Different Types of Bee Nests
Key Takeaways
-
Bee nest types vary by species: Ground nests, cavity nests, wood nests, and aerial nests are the most common types you'll find near your home.
-
Location is your biggest clue: Where a nest is built (underground, in wood, or inside a wall) tells you a lot about which bee species you're dealing with.
-
Most bees are not aggressive: Many species will only sting if their nest is directly threatened, so keeping your distance is always the smart move.
-
Don't remove a nest yourself: Bee nest removal can be dangerous without the right training and equipment. Always call a professional.
-
Bees are important pollinators: The goal isn't to harm them. Orkin offers bee removal services in select locations to help relocate colonies safely when needed
Spotted some unusual activity in your backyard? Maybe there's a hole in the ground with bees flying in and out, or you've noticed what looks like a papery structure tucked under your eaves. Before you do anything, it helps to know what you're actually dealing with.
Bee nests come in all shapes, sizes, and locations. Identifying the type of nest near your home is the first step toward handling the situation safely. This guide breaks it all down for you.
What is a bee nest?
A bee nest is the structure bees build (or occupy) to raise their young, store food, and protect their colony. Each bee species has its own approach to nesting. Some dig deep into the soil, others carve through wood, and a few move into whatever vacant space they can find: an abandoned rodent burrow, a gap in your siding, or even a hollow tree. Worker bees do the heavy lifting when it comes to nest construction. The queen's sole job is laying eggs. The males, or drones, don't contribute much to the building process. Their main purpose is reproduction.
How to Identify Different Types of Bee Nests
Ground Nests
What they look like: Small holes or openings in the soil, often surrounded by a ring of loose dirt. They can look a lot like ant mounds, but the openings are typically larger.
Ground nesting is the most common nesting behavior among native bees. In fact, roughly 70% of all native bee species nest underground. These bees dig burrows using their mandibles and legs, creating tunnels that range from a few inches deep to several feet below the surface. In high-density areas, you might spot dozens or even hundreds of these holes clustered together, an arrangement known as an aggregation.
Common ground-nesting bees:
-
Mining bees (Andrena spp.)
-
Sweat bees (Halictidae)
-
Squash bees (Peponapis and Xenoglossa)
-
Some bumblebee species
Where you'll typically find them: Bare or sparsely vegetated soil, sunny slopes, sandy patches, and garden beds with minimal ground cover. Thick lawns and mulched areas tend to discourage ground nesting because bees need access to exposed soil.
What to do: If bees are nesting in a low-traffic area of your yard and aren't causing problems, many ground-nesting bees can be left alone. They're typically non-aggressive and important pollinators. If the nest is in a high-traffic area or near a doorway, contact a professional for guidance.
Cavity Nests (Inside Walls, Trees, or Structures)
What they look like: You may not see the nest directly. Instead, you'll notice bees flying in and out of a consistent entry point, like a gap in your siding, a crack in the mortar, or a hollow in a tree trunk. Listen for a faint buzzing from inside your walls.
Honeybees are the most common cavity nesters you'll encounter around your home. They seek out enclosed spaces like hollow trees, wall voids, attics, and chimneys, and build wax honeycomb inside. The comb is structured in a recognizable hexagonal pattern, with each cell housing either a developing bee or stored honey.
Bumblebees are also cavity nesters, though their comb is much less tidy. They frequently move into abandoned rodent burrows, gaps beneath decks, or spaces under thick clumps of grass. Bumblebee colonies are much smaller than honeybee colonies, typically housing a few hundred bees rather than tens of thousands.
Common cavity-nesting bees:
-
Honeybees (Apis mellifera)
-
Bumblebees (Bombus spp.)
-
Stingless bees (in warmer climates)
Where you'll typically find them: Tree hollows, wall cavities, attics, crawl spaces, and abandoned rodent burrows.
Wood Nests (Carpenter Bees)
What they look like: Perfectly round, smooth holes, roughly the diameter of a finger, drilled into wooden surfaces. You may also notice yellowish or brownish staining around the opening, or find sawdust-like material (called frass) beneath the hole.
Carpenter bees are solitary insects that don't build traditional hives. Instead, females bore into untreated or weathered wood to create tunnels where they lay their eggs. Each tunnel is divided into a series of brood cells, each containing a pollen-and-nectar food supply and a single egg. The wood isn't consumed; it's purely used as a nesting structure.
