Homeowners can expect to pay between $0 and $1,500 to remove bees in and around their homes. The average cost of bee removal is $450, but you may pay more depending on the severity of the infestation. While bees are pollinators essential for ecological and agricultural health, their stings are painful and can be dangerous. We’ve outlined how much the pest control will cost to safely remove them, whether you hire a top pest control company or take a DIY approach.

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How Much Does Bee Removal Cost on Average?

The average cost of bee removal is $450, with costs ranging from $0 to $1,500*. Here is a breakdown of the most common types of bee and beehive removal.

*All cost data sourced from HomeAdvisor

Swarm removal and beehive removal costs vary considerably. Some beekeepers will move a honey bee hive or swarm for free to establish a new hive on their own property.

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What Factors Affect Bee Removal Pricing?

The following are some key factors that affect bee removal pricing. The main variables that factor into the cost of bee removal are the type of bee, the severity of the infestation, and the type of removal service that is used to remove the bees.

Type of Bee

One cost factor is the type of bee infesting your property. Each bee type nests and behaves differently, and some species build much larger colonies. Some of the most common types of bees include the following:

Bumble Bees

Bumble bees are fuzzy and large with black and white stripes and stubby wings, growing just a little more than one inch long. They build nests close to the ground, often under piles of wood and compost. Occasionally, they establish nests below the ground in tunnels that rodents have created and abandoned. Most bumble bee hives have several hundred individual bees.

Male bumble bees do not have stingers. Females have stingers but sting only if provoked. Unlike honey bees, whose stingers come off after an attack, bumble bees can sting multiple times without losing their stingers.

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees look similar to bumble bees but have hairless abdomens that are black and shiny. These bees live in parks, fields, and homes with gardens, decks, and sheds. Unlike bumble bees and honey bees, carpenter bees bore holes inside wood to lay eggs. They are not social creatures and do not live in colonies.

Female carpenter bees may sting when threatened or provoked.

Honey Bees

Honey bees are much smaller than bumble bees at 1/2 to 5/8 inch long. They build nests in areas such as hollowed-out logs, trees, and fence posts. Honey bee colonies are much larger than bumble bee colonies, with anywhere from 10,000 to 80,000 bees in one hive.

Honey bees sting when threatened. When they sting a person, their barbed stinger gets trapped under the person’s skin. The honey bee cannot pull it back out and dies shortly after.

Infestation Severity

The severity of your bee infestation is another cost factor. Whether the pest control company suggests extermination or live bee removal, either method will require a more intensive effort for large bee colonies. Severe carpenter bee infestations are notorious for damaging decks, soffits, and fascia boards. For this, you should anticipate repair costs in addition to pest removal costs.

Removal Service

The type of removal service needed will also impact pricing. If a pest control company identifies bumble bees or honey bees as the infestation source, the technician will typically not exterminate them. Instead, the company will contact or have you contact local beekeepers to safely remove the hive from your property. Bee swarm removal services are typically cheaper, involving removing a group of bees without an existing hive.

For carpenter bees, your pest control specialist may take a different approach. These bees are destructive and often require extermination and preventive treatments to protect your home.

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Can You Remove Bees Yourself?

We recommend hiring a professional to remove bees because of the potential danger to both yourself and the bees that are being removed. Below, we compare DIY bee removal with professional bee control.

DIY Bee Removal

We don’t advise removing or exterminating bees on your own. Swarms of bees can deliver dangerous stings, and the extermination process can kill harmless bees that are essential pollinators for a healthy ecosystem. There are traps and deterrents you can install to help control carpenter bees, but these solutions are often marginally effective. We do not recommend sealing the exit hole of any beehive, as the colony may establish a new exit closer to your home.  

Hiring a Pest Control Professional

If you call a pest control company about bumble bees or honey bees, it will often refer you to local beekeepers. Using a bait trap, the beekeepers will coax the bee colony out of the hive and into a box hive. From there, the beekeepers can find a new home for the bees away from your property. They can also remove honeycombs to avoid attracting other pests and to keep the wax and honey from causing structural damage.

One exception to this pest control method is the Africanized honey bee, also known as the killer bee. These bees are aggressive and attack in swarms, making them especially dangerous. A bee removal specialist will likely use an extermination strategy to protect your home.  

To exterminate carpenter bees, your pest control professional will typically apply insecticidal dust or sprays into the boreholes. Over time, and often through multiple treatments, this process will reduce or eradicate the carpenter bee population. Many pest control companies provide follow-up monitoring and treatment on a quarterly or bimonthly basis.

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Is Bee Removal Worth It?

Yes, in most cases, removing bees is worth it to provide a safer environment for you and for the bees. We recommend scheduling bee removal services through a reputable pest control company. Terminix and Orkin are solid options with regional offices located throughout the country; Terminix is available in 45 states, and Orkin is available in every state except Alaska. Trained specialists from either company can identify the type of bee infesting your property, implement a bee removal plan, and provide long-term monitoring and retreatment when necessary.

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FAQ About Bee Removal Cost

What steps should I take to remove bees on my own?

We recommend that homeowners do not try to remove bees on their own, especially without personal protective equipment. A professional pest control company has the training, experience, and equipment to properly deal with bee removal.

How do I find a local beekeeper?

You can use a search engine or social media to find beekeepers in your area. Many websites have beekeeper directories with recommendations for your ZIP code. You can also ask your local pest control specialist for a referral.

Are there any risk factors that increase the cost of bee removal?

Some pest control companies may charge higher rates for removing more aggressive bees, such as Africanized honey bees, due to the increased risk.

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Our Rating Methodology

We back up our pest control recommendations with a detailed rating methodology that we use to objectively score each provider. We review pest control plans, navigate the provider website, speak with customer service representatives by phone and online chat (if available), request quotes, and analyze customer reviews for each provider. We then score the provider against our review standards for plans and services, reputation and customer responses, customer service offerings, workmanship guarantees, financing, and availability to arrive at a final score on a 5-point rating scale.

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