There is a good chance you have seen a news story about honeybees in the last year and felt a quiet sense of concern. That concern is warranted. Honeybees are in serious trouble across the United States, and Florida sits at the center of both the crisis and the solution.
If bees have moved into your home, your eaves, your soffit, or a tree on your property, the instinct for many homeowners is to reach for a can of spray. We are asking you to pause before you do that, because the situation with bees in 2025 and 2026 is more serious, more complicated, and more personal than most people realize.
A national beekeeping survey estimated that 55.6 percent of managed honeybee colonies in the United States were lost between April 2024 and April 2025 – the second consecutive year of record-high losses.
Washington State University entomologists projected that honeybee colonies could decline by up to 70 percent in 2025, driven by a combination of nutrition deficiencies, mite infestations, viral diseases, and possible pesticide exposure.
Florida is one of the most important states in the country for honeybee populations. California, Texas, and Florida together host 55% of all commercial honeybee colonies in the United States.
About 35 percent of the world’s food supply depends on pollinators, and honeybees are the single most important managed pollinator on the planet. When a hive moves into your home, it is carrying members of a population that is under more pressure than at any point in modern history.
That does not mean you have to live with a hive in your wall. It means the way you handle it matters.
Means a licensed professional removes the live colony intact and transfers it to a safe location - typically with a local beekeeper who can house, monitor, and maintain the colony. The bees survive. The hive is removed from your property. The beekeeper gains a new colony.
Means the colony is treated and eliminated. This is sometimes the only viable option — particularly when the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services recommends that feral honeybee colonies be exterminated by certified pest control operators or removed alive by a registered beekeeper who will requeen the colony with a European honeybee queen.
The right approach depends on where the hive is located, how accessible it is, the species involved, and the risk to people and pets on the property. A hive in an open tree branch is a very different situation from a colony established inside your wall cavity for months. What is never the right approach is spraying the hive yourself. Spraying or smashing a hive can make things worse. Bees become highly aggressive when threatened, and improper removal can leave behind pheromones and hive remnants that attract new colonies, turning your home into a repeat target.
A hive that is not being disturbed is generally not an immediate danger. Keep children and pets away from the area and do not attempt to investigate the hive closely.
All three actions will agitate the colony. Sealing an active hive entry point can force bees deeper into your wall structure and create a far more difficult and expensive removal situation.
Where bees are entering and exiting, how long they have been present, and how active the hive appears are all useful information for a pest professional.
In Florida, only certified pest control operators are permitted by law to apply pesticides to honeybees. University of Florida A licensed professional can assess the species, the location, and the safest removal method for your specific situation.
Every honeybee colony that is preserved rather than unnecessarily exterminated is a small but meaningful contribution to a pollinator population under extraordinary stress. Florida's warm climate, long blooming season, and agricultural importance make it one of the most critical states in the country for bee health. At Wise House Pest Control, we take the responsibility of working with bee colonies seriously. We approach every bee situation with the goal of preservation where it is safe and practical, and professional removal where it is not. We assess the species, evaluate the risk, and recommend the approach that protects both your family and, where possible, the colony itself.
1177 Hypoluxo Rd Suite C-31 Lantana, FL 33462 (561) 727-8239
464 NW Peacock Blvd, Unit 106 Port St Lucie, FL 34986 (772) 783-4300
Auburn University: U.S. Beekeeping Survey Reveals Highest Honeybee Colony Losses During 2024-2025
Washington State University: Honey Bee Colony Declines Grow as Researchers Work to Fight Losses
UF/IFAS: Africanized Honey Bees in Florida
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: Bee Removal Guidelines
USAFacts: How Much Have U.S. Bee Populations Fallen and Why?