You'll typically find carpenter bee activity in:
-
Deck boards and railings
-
Window frames and door frames
-
Wooden eaves and fascia boards
-
Unpainted or weathered fence posts
Where you'll typically find them: Any exposed, unfinished wood around your home. Painted or stained surfaces are much less attractive to carpenter bees.
What to do: Carpenter bees rarely sting (the females can sting but are non-aggressive; males can't sting at all), but they can cause real damage to wooden structures over time—especially if the same wood is reused year after year. If you're seeing multiple holes or signs of returning activity, it's worth reaching out to a professional.
Leafcutter & Mason Bee Nests
What they look like: Small, tube-like nests inside hollow plant stems, pre-drilled wood, or gaps in garden structures. Leafcutter bee cells are lined with neat, circular pieces of leaf. Mason bee cells are sealed with mud.
These are solitary bees that don't excavate from scratch; they prefer to move into existing spaces. Leafcutter bees (Megachilidae) snip clean circles from leaves and use them to line their brood cells. Mason bees (Osmia spp.) collect mud to partition and seal their cells. Both are gentle, highly effective pollinators that rarely sting.
Where you'll typically find them: Hollow plant stems, bamboo sections, gaps in garden furniture, dead wood, and man-made "bee hotels."
What to do: These bees are generally beneficial and pose little risk to homeowners. If you find activity in a man-made structure you'd prefer they avoid, sealing entry points in the off-season is a good preventative step.
Bee Nests vs. Wasp Nests: How to Tell the Difference
Not sure if what you're looking at belongs to bees or wasps? Here's a quick breakdown:
Color:
-
Bee Nests Yellow or amber tones (wax comb)
-
Wasp Nests: Gray or brown (papery material)
Location:
-
Bee Nests: Underground, inside cavities, or wood
-
Wasp Nests: Often aerial, under eaves, or in ground
Material:
-
Bee Nests: Wax, mud, leaves, or soil
-
Wasp Nests: Chewed wood fibers (paper-like)
Shape:
-
Bee Nests: Varies widely by species
-
Wasp Nests: Football-shaped or open-celled umbrella shape
Activity:
-
Bee Nests: High bee traffic; bees may "swarm"
-
Wasp Nests: Less swarming; wasps more likely to hover nearby
How to Reduce Bee Activity Near Your Home (Without Harming Them)
Bees are vital pollinators that play a key role in the food supply and broader ecosystem. The goal isn't to eliminate them, but to manage their activity in a way that keeps your home and family comfortable. Here are a few practical steps:
-
Seal entry points: Gaps in siding, cracks in mortar, and holes in wooden structures can all invite cavity-nesting bees. Sealing these in the fall, when colonies are inactive, can prevent nesting the following spring.
-
Paint or stain exposed wood: Carpenter bees strongly prefer untreated wood. Painting or staining your decks, fences, and eaves makes them far less appealing nesting sites.
-
Avoid disturbing ground nests: If you spot a ground nest in a low-traffic area, give it space. Most ground-nesting bees are non-aggressive and will only sting if directly handled or stepped on.
-
Reduce bare soil in high-traffic areas: Mulching garden beds and maintaining healthy lawn coverage can discourage ground-nesting bees from setting up in spots where they're likely to encounter foot traffic.
-
Don't swat or spray without knowing what you're dealing with: Disturbing a nest without the right approach can provoke a defensive response. When in doubt, get a professional assessment first.
When to Call a Professional
Sometimes, the smartest thing you can do is pick up the phone. If you've found a nest tucked inside a wall, ceiling, or structural void, spotted a large or fast-growing colony, suspect Africanized honey bees (also known as "killer bees"), or have someone at home with a bee sting allergy, don't wing it. And if you simply aren't sure what you're dealing with bee nests? Still don't wing it. Orkin Pros can identify the species, assess the situation, and recommend the safest path forward. In select locations, we even offer bee removal services that tackle the problem without unnecessary harm to the colony. Because when it comes to bees, the smartest move you can make is knowing when to call in the pros. And with Orkin, backup is just a call away.
Contact your local Orkin branch to learn more.
More Bee Resources
Bee activity is closely tied to temperature and flowering plants, with most honey bees, carpenter bees, and bumble bees becoming active in spring and remaining active through summer and early fall.
Honey bees undergo a complete life cycle from egg to adult, developing into one of three castes within the colony: queens, workers, or drones. Queens can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day and live for years, while workers maintain the hive, care for young, and forage for food to support colony survival.
Learning to identify different bee species, nesting habits, and behaviors can help homeowners recognize when professional bee relocation or control may be needed.
