Most household owners who are fond of expressing their hobbies in their own gardens may somehow find themselves in a situation they never expected – getting rid of ground bees. Not all bees live in beehives. In fact, 70% of this type of insect nest under the ground.
In some countries, many people find bees interesting and taking care of them has become their hobby. However, there are still a lot of people who are scared of having them in the neighborhood.Identifying ground bees nests are can easily be done even if you are not an expert. Compared to other insects living under the ground, bees in the ground are solitary- meaningthey are independent that even female ground bees create their own nests and don’t rely on their counterparts.
Do ground bees share similar nests with each other?
Spring is known to be the best time of the year for most animals and insects. This is their time to return to their habitats after the heavy winter. However, this is also the biggest problem of most household owners as ground bees reappear in their gardens.
Thousands of female ground bees set up their own nests next to each other, thus increasing their activity in the backyards of most households. They continue to create their nests or the so-called dirt pile, which is clearly visible under the ground.
Are ground bees poisonous?
Ground bees show up every year not just in your backyards, but anywhere they can create their nests. Although bees are known to have stings, ground bees are not as barbaric as wasps and honey bees. And since they are independent, most of their queens work on their own and do not defend their habitats. Therefore, they are no threat to the people living near their habitats. However, when a person attempts to hold them, they can be dangerous.
Female ground bees are docile while the males are quite busy seeking their counterparts for mating. Although male ground bees look aggressive and active, they lack a sting, making them harmless compared to their females.
Are pesticides needed to prevent them from multiplying?
Ground bees are not considered pests. Yes! They are insects, but as said earlier, they are nontoxic. Therefore, pesticides are not recommended to get rid of ground beesin your backyards. The harmful effects of pesticides may not just kill insects, they can also be dangerous to the human body.
Ground bees prefer to live on dry soil compared to any other insect living on hives. Watering the ground where they choose to create their nest will let them move to another area away from your lawn. Doing this more often will be helpful in getting rid of ground bees naturally.
If you are one of those household owners who made gardening a hobby, it is best to run a sprinkler or prepare a bunch of water in your garden to prevent ground bees from showing up. By doing this, you are getting rid of ground bees without killing them.
But do you know how to recognize the exact insect you are going to prevent? Before even preparing anything for your garden, you need to make sure that you are getting rid of ground bees, not yellowjackets. Yellowjackets? What are they then and how do they differ from ground bees? Compared to ground bees, the nests of yellowjackets or commonly known as wasps may seem to look like a busy airport where you can see plenty of insectsapproaching and casting off their nest. Their hole entrances are about an inch wider compared to the ground bees’ entrance, which is only about ¼ inch wide.
As ground bees are harmless to people, yellowjackets need to be given more priority in controlling their activity – simply because they are bad-tempered and stingy.
Most of the time, yellow jackets are mistakenly called bees even if they are not. Since they are also insects of the wasp family, their colors are similar to one another. But how will you determine the difference between a ground bee and a wasp? Well, they are brighter and shinier in yellow. They are hairless and are distinctively thinner.
How do you get rid of yellow jackets?
While ground bees are mostly seen during the first week of spring, yellowjackets are extremely active in autumn. Unlike any other insects that stuck their food for the winter, yellowjackets are selfish and just feed for themselves. This is the very reason why they are so aggressive when they are hunting for food.
How do you exactly get rid of yellowjacketsis far more different from getting rid of ground bees. Astarving yellow jacket attacks honeybee hives and kill bees. Generally speaking, they are harmful to both their types and to humans.
Myth as they say, but it is true that killing a yellowjacket attracts more. How does this happen? When you kill a yellowjacket, the dead insect will spread a pheromone which attracts more yellowjackets from its colony. That is why it is highly recommended to avoid them from reaching your homes.
Exterminating harmful insects is not possible when not being done by professionals. Getting rid of yellow jackets with gasmight be helpful at some point, but hiring a professional to do the job will give you peace of mind in the future.
Methods of Killing Ground Bees Naturally
Getting rid of ground bees naturallyis very significant since you don’t need to kill them. Ground bees are good pollinators and are helpful to humans. That is why wetting the ground will let them move from one habitat to another without even killing them.
Furthermore, bees are easily attracted to sweets and sugary things. If you find it hard to damp the ground, you can always trap them inside bottles by filling it halfway with soda or any sweet syrup. They will get drowned when they touch the soda.
When to get rid of ground bees?
Getting rid of ground bees depends on you. Since they are harmless, you can just let them pass for a few weeks in your backyards. However, if you have kids and pets who love playing in the garden, you should get rid of ground bees in the least possible time. This is to make sure that they will not have any allergic reactions in case they are being stung.
Ground bees are good pollinators and their behavior is far more different from any other types of insects. That is why if you are a nature lover, it is best to maintain these important bees in your backyards.
