It can undoubtedly be alarming when you see bees near your air conditioner or flying inside it. However, because bees are an endangered insect that play an essential role in our world, should you be concerned about this situation? If you’re asking yourself, “should I keep my bees near an air conditioner” you need to become knowledgeable on the below:
Bees adore air conditioning units and ducts because they’re the ideal environment to produce a hive. However, although this is superb for them, it’s slightly different for you. When they begin building these hives, it can cause all types of complications to your HVAC system. Because of this, you shouldn’t keep bees near an air conditioner.
After reading the above, you should know whether or not you should keep bees next to your air conditioner. Although they are an endangered insect, ideally, you’ll want to deter them away from this before they begin growing a hive. If you want to become more knowledgeable on this, I suggest you read the below. Here we detail what you should do if you see bees near your air conditioner (HVAC unit) or within it to ensure they are safe.
Bees near air conditioner
As mentioned above, bees can cause havoc to your air conditioning units if not acted on fast. Hopefully, you’ve only seen bees flying near your air conditioning unit, meaning they might not have a hive established in that location yet. If that’s the case, great. You’ll want to understand how to deter bees away from a location. Here’s how:
How to deter bees away from an air conditioner
To deter bees from a location, you have various options. Each of the below works great over time, and they won’t risk the health of the bees you’re deterring. Here’s how you can deter bees away from a location:
- Vinegar spray – Using a solution of 50 percent vinegar and 50 percent of water is a superb way of deterring bees from a specific location. With this method, you’ll want to apply the mixture each day for a week-long period. As the days go past, you should notice a decreased amount of bees flying around your air conditioner.
- Mothballs – Including the above, you can also use mothballs. Mothballs aren’t commonly sold in stores as much as they used to, but they work great as bee deters. To successfully undergo this method, you’ll want to hang mothballs around the entrance of your air conditioner. This will take around a week to take full effect. During the process, monitor the reduction of bees each day. If it fails to go down, place more mothballs around the area.
- Cinnamon – Lastly, you can also consider using cinnamon powder. It works similarly to the above. Here, you’ll just need to sprinkle some cinnamon around your air conditioning unit to deter the bees. You’ll want to do this each day for a week, then the bees should be gone because of the smell.
As you can see, there are various methods you can opt-in for to deter bees away from your air conditioner. If neither of the above work, there’s probably a hive located in your air conditioner or ducts, here’s what you should do in that event:
How to remove bees from an air conditioner
If you believe bees have already developed a hive within your air conditioner, there’s only one logical thing you’re able to do; call a beekeeper. Why a beekeeper? Well, many people resort to an exterminator. However, due to bees’ endangerment, it would be ideal to undergo the process this way. If you do, you may even struggle to find an exterminator that’ll undergo the job because some states and countries have rules on exterminating endangered insects.
Will Bees fly into an air conditioner?
Yes, bees are very likely to fly into an air conditioner. It makes perfect sense, it is a cool environment, protected from the outside, and a place only they can inhabit. Because of this, they adore building nests within air conditioning units and especially their ducting.
If left to grow over a long period of time, I’m sure several big hives will develop within your air conditioning unit. That’s why we suggest that you clear bees away from your unit before it becomes an issue. Because it’s such a perfect breeding and growing ground for them, they’ll inhabit an air conditioner way faster than any other location.
Now you understand this, I’m sure you are eager to learn what problems bees can cause to your air conditioning unit. At the end of the day, they are only bees, right?
What problems can bees cause your air conditioning unit?
There are many issues that bees can cause if they successfully build a hive in your air conditioning unit. Here’s what you need to know:
- Airflow – The first prominent issue they can cause is blocking or reducing airflow. When you get an air conditioning unit installed, they use specific ducting widths, unit power and calculate various other variables to make sure you have proper and well-calculated air flow to your property. However, something it doesn’t account for is a beehive. Because of this, you’ll notice a huge decrease in output.
- Fan speed – If the bees take a liking to your air conditioning unit, they can actually slow your fan speed down. Because a fan normally has a clear path of action, you may notice a decrease in fan speed with the added variables of a beehive. From this, you’ll receive fewer benefits from your air conditioning unit when it’s cooling your property.
- Invasion – Including the above, you’re opening yourself up for a home invasion. Trust me, this wouldn’t be pretty, and it’ll be rather unpleasant, to say the least. You’ll want to avoid this at all costs, as it could damage your health and cost you a substantial amount of money.
After reading the above, you should now understand whether or not you should keep bees near your air conditioning unit. As you can see, no, you shouldn’t, and you should relocate them right away to avoid any complications.
