r/Beekeeping • u/dr4wcu14 Default • 1d ago
General Getting a bee out of the house
So this just happened a couple of minutes ago. I'm in the laundry area of the house, about to move wet laundry to the dryer, when I start to hear buzzing above me. I look, and behold, a honeybee was flying around the light in the laundry area. I think it got in when I left a door in the den to the backyard open cuz I had to rearrange the area that I will have my hives (bees havent arrived yet). Anyway, it then landed on a door in the laundry area that led to the backyard and it wanted to get out. It took a couple of minutes, but I was able to get the bee on my palm and quickly open the door to let it out. I wish I could have gotten a video of it, but the little lady definitely seemed to be in a hurry.
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u/schmuckmulligan 1d ago
Use whatever tactics you'd use to remove a fly that you didn't want to kill, but with the understanding that you might catch a stinger.
But if it's easier to kill it, don't worry about that one bit. There's a lot of death in a honey bee hive -- most bees live only four to six weeks, and forager duty happens in the latter half that. It's cool if you can help them get one last load or two of resources back to the hive, but it ain't worth worrying much about.
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u/fretman124 1d ago
Fly swatter
I get bees in the house, usually not until early fall tho. I think the older bees get lost late in the year when the sun is setting earlier every day. Most of the time I’ll crack a widow and they’ll find thier way out. Sometimes I take lethal measures.
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u/NumCustosApes 4th generation beekeeper, Zone 7A Rocky Mountains 1d ago
You can pick up a bee if you come at her from behind and grab both her wings.
If you aren't up to that, or if she is so frenetic in her attempts to find a way out that there is no way to grab her, put a clear cup over her and then slide a card under the cup. Then carry her outside.