Tall, matted grass along fence lines
- Rodent holes at the base of walls and slopes
Fuzzy and black-and-yellow: confirm it #
- Bumble bee: large and robust, roughly 3/4 inch to an inch, covered with hair, banded black and yellow or black and orange. The top of the abdomen is fuzzy.
- Carpenter bee: similar size, but the top of the abdomen is shiny and nearly bare, and it bores holes in wood. See carpenter bee control in Wimberley.
- Honey bee: about 1/2 inch, slimmer, browner. Colonies are much larger and build wax comb in walls or trees.
Wait it out, or treat it? #
A bumble bee colony is small: under 2,000 bees by AgriLife's B-6118, or 300 to 600 workers by TAIS. It grows through summer, raises new queens and males in mid to late summer, and dies near the end of fall. Only the mated queens survive the winter, and they start new nests elsewhere in spring.
Leave it when:
- It is away from doors, paths and play areas
- Nobody at home has a bee or wasp allergy
- You can avoid mowing, digging or moving material near it until late fall
Have it treated when:
- It is beside an entry, walkway or play set
- The bees have already stung someone
- A household member is allergic
Unlike honey bees, bumble bees can sting more than once. They seldom sting while foraging, and AgriLife warns never to spray flowers to control them. People with sting allergies should not tackle a nest themselves.
Pest Trappers' bumble bee visit #
A technician confirms these are bumble bees, finds the nest entrance, and talks through whether it can stay until fall. If it can't, you hear the options, and any product used follows its label. You get a price after the inspection. Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549) is a family-owned business under a Texas Department of Agriculture license. Learn more in the bumble bee guide or on the Wimberley service page.