What should our HOA board do about fire ants, wasp nests or a bee swarm on common area?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 29, 2026

What an HOA board does about fire ants, wasp nests and bee swarms on common area: who to call, honey bee rules in TX and FL, fire ant baiting and resident notices.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Keep people away, figure out which insect you have, and call the right person. Honey bees go to a registered beekeeper, or to a licensed pest control company if the colony has to be killed. Wasps, yellowjackets and fire ants go to a licensed pest control company. Directors and volunteers should not spray nests on common area themselves, even with a can from the hardware store. If anyone stung has trouble breathing, chest pain, slurred speech or serious swelling, call 911. The CDC describes venom anaphylaxis as a life-threatening reaction that needs immediate emergency care. The rest of this guide covers who is allowed to do what, how to run a fire ant program for the whole community, and what to tell residents. It is general education. Pesticide and beekeeping rules vary by state, and your governing documents decide which areas the association maintains.

Honey bees: swarm or colony

The first question is whether you have a swarm or an established colony. A swarm is a ball of bees hanging from a branch, fence or light pole. Colorado State University Extension explains that most swarms appear on sunny afternoons in May and June, cluster near their old hive while scouts search for a new home, and leave once they find one. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) calls a swarm relatively docile, because it has no nest to defend. Rope off the area, keep kids and dogs back, and call a beekeeper. Many will collect a fresh swarm, often in the evening once the scouts are back. An established colony is different. Bees going in and out of a wall, an irrigation valve box, a meter can or a hollow tree have built comb, and they defend it. Removing them may mean opening the structure to get the comb out. Ask the remover whether the comb comes out, who closes the opening, and who pays for that repair. State rules decide who can do the work. In Florida, registered beekeepers may remove and relocate swarms and colonies, and only a licensed pest control company may eradicate a colony. FDACS also notes that African and European honey bees look the same, so treat every colony as capable of a strong defense. In Texas, a beekeeper registered with the chief apiary inspector who uses no pesticides is exempt from the Structural Pest Control Act when collecting or removing honey bees (Texas Occupations Code 1951.056). The Texas Apiary Inspection Service posts a county list of registered beekeepers who do removals, and says plainly that it does not license removals or vouch for anyone's skill. In Colorado, CSU Extension says many county offices keep lists of local beekeepers willing to collect swarms. Whoever you hire, ask for the registration or license number and a certificate of insurance before they start.

Wasps and yellowjackets

Paper wasps build open-comb nests under eaves, playground decks, pool pavilions and mailbox kiosks. Yellowjackets usually nest underground, and CSU Extension says they become serious nuisances late in the season around food and garbage. That puts them at the pool, the picnic tables and the trash enclosure right when use peaks. CSU Extension also points out that social wasp colonies die off in the fall and the nests are never reused. A nest high on a building corner that nobody walks under can wait for the first hard freeze and come down in winter. A nest at a doorway, under a slide, inside a pool umbrella or in turf that gets mowed cannot wait. Call the pest company, close the spot until they finish, and ask them to check the rest of the amenity while they are there. For prevention, CSU Extension notes that paper wasp nesting can be reduced in early spring, before colonies get established. Have the maintenance crew check eaves and play structures then and take down new nests while they are small. Keep lids on trash cans at the pool, and have the trash enclosure emptied more often in late summer.

Fire ants: run it as a program

In Texas and Florida lawns, fire ants come back every year, so treat them as a scheduled service, not an emergency. The Texas A&M AgriLife fire ant project recommends the two-step method for areas with heavy infestation, which it defines as five or more mounds per quarter acre. Step one is broadcasting a bait insecticide over the whole area. Step two is treating individual problem mounds with a drench, granule, bait or dust. Its guidance for bait: - broadcast between late August and mid-October, with another round in spring if needed - apply when grass and ground are dry and no rain is expected for 24 to 48 hours - apply in late afternoon or evening, when workers forage - use fresh bait, preferably from an unopened container - expect weeks to months to reach 80 to 90 percent control Slow bait is why mound treatments exist. Use them on the mounds next to the playground border, the pool fence and the mailbox pad, where someone will stand in them this week. Texas A&M also describes community-wide programs. It notes that an HOA might contract a commercial applicator to broadcast bait over the whole subdivision periodically, that a broadcast bait usually eliminates 90 to 95 percent of mounds for 6 to 18 months, and that participation should be voluntary or decided through a democratic process. For an HOA, that means treating the common area on the association's contract and letting owners opt in for their own lots at the same price, billed by the vendor directly. Do not treat private lots without the owner's written consent.

Tell residents what is happening

For a swarm or nest, a short email and a sign at the spot are enough. Sample notice: 'A honey bee swarm has settled on the fence by the playground. The area is roped off. A beekeeper is scheduled to collect it this evening. Please keep children and pets away until the tape comes down. If you or a family member are allergic to stings, use the north gate today.' For a scheduled fire ant treatment, give dates, areas and re-entry times: 'On [date], [company], license [number], will broadcast fire ant bait on the common area turf, the playground border and the pool lawn. Please keep pets and children off treated turf until [time]. If you would like your lot treated the same day, contact [company] at [phone] by [date]. The association does not pay for lot treatments.' Colorado and Florida keep registries of residents with medical sensitivity to pesticides, and the applicator carries the notification duty. Our guide on setting up an HOA termite and pest control contract covers those notices, and the contract terms that go with them.

Put stinging insects in the pest contract

Most boards find out mid-summer that their pest control contract covers interior spraying at the clubhouse and nothing else. Add three lines at the next renewal. A named list of areas for routine inspection: the playground, pool deck and pavilion, mailbox kiosks, trash enclosure, entry monuments and irrigation boxes. A callback time for stinging insects at an amenity, such as same business day, with the price for an extra visit written down. Fire ant broadcast rounds by month, with the product named. Ask the company whether it also removes honey bee colonies. If it does not, keep a registered beekeeper's number on the board contact sheet so nobody has to hunt for one while a swarm hangs over the pool gate. Keep a simple log: date, location, insect, who responded, what they applied, and the ticket number. Two years of that log tells you where to spend next season's pest budget, and it helps if an owner who was stung asks what the association did.

Mistakes boards make

A director spraying a honey bee colony with wasp killer is the classic one. It angers the colony and leaves dead comb in the wall, and in Florida only a licensed pest control company may eradicate a colony. The second is calling an exterminator for a swarm that would have left on its own or gone home with a beekeeper. Third is broadcasting fire ant bait the day before a storm, which washes the money away. Fourth is leaving the playground open while a pest company is on the way, because the call feels like enough. Close it. Fifth is treating owners' lots on the association's contract without consent. For the playground and pool checks that catch nests before a child finds them, see our HOA playground and pool safety inspection checklist.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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