Local bee information

Bee control in California

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Bees in California: what to know

Around California

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

What to note

Where you see bees, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.

A useful next step

Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.

Local research

Bees in California: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which bees actually live in California, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

885,000 colonies

Honey bee colonies, January 1, 2026 (operations with five or more colonies)

Managed hives are the source of the spring swarms that end up in homes and trees; the state table is on page 7 of the report.

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

18 percent

Colonies lost, January–March 2026

Percent of maximum colonies lost during the first quarter of 2026 in this state.

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

1994

Africanized honey bee arrival in California

Since then AHB 'have become the majority of feral bee colonies found in nature' in Southern California.

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Bee species recorded in California

Western honey bee (European honey bee) (Apis mellifera) — Managed colonies are surveyed by USDA NASS in the listed states; swarms leave hives in spring and move into wall voids, chimneys, and trees. If a colony is killed and not remove…
Africanized honey bee (Apis mellifera scutellata hybrids) — Visually indistinguishable from European honey bees; far more defensive and swarm more often. 'They entered Texas in 1990, Arizona and New Mexico in 1993, and California in 1994…
Bumble bees (Bombus spp.) — Social native bees; 'Nests are initiated by a single female (queen) in the spring' in 'a small cavity like an abandoned rodent burrow' (WSU). They 'can sting multiple times; sti…

When bees are busiest in California

Swarms come 'usually in the spring but sometimes at other times of the year when local conditions permit' (UC IPM). AHB has colonized 'all Southern California counties, and the southern Central Valley' as of 2008 (UC Riverside CISR).

UC IPM: 'in some areas your only option will be to hire a structural pest control company', and pesticides labeled for killing bees inside structures 'are available only to licensed pest control operators'. Killing a colony in place risks fermenting honey seeping through drywall. San Diego County notes AHB 'follow and attack intruders for up to a quarter mile away'.

Rules that apply in California

For context, nationally

788 deaths (an average of 72 deaths per year) — Sting deaths, hornets/wasps/bees, 2011–2021. CDC MMWR
84% — Share of sting deaths among males, 2011–2021. CDC MMWR

Sources: Honey Bee Colonies (August 2026); UC Agriculture and Natural Resources; CDC MMWR; African Honey Bee, Africanized Honey Bee, Killer Bee (EENY-429 / IN790); Apidae: Bumble Bees (Bombus spp.) — Hortsense. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore California cities

Anaheim

Mediterranean · urban setting

Bee control in California

Bees in California: what to know

Around California

What to note

A useful next step

Bees in California: what the public record shows

Bee species recorded in California

When bees are busiest in California

Rules that apply in California

For context, nationally

Explore California cities

Anaheim

Bakersfield

Chula Vista

Fremont

Fresno

Glendale

Huntington Beach

Irvine

Long Beach

Los Angeles

Modesto

Moreno Valley

Oakland

Ontario

Oxnard

Rancho Cucamonga

Riverside

Sacramento

San Bernardino

San Diego

San Francisco

San Jose

San Mateo

Santa Ana

Santa Clarita

Santa Rosa

Stockton

Sunnyvale

Fontana

Ask about bee control in California