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[B-Line]

In case you haven't guessed it by now, I'm having a problem with bee's.

Every weekend at my brothers pool/bbq, there are dozens and dozens of bee's that come out when we start cooking. Mostly they are benign and we've been dealing with them for 3 summers, but this summer, so far, 4 people have been stung.

On Sunday, I went to the store to get some bee spray. