Honey bees make nests in enclosed cavities. If you see bees coming and going from a hole in a wall or soffit, they could be honey bees. Many people try to spray a nest like this in walls in their house and it doesn’t end well. Besides killing bees and putting chemicals into the earth, when you kill a bee nest that’s established in the walls of a house you can end up with a mess. All the dead bees and brood will smell like any other dead animal stuck in your wall. On top of that, without the bees to protect the honey, the honey will start running and attract rodents and other nasty insects. It’s just a mess.
You need to hire a bee removal company that is licensed and insured for this kind of work. Yes, there is a fee. It’s construction work and takes hours of time. They will take the nest out and fill the cavity so that bees won’t move in next year (bees like to go where other bees have been before!), seal up the entrances and repair the walls, floor boards etc. that were removed to do the work.
If you see a big papery looking structure on the branch of a tree, that’s not a honey bee nest but some type of wasp or hornet. Many species of wasps and hornets are not aggressive (some are) and they have their place in the food chain. As carnivores they will eat caterpillars off of the plants you are growing in your garden, so if they are not bothering anyone we recommend that you let them be. If their flight path is near humans or pets, however, then you should call an exterminator.
