The term "Infestation" is generally used in the context of pests or parasites on crops, livestock and humans and honey bees are far from being pests of any kind. Still, Honey Bee Infestation is a genuine problem experienced by many countries, particularly the warm ones. Some of you might not be happy with the use of this word "Infestation" for honey bees since they do neither feed on our crops or on our livestock or on us. Then why treat them as pests and what do we mean by Honey Bee Infestation? The answer follows;

Almost everybody here must be familiar with the definition of the term "Parasite" or “Pest” in science. It means an external agent who uses its host to derive nutrition and in the process harms the host. Similarly, “Infestation” means inhabiting a place in such a large number that it poses threat to other species thriving there. Honey Bees are neither parasites nor pests, then why do we call it Honey Bee Infestation and why are we so worried about it?

Normal Behaviour: Seeing a few honey bees buzzing around your house and in your garden is nothing to be worried about. Not even if there very few honey bee hives in your locality; some hanging down the trees and some in abandoned, uninhabited places. No problem if one of them ever stung you. That is just normal and can no way be called Honey Bee Infestation.

Infestation: Honey Bees become a big nuisance and threat for human beings and other animals when they start inhabiting localities in abnormally large numbers. Often, this results in unwanted encounters, which are not at all pleasing experiences. What's more, these encounters sometimes turn fatal for the victims of Honey Bee attack. Such a situation presents a typical case of Honey Bee Infestation. They start building their hives in almost every possible place; in cracks of walls, in attics, in boxes, in pipes, in ventilators, in shades, on trees in your garden, in garages and every place you can think of and that has been untouched for a few days. You will be astonished to know that Honey Bee hives were even found in the barrels of guns that were not in use. Now that is the limit of a Honey Bee Infestation.

Why fear them? Unlike common pests or parasites like locusts, mosquitoes, rodents etc. Honey Bees are neither spreading diseases, nor are they damaging our crops and nor sucking our blood. On the very contrary, they benefit us by providing honey. The fact is that we humans are the actual parasites on these bees, since we rob them off their hard earned honey. Then why are we afraid of them and want to drive them away from our vicinity? This is because of their venomous sting which they carry with them all the time and their highly aggressive nature. At the slightest hint of any danger (or even if it not actually one but seems to them like one), the hell seems to break loose and thousands of bees swarm in and attack whoever or whatever that catches their sight. The intensity of pain from these stings depends upon the amount of Apitoxin they release and the intensity of the toxin. The biggest problem about Honey Bees is that you cannot fight them when attacked. They are so small, so fast and so many in number that the victim is stung dozens of times before it can hardly blink its eyes. Although an average healthy person can withstand as many as ten stings per pound of his body weight; this becomes fatal if the person is allergic towards honey bees, bee stings and bee venom. In that case, even a few stings can trigger severe allergic reactions in victim’s body and the victim can collapse. Then, there is the pain. In most cases it was found that the victim did not die from the large quantity of the venom introduced into his body, but from the acute pain that caused cardiac arrest. So, Honey Bee Infestation is really a big problem.

What is the remedy? Honey Bee Extermination is certainly not always the remedy for Honey Bee Infestation. Extermination becomes essential only when the honey bees cannot be driven out of the locality, may be due to the position or location of their hive or due to the safety concerns. The best solution to Honey Bee Infestation is to drive the bees away from your vicinity, with minimal killing of the bees.

Prevention First: As they say, “prevention is better than cure”, here are some preventive measures to keep honey bees away from building in your locality.

• Periodic Surveillance: Periodically monitor the vicinity of your house. Particularly those places that seem favourable to bees, such as branches of trees, shades, cracks in walls, attic, old untouched garbage, rooms & chimneys that are not in use etc.
• Destroy in the bud: Eradicate the problem before it grows big! If you ever see even a small hive, disturb it or break it and apply some insecticidal spray on the cleaned surface. This will prevent them from building their hives on the same place.
• Fill it! Shut it! Fill the cavities or holes in tree trunks & cracks in walls; shut open boxes and containers that are not in use for long; shut the openings of pipes & chimneys that are out of use etc.
• Cut their supply: It has been seen that honey bees often build their hives near sources of water. So, drain out any stagnant water that has accumulated in and around your house.
• Paint them out: Frequently paint your house, fences etc. The smell of paint keeps bees away.
• Smoke & choke: Collect dry leaves, scrap paper and everything that gives a lot of smoke on burning and burn them once a week. The smoke will not let bees stay wherever it reaches. The interesting point is that smoke reaches almost everywhere.
• Moth balls: This old friend of almost every household is very effective in driving the bees away. Just put one or two in every possible place and see the results.

Non Fatal Blows: Attack them before they do! When prevention fails, its time to declare a war. Here are your weapons that do not kill the bees (or kill them in minimum number) but effectively drives them away;

• Smoke again: Smoke is very useful in countering Honey Bee Infestation. If a few dried red chilies are added, the smoke can do miracles. It will drive the bees away from every corner in and around your house.
• Kerosene Spray: The smell of kerosene oil cannot be tolerated by most of the insects. It serves dual purpose. If sprayed even in small quantities near the hives, the bees will fly away. If sprayed on the hives (of course, with proper precaution), most of the bees will either die instantly or sometimes later. But then, the honey in the hive remains no more usable. Kerosene is very cheap as compared to other insecticidal sprays.
• Vacuum Cleaners: If used intelligently and with proper precautions, vacuum cleaners can be very effective in countering this menace. I don’t think I need to tell you how to use it on bees.
• Water Jets: You can also drench the bees with heavy jets of water. This, however not very effective, but still works.
• Capturing the Queen: In this method, the queen is captured and is shifted away. Wherever she goes, the swarm follows. But professionals should be let to do this.
• Capturing the Bees: There are some techniques to capture bees too. In this, a queen is bought and put in a box with a small opening that looks like an inverted cone. The box is then kept near the hives. Most of the bees will enter the box. The box is then sealed and transported elsewhere. The old hive, with very little bees left, can then be handled efficiently.

Lethal Weapons: When you have finished trying everything but the bees are still giving you a good fight, just nuke them. Here are some deadly weapons;

• Insecticidal Dust: Use dust in the cracks, holes and everywhere there are hives. The dust will kill most of the bees.
• Insecticidal Solution: Spray the solution directly on the hives. It will be soaked in the hive and will kill the bees.
• Burn the Hive: This is another very effective way. Spot the hive and light fire just below it. Use petrol or kerosene to light a sudden but large fire so that the bees cannot escape. This will kill most of the bees.

Intelligent Choice or Wise Decision: While trying to find a remedy for Honey Bee Infestation, the best deal would be to seek help of professional exterminators. They will get the job done for you without much hassle & danger and will do it silently too. This will save you a lot of time, energy & sometimes money and will keep you safe too.

• General Guidelines: As you know that bees can be dangerous, you need to keep the following points in mind before launching an attack (more so when you are doing it yourself);
• Get a good protective suit.
• While using insecticides, be sure to avoid their contact with hands, mouth or their inhalation as they are highly poisonous. Keep children away from them.
• Before starting, secure your house well so that the angry bees cannot get in.
• Before lighting a fire, make sure that you have arrangements to control it. Do not forget to put it off completely after you are done.
• Try to avoid killing bees, unless it is very much necessary.
• The best time to do this is night, when they are almost inactive.
• Do not try it yourself if you are allergic to bees.
• Call an expert if you find yourself unable to handle the situation.

This article was contributed by Aparup Mukherjee

Sources:
1.    http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/67347
2.    http://www.adkinsbeeremoval.com/how-to-get-rid-of-bees.php
3.    http://www.lumrix.net/medical/toxicology/apitoxin.html
4.    http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/honeybee.html
5.    http://www.thefreedictionary.com/infestation
6.    http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=4769
7.    http://thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/pest/