Local bee information

Bee control in Pennsylvania

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

Bees in Pennsylvania: what to know

Around Pennsylvania

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 Pennsylvania: what the public record shows

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

33,000 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

23 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

Bee species recorded in Pennsylvania

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…
Eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) — Large black-and-yellow bee with a shiny bare abdomen that bores round, about 1/2-inch tunnels into unpainted softwood trim, decks, fascia and railings. 'There is only one specie…
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…
Rusty patched bumble bee (federally endangered) (Bombus affinis) — 'listed as federally endangered in 2017' (USFWS). States listed are those named in the Xerces Society range description; Xerces reports the species 'declined from an estimated 8…

When bees are busiest in Pennsylvania

Carpenter bees 'mate in the spring' and new adults 'emerge in August' (Penn State); honey bee swarms in spring.

Penn State: entrance holes are 'about 1/2 inch diameter'; treat with dust 'in the spring, when bees are first observed; again in mid-summer... and a third time in early fall'.

Rules that apply in Pennsylvania

EPA bee advisory box label language for neonicotinoid pesticides (2013)

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); CDC MMWR; Carpenter Bees; Apidae: Bumble Bees (Bombus spp.) — Hortsense; Rusty Patched Bumble Bee. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Pennsylvania cities

Allentown

Humid Continental · urban setting

Bee control in Pennsylvania

Bees in Pennsylvania: what to know

Around Pennsylvania

What to note

A useful next step

Bees in Pennsylvania: what the public record shows

Bee species recorded in Pennsylvania

When bees are busiest in Pennsylvania

Rules that apply in Pennsylvania

For context, nationally

Explore Pennsylvania cities

Allentown

Altoona

Bethlehem

Chambersburg

Chester

Easton

Erie

Harrisburg

Hazleton

Lancaster

Lebanon

New Castle

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Pottstown

Reading

Scranton

State College

Wilkes-Barre

Williamsport

York

Monroeville

Ask about bee control in Pennsylvania