How to Safely Remove Bees from inside Your Chimney
Do you see increased bee activity within your home, such as bees flying in or near the windows? This could be an indication that you have a beehive inside your chimney. In fact, one of the most common points of entry into your home for bees is through a chimney. If you suspect this is happening, you may be tempted to search the internet for a solution. Unfortunately, there are some individuals who might recommend that you light a fire in your fireplace in an effort to get rid of the bees in your chimney. Please, DO NOT DO THIS.
Why is it a bad idea to light a fire in your fireplace when you have bees inside the chimney?
If you have a full established hive inside your chimney, there will be lots of honey, beeswax and honeycomb, all of which are highly flammable. Turning on a gas burning fireplace could set off an explosion or at the very least, can melt the honey, beeswax and honeycomb causing extensive damage to the surrounding structure. It’s not uncommon to hear horror stories where melted hives had literally ended up falling down the chimney into the fireplace causing a huge mess.
Why You Should Not Attempt to Remove Bees from your Chimney
Again, some people might attempt to turn on their gas fireplace in an effort to get rid of the bees. Lighting your gas fireplace will only agitate the bees making them more aggressive in defending their hive, especially with an established colony.
Even if you have a wood burning fireplace, and you are able to drive out the bees, a different bee swarm may end up subsequently re-infesting the old hive. Why? This is due to the fact that bees are attracted to the pheromones within hives. And because chimney flue linings cannot be sterilized, removing all traces of pheromones would be impossible.
How to get rid of the bees in your Chimney?
The best way to remove bees from your chimney would be to contact a bee removal professional who has the equipment, experience and skills to do so.