Bees: Harmful or Helpful? 

Anyone who’s been outside is all too familiar with the yellow-and-black bug buzzing around during summer. You’ll find them in forests, gardens, and even your homes, constantly in pursuit of sweet nectar from flowers. Bees are some of the most recognizable insects in the world.

Most people tend to avoid them and look for bee removal because they sting. Their nasty venom creates painful, swollen lumps on various parts of your body. Some can even cause severe allergic reactions in a few people. When homeowners see a hive, their immediate instinct is to contact pest control for bee removal. Bees’ dangerous reputation precedes them, but are they really that bad? Before calling your exterminator, you might want to consider the following benefits that bees provide for us.

They Pollinate Plants

Most people are familiar with the image of bees hanging around flowers, their abdomen and legs covered in powdery yellow pollen. When they harvest nectar from these blossoms, they’re also helping in pollination. Without them, most flowering plants would no longer be able to reproduce.

Yes, there are other insects that visit plants like butterflies and even mosquitos. However, the impact of bees in pollination is unprecedented. Many fruit and oil crops used for human consumption depend on bees for reproduction.

If bees were to become extinct and disappear from the face of the earth, humans would be in big trouble. Food production would come to a halt. The dwindling number of bees worldwide is already posing a threat to food security, so conservation efforts are underway. Perhaps bee removal and eliminating them outright might not be such a good idea, after all?

They Create Wax

To store the honey processed from nectar, worker bees secrete a substance they use to create their signature hexagonal hives. This substance is called beeswax, and humans have known about it for millennia. Traces of it are found in ancient rock art. Candles are made using the material, and it was even used as seals for scrolls.

Beeswax continues to be an important commodity. It’s used as the main ingredient in many industries such as cosmetics, finishing’s and coatings, and food preservation. Because of its ubiquity in commerce and production processes, beeswax has remained a high-demand product throughout human history.

The declining bee population is posing a threat as well to beeswax production. Much like our food crops, the beeswax industry is dependent on a healthy bee population. As long as there is a demand for this widely-used product, bees must be protected and allowed to thrive.

They Produce Honey

Bees are the reason we have honey. The sweet substance is processed inside a worker bee’s stomach and passed back through the mouth as honey. The liquid is used as a food source during colder seasons or lean times. They produce honey in excess, and we humans are more than eager to harvest it from them.

Honey is used as an additive or flavoring in many food products — ice cream, baked goods, and candies. It makes for a great energy source since its sugars are easily broken down and used by the body. Aside from food, honey is a main ingredient in cosmetic products. Specialty shampoos and soaps even have it as part of their natural ingredients.

Bee Kind to Bees!

You might start running away at the sound of buzzing bees and immediately look into bee removal, but the presence of these creatures should be a cause of celebration instead of fear. They provide us with honey and beeswax, and they feed us by helping pollinate plants. Before you consider having them eliminated using pest control services, you can call someone who can safely remove their hive and bring them to a safer place.

Safe Bee Removal

Prevent Pest Control will address any bee removal, wasp infestation, or pest control prevention you may need on your property. The best thing you can do in the meantime for bees, wasps, and hornets is to avoid the area as much as you can until our professional pest control prevention team arrives. Visit our contact page or call us at (440) 517-5581 to get started!