When people think of a beehive, they think of 3 things. Honey, a beehive, and a stung family member.
Bees pollinate many crops including cotton and alfalfa that are used by farmers to feed dairy cows and their calves. Thus bees help keep milk available at the local grocery store. Bees pollinate our crops and flowers, which means that bees affect food supplies as well as flowering plants on their own. Without the work of honey bee pollinators, many fruits and vegetables would be lost, including oranges, apples, avocados, blueberries and watermelons.

Without bees to pollinate crops, we would have little honey or beeswax to use for commercial products like candle making or lip balm production.

In Melbourne, common types of bees include European honey bees, native bees, and bumblebees. While bees play a vital role in pollination and ecosystem health, they can become pests when they establish nests in or near residential and commercial properties.

While bees are generally not aggressive unless provoked, bee stings can cause pain, swelling, and in some cases, allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Additionally, bees can become a nuisance when they establish nests in high-traffic areas such as residential yards, parks, and playgrounds.

To prevent bee infestations, it's essential to take proactive measures such as sealing entry points, removing food sources, and discouraging nesting activity. This includes sealing cracks and gaps in walls and foundations, keeping outdoor garbage bins tightly sealed, and minimizing outdoor flowering plants that attract bees.

Bees that try to find a source of water may need to be discouraged from doing so in order to prevent bees or wasps from getting into the house. To discourage bees, water sources can be placed well away from windows and doors, which can eliminate bees having to search for water sources near structures. Placing screens over windows and doors will also keep bees out of homes or businesses as they cannot fly through small holes such as screen mesh. It is also important that if mason jars or other glass containers are used for drinking glasses or food storage, these items should not be left outside on the porch, deck or in the yard. Bees can see through glass and will sometimes crawl inside these items to find beeswax for their hives.