Can Bees Eat Through Spray Foam? The Answer May Shock You!

So you’ve got a bee problem and they just won’t buzz off! It’s super annoying and sometimes quite worrying but there are lots of things you can do to get rid of the infestation.

One common trick is to seal any holes or entranceways with expanding spray foam. You would think that this would trap bees inside or prevent them from getting back in but then you find yourself wondering can bees eat through spray foam?

Bees and other flying pests like yellow jackets can easily chew through spray foam especially once the material starts to weaken and decay as it’s exposed to the elements. Once they have chewed their way through, the infestation will return and you’ll be back to square one.

But this isn’t the only problem with using spray foam to stop bees in their tracks. In fact, it is one of the least recommended methods of bee control in the pest control industry. In this guide, we’ll look through why spray foam is not the solution to your problem.

So, Bees Can Really Chew Through Spray Foam?

If you have a bee infestation then you might have heard that sealing the entrance to the nest with spray foam is an effective remedy. Yes, you will temporarily seal it off but this isn’t a permanent solution and may cause more harm than good.

You see, one of the main issues with this is that bees are determined little creatures that are more than able to chew through something like spray foam. This foam is designed to fill in holes and cracks in a structure and is sprayed into the offending orifice before expanding to fill it.

Where a bee’s nest is concerned, it will, in theory, block any bees from getting back in and will trap any bees that remain inside. The thinking is that these bees will eventually die since they aren’t able to escape the nest.

But from both sides, the bees will gnaw and bite their way through the foam until they successfully reopen the nest. Even if you spray the foam when you think that most of the colony has left, you’d be amazed at how many thousands remain inside.

There is one time, however, that using spray foam may be effective for bees and that is while you are waiting for professional help to arrive. If you’ve called a local exterminator but they are unable to attend immediately then using spray foam to close the entrance in the meantime is a viable option.

Bee Killer Expanding Foam

If you’ve ever had to shop for products to kill bees then you may have noticed that there are some expanding foams that are designed to kill bees upon contact. The idea is that you spray it into the next entrance where it expands and eradicates the bees as it touches them.

The problem with these products is that they aren’t always successful because they may not expand into the far reaches of the nest. This leaves behind a significant number of bees who will still determinedly chew through that foam. If they cannot chew through the foam then they will find an alternative way to get out.

What’s more, you have to remember that these bee killer foams only remain effective for a couple of weeks. They are nowhere near as potent after this time so become a lot easier for the bees to eat though so again, this is really only a temporary measure.

Problems Associated With Using Spray Foam For Bees

It’s pretty obvious by now that spray foam isn’t an effective way to seal up a bee’s nest since the bees are easily able to eat through it. But despite this, there are several other reasons that this probably isn’t the wisest option.

Sometimes, you may see just a handful of bees flying around the eaves of your house and moving in and out of a small opening. When you see this, it’s easy to think that the infestation is no more than the said handful of bees so you’d think that using spray foam will put an end to things.

But no! Bees are very rarely solitary creatures and they can live in colonies of up to 10,000! While you might only see a few bees buzzing around, these are just a small portion of the reality. Worker bees leave the hive to gather nectar and pollen but inside, there is a hum of activity so all you’ll be doing is sealing thousands of bees into your house.

Bees Will Get Into Your Home

While bees are easily able to chew through spray foam, they may choose an alternative route out of their spray foam prison. If there are easier options such as a vent or a hole in the drywall leading through to your house, they’ll take this route. Before you know it, the whole colony has direct access to the inside of your home.

Bee Aggression

When you use the expanding foam, you have to keep in mind that not all of the bees from the colony will be present. Hundreds, if not thousands of them will be out foraging and when they return to find their home sealed off, they aren’t going to be happy.

Normally, honey bees are pretty docile creatures that will exist alongside humans without an issue. But when they feel threatened, they will become aggressive and there is a real potential of getting stung.

What’s more, since there will be so many of them, it won’t take them long to figure out another way of getting back into the nest so using the foam will have been nothing but a waste of your time.

Spray Foam Doesn’t Help Pest Controllers

While we would advise using spray foam temporarily if the bees are a real issue, while you wait for a professional to arrive, this can make their job a lot more difficult. Therefore, it’s really only a good idea when there’s no other option.

When the pest controller arrives, the use of the spray foam can make it a lot more difficult for them to assess the scale of the problem. The longer they spend at your property, the more you’ll have to pay them so you need to ask yourself if it’s really worth it.

One of the things that an exterminator will need to do is to inspect the original opening to the nest. If it’s filled with expanding foam, that’s going to be a little tricky.

What Is The Best Way To Get Rid Of Bees?

We appreciate that you don’t want to share your home with a colony of bees. However, spray foam is not the answer. The best thing you can do to solve the problem is to contact a professional who will be trained in safe bee removal.

Conclusion

One of the most common methods people use to get rid of bees is to spray expanding foam into the opening of the nest. While this might seem like a good idea, in theory, it’s not always the best choice. This is because bees can eat through spray foam and so will reopen the nest in a matter of days. Even worse, they may find an alternative route which could be directly inside your home.

Avoid using spray foam to deal with a bee infestation and instead contact a professional exterminator who will be able to remove the bees once and for all.