Albany Bee Removal

Licensed & Insured Professional Pest Removal Solutions

Voted #1 Bee Exterminator in Albany, New York

We provide professional bee removal in Albany, New York and the surrounding areas of the Capital District. We’re the local experts to call when it’s time to remove dangerous beehives from your residential or commercial property. Twenty seven years in the pest control business has given us a unique skillset that allows us to deliver our services swiftly and effectively while minimizing the impact on you.

Bees may be beneficial pollinators, but when they build hives inside your walls, under your eaves, or in high-traffic areas around your property, they become a safety hazard. Albany Pest Control is your #1 source for bee control and extermination. We handle every situation with care, removing bees safely when possible and eliminating hives that pose a risk to your family, employees, or customers. The last thing you want is someone suffering an allergic reaction from a sting, especially if you’re a business.

Common Bee Species in Upstate New York

Not every buzzing insect around your home is the same. Knowing which bee you are dealing with determines how we handle the removal.

Here are the species we encounter most often in the Albany area:

Honey Bees

Honey bees are the most recognized bee in the Capital Region. They are golden-brown with dark bands and are typically docile unless their hive is threatened. Honey bees build large wax comb colonies that can house tens of thousands of bees. When they establish hives inside wall voids, soffits, chimneys, or old sheds, they create a serious problem. A mature honey bee hive inside a wall can contain 60 to 80 pounds of honeycomb, and if abandoned or improperly removed, that comb melts in the summer heat and attracts secondary pests like ants, beetles, and rodents. We see honey bee infestations regularly in older homes in Pine Hills, Center Square, and throughout the Helderberg neighborhoods south of Albany.

Bumble Bees

Bumble bees are large, fuzzy, and generally non-aggressive. They nest in the ground, in abandoned rodent burrows, under decks, in compost piles, and occasionally inside wall insulation. Their colonies are much smaller than honey bee colonies, typically a few hundred bees at peak season. Bumble bees become a problem when they nest near doorways, patios, playgrounds, or high-foot-traffic areas. We handle bumble bee removals across Albany, including properties along New Scotland Avenue, residential areas near

Washington Park, and commercial properties in Colonie and Guilderland.

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees look similar to bumble bees but have a smooth, shiny black abdomen. Individual females bore perfectly round half-inch holes into untreated wood to lay their eggs. Decks, pergolas, fascia boards, wooden siding, and outdoor furniture are all targets. Over time, repeated nesting in the same wood causes structural damage. Carpenter bee activity is heavy in neighborhoods with older wood-frame homes, especially throughout Delmar, Slingerlands, and the historic districts along Lark Street and Ten Broeck Triangle. We also see significant carpenter bee damage on commercial properties with exposed wood trim along Central Avenue and Western Avenue.

Ground Bees (Mining Bees and Sweat Bees)

Ground-nesting bees are solitary species that dig individual burrows in dry, sandy, or compacted soil. They are common in lawns, garden beds, baseball fields, and unpaved pathways. While ground bees are typically non-aggressive and rarely sting, they alarm homeowners because dozens or even hundreds of individual bees may nest in the same patch of soil. We get ground bee calls every spring from homeowners in Bethlehem, Loudonville, Latham, and the suburban developments off Route 155 and Fuller Road.

Why Bees Nest in and Around Albany Buildings

Bees choose nesting sites based on shelter, warmth, and proximity to food sources. In the Albany area, several factors make your property attractive to nesting bees:

Gaps in the building envelope. Cracks in mortar, gaps around utility penetrations, deteriorating soffits, and unsealed vents give honey bees and bumble bees access to protected wall voids and attic spaces. Older buildings near the Empire State Plaza, row houses in Arbor Hill, and multi-family properties along Madison Avenue are especially vulnerable because of aging exteriors.
Untreated or weathered wood. Carpenter bees specifically target bare, unpainted, or weathered softwood. If your deck, porch railings, or trim have not been painted or stained in several years, carpenter bees will find them. Properties along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail and in neighborhoods with mature landscaping tend to have more exposed wood structures.
Flowering landscapes and gardens. Heavy plantings of flowering perennials, clover-rich lawns, and vegetable gardens attract foraging bees. That is not a problem by itself, but it increases the chances that a colony decides your property is a good place to set up permanently. The garden-dense neighborhoods around Buckingham Pond and along the residential streets off South Manning Boulevard see elevated bee activity every season.
Dry, south-facing soil. Ground bees prefer well-drained, sun-exposed soil for their burrows. Sloped lawns, sandy garden borders, and south-facing embankments are ideal habitat.

What to Do If You Find a Bee Hive on Your Property

For starters, do not spray it with a hose or pesticide. Agitating a hive, especially a honey bee hive with thousands of workers, can trigger a mass stinging response. This is especially dangerous for anyone with bee sting allergies. Don’t seal the entry point either. If honey bees are entering through a gap in your siding and you caulk it shut, the bees will find or create another way out, often into your living space. You will also trap the colony inside your wall, and when it dies the decomposing hive creates odor and attracts other pests. Keep children and pets away from the area, and mark the location if it is in a yard or garden so no one accidentally disturbs it. Then, call a licensed bee removal company that can assess the species, the location, and the size of the colony and determine the safest course of action.

Albany Bee Removal Process

Inspection and Species Identification

We identify the species, locate the nest, and assess the level of risk. A small bumble bee nest under a back deck requires a very different approach than a 30,000-bee honey bee colony inside a second-floor wall void.

Live Removal and Relocation When Possible

For honey bee colonies in accessible locations, we offer live bee removal and relocation to local beekeepers. The Capital Region has an active beekeeping community, and healthy honey bee colonies have real value. We work with local apiaries to rehome colonies whenever the situation allows it. This is not always possible, particularly when hives are deep inside wall voids or pose an immediate safety threat, but it is always our first consideration.

Hive Removal and Structural Cleanup

Removing the bees without removing the hive is a half-finished job. Abandoned honeycomb melts, ferments, and leaks through drywall and ceilings. It also attracts wax moths, carpet beetles, ants, and even mice. We open the area, remove all comb and honey, clean and sanitize the cavity, and seal the entry points to prevent future colonies from being attracted to the residual scent.

Carpenter Bee Treatment

Carpenter bee control involves treating existing bore holes with residual insecticide dust, sealing the holes after treatment, and applying preventive surface treatments to exposed wood. We recommend painting or staining all bare wood after treatment to discourage future nesting.

Ground Bee Management

For ground-nesting bees that are in high-traffic areas and cannot simply be left alone, we apply targeted treatments to the nesting zone and modify soil conditions to make the area less attractive for future nesting seasons.

When Is Bee Removal Necessary vs. Leaving Them Alone?

We are not in the business of killing pollinators unnecessarily. If a bumble bee nest is in the back corner of your yard where nobody walks, the best approach is often to leave it alone. Bumble bee colonies die off naturally at the end of each season and will not reuse the same nest next year. However, removal is necessary when:

The nest is near a doorway, patio, playground, or pool area
Someone in the household has a bee sting allergy
Honey bees have established a colony inside your walls, attic, or chimney
Carpenter bees are causing visible structural damage
Bees are entering your living space

If you’re experiencing a bee problem, call Albany’s licensed bee exterminators now for a free quote.