Local bee information

Bee control in Texas

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

Bees in Texas: what to know

Around Texas

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 Texas: what the public record shows

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

225,000 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

11 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

Africanized bees entered South Texas in 1990

Africanized honey bee arrival

AHB 'have interbred with wild European honey bees and have spread throughout Texas', so any feral colony in Texas should be treated as potentially defensive.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Bee species recorded in Texas

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…
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…

When bees are busiest in Texas

'Swarming usually occurs in the spring or summer' (Texas A&M AgriLife); Fort Bend Extension notes reproductive swarms 'usually happen in the springtime when forage is plentiful'. Carpenter bees are active from early spring.

'According to state law, if you are paying someone to remove a honey bee nest, the person must be a registered beekeeper or a licensed pest control professional' (Texas A&M AgriLife). TAIS 'DOES NOT license or issue permits to remove honey bees' but publishes a county list of permitted removers. Bee-proof by blocking pipe and wiring penetrations, weep holes, and knot holes with caulk or screen.

Rules that apply in Texas

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); Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; CDC MMWR; African Honey Bee, Africanized Honey Bee, Killer Bee (EENY-429 / IN790); Carpenter Bees. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Texas cities

Abilene

Humid Subtropical · suburban setting

Bee control in Texas

Bees in Texas: what to know

Around Texas

What to note

A useful next step

Bees in Texas: what the public record shows

Bee species recorded in Texas

When bees are busiest in Texas

Rules that apply in Texas

For context, nationally

Explore Texas cities

Abilene

Amarillo

Arlington

Austin

Brownsville

Carrollton

Corpus Christi

Dallas

Denton

El Paso

Fort Worth

Frisco

Garland

Galveston

Odessa

Houston

San Antonio

Plano

Laredo

Lubbock

Ask about bee control in Texas