Commercial and Residential Pest Control Services | Dodson Bros. Exterminating Co., Inc.
Bees play a vital role in our ecosystem as pollinators, but their stings can be painful and even dangerous. Most of the time, honey bees, bumblebees, and carpenter bee species will choose to mind their own business and won’t actively attempt to sting unless they feel threatened. Still, most people want to avoid bees and their more aggressive counterparts, wasps.
In today’s blog, we’ll discuss how to prevent bees and provide 5 tips for making sure bees stay away from you and your home.
Like all flying insects, it’s virtually impossible to completely avoid and deter bees. However, there are certain steps you can take to keep bees at a safe distance. Here are 5 tips for keeping bees away from you and your home.
The first step to keeping these insects away from your home is knowing what attracts bees. Bees primarily survive off nectar found in flowering plants. There are certain kinds of plants that bees are more attracted to. In particular, plants that have yellow, blue, red, or purple flowers are most appealing to bees. If you are trying to minimize bees on your property, try to avoid flowering garden plants and shrubs.
Bees don’t usually want to enter homes–they’re much more interested in flowering plants and leftover food. However, there is one exception, and that’s carpenter bees. Carpenter bees bore holes in wood to lay eggs. If your home has wood paneling or siding that’s untreated, carpenter bees may attempt to drill into your house. Once you’ve identified carpenter bee damage, cover holes with wooden dowels, wood putty, or caulk.
Because bees feed on nectar, sweet food and drinks may attract bees. During the warmer months, if you’re hosting or attending outdoor activities like barbecues or picnics, try to keep beverages closed and food covered. Trash cans should also all have lids, and you’ll want to be sure you clean up after your event. Keeping food containers closed helps deter bees and keeps them from building nests nearby.
As it gets warmer, it’s usually a good idea to purchase some kind of bug repellent. Over-the-counter insect repellents can sometimes work on bees and are widely available at drugstores. Insect repellents have a variety of different formats and active ingredients. Some old wives tales consider dryer sheets an excellent repellent and most households already have them on hand. Even if bug repellents aren’t the best at deterring bee activity, they can still help you avoid mosquito and tick bites!
If you’re spending time outside and you’re sensitive to chemical repellents, natural bee repellents may be the way to go. Just bear in mind that like with any DIY solution, these suggestions may have varying degrees of success in repelling bees. If you are allergic to any of the ingredients mentioned or are unaware of any allergies to the ingredients mentioned below, do not use them.
If your bee infestation is severe enough, you may be wondering how to get rid of bees altogether. Remember–seeing a few bees here and there is much different than observing a developed bee colony or spotting a beehive.
In those cases, bee removal should be handled by pest control professionals like the ones we have on staff at Dodson. Our experts are equipped to identify the types of bees on your property so we can develop a custom treatment plan.
