European Honey Bee Guide: Swarms and Wall Colonies in Texas
A ball of bees hanging from a branch or fence post is almost always a swarm resting on its way to a new home, and it usually leaves by itself. Bees going in and out of a gap in your siding, soffit or chimney are another matter: that is a colony that has moved in, and it calls for professional removal, comb included. Since nobody can tell a European honey bee from an Africanized one by looking, give every wild colony the same respect.
If bees have settled into your house, call or text (210) 281-1064 or book online.
Swarm or colony: which one is on your property? #
Honey bee colonies multiply by splitting. Part of the colony leaves with a queen, rests in a cluster, and sends scouts to look for a cavity. That cluster is the swarm you find on a limb, an eave or a patio chair.
How long it stays depends on which Texas A&M source you read. The Insects in the City sheet on honey bee swarms says they leave within a few hours, while AgriLife's ENTO-080 bulletin says they usually move on within 48 hours. Either way, a swarm is a short stop.
A colony is a long stay. The giveaway is steady traffic: bees flying into and out of the same small opening day after day. Insects in the City estimates that a colony in a roof soffit probably holds 30,000 or more bees, so size matters when you plan what to do.
What a honey bee looks like up close #
AgriLife's B-6118 bulletin describes a bee about 1/2 inch long, colored light brown to black with yellow mixed in, with a banded abdomen and a hairy thorax. Honey bees are fuzzy, carry pollen on wide hind legs and build comb from wax. Wasps are smooth, have a pinched "waist" and build nests from paper.
Insects that get mistaken for honey bees:
- Yellowjackets: smooth, bright black and yellow, often nesting in the ground.
- Paper wasps: slender with a narrow waist and an open paper comb.
- Bumble bees: larger, about 3/4 inch, and much hairier.
- Carpenter bees: big bees with a shiny, mostly bare abdomen that bore round holes in wood.
- Mexican honey wasps: smaller than a honey bee, living in a gray paper nest in a tree.
Why "European" is a label you can't trust by sight #
ENTO-080 is blunt about it: European and Africanized bees look alike to anyone without lab tools, and only DNA tests or microscopic measurements separate them. AgriLife also assumes most wild Texas colonies carry some African genes. So the colony in your wall could behave like either type. Our Africanized honey bee guide explains what that means for your family.
A few more numbers worth knowing. Honey bees are not native to North America. B-6118 puts a colony at 20,000 to 90,000 bees, and ENTO-080 says up to 60,000 workers. Only the females sting.
Where colonies move in around South Central Texas homes #
Wild colonies live side by side with beekeepers' hives. ENTO-080 lists the openings scouts like to use:
- holes cut for pipes and wiring
- cracks around window frames
- knot holes in wood siding
- brick weep holes
- joints where wood siding meets brick
- chimneys with no cap
In late summer, foragers may visit pools and birdbaths for water and then leave. Weather plays a part too. In January 2017, AgriLife's Bexar County entomologist told AgriLife Today that a warm winter had bees far busier than usual for the season.
When swarms show up #
AgriLife's Texas Master Beekeeper module gives swarm season as March through July and notes it can run longer in some parts of Texas. We don't add our own dates to that.
Stings: what the health sources say #
B-6118 says a honey bee sting brings an intense reaction right away. The stinger stays lodged in the skin along with its venom sac, so scrape it out fast; the worker that left it dies. The same bulletin puts U.S. deaths from bee and wasp stings near 25 a year, with about one in Texas, and adds that many stings never get reported.
The CDC/NIOSH page on insects and scorpions warns that people with allergies can go into anaphylaxis, a severe reaction that can be life-threatening. Its first aid: wash the area, get the stinger out without squeezing it or using tweezers, and apply ice.
Swarms are not normally aggressive, but bees may sting someone who gets close. Foragers on flowers rarely sting unless provoked.
What to do today, and what to skip #
Do:
- Leave a swarm alone unless it is truly in the way, and keep children and pets back.
- Caulk gaps, put mesh finer than 1/8 inch over vents, and cap the chimney before bees find them.
- Keep trash covered and clean up sweet spills.
- Move quickly on a wall colony. ENTO-080 warns that waiting only makes the job harder.
Don't:
- Hose down a swarm.
- Spray the entrance hole. The nest may sit several yards away from it.
- Seal the opening with bees still inside (TAIS advice).
- Use fumigants or anything flammable.
- Eat honey or wax from a nest that has been treated.
- Cut into the wall to remove the hive yourself.
Why the honeycomb has to come out #
Killing the bees is only half the job. Comb left in a wall gives off odor, the honey ferments and stains, and the leftovers draw rodents, wax moths, carpet beetles, cockroaches and ants. Old comb can also attract the next swarm. ENTO-080 adds that a big colony may need a second treatment, because young bees can emerge up to 10 days later.
Texas law on who may remove honey bees #
- If money changes hands, the person taking out a honey bee nest has to be either a licensed pest control professional or a registered beekeeper, under Occupations Code §1951.056. Beekeepers without a pest control license may not use pesticides.
- TAIS says there is no such thing as a "bee removal license" in Texas.
- TAIS keeps a county list of beekeepers who do removals. On 2026-11-13 it had 28 entries for Bexar County. TAIS doesn't license or endorse anyone on it, so stick to beekeepers listed under your own county.
- Only an apiary inspector may destroy someone's managed colony without permission from its owner.
- Are honey bees legally protected? No, according to Texas A&M's Honey Bee Lab.
Where it is practical, a beekeeper may be able to take a swarm or colony alive. ENTO-080 notes that live removal takes longer and can cost more.
How Pest Trappers handles a honey bee colony #
A technician starts by finding the entry point, working out where the comb likely sits, and noting who is at risk: kids, pets, neighbors, anyone allergic. Then we walk you through the options, including whether a beekeeper could practically take the bees alive, what getting the comb out involves, and how the opening gets closed afterward. Any product used is applied as its label directs.
Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549) prices each job after the inspection, so call for pricing. Local pages cover San Antonio, New Braunfels, Boerne and Schertz.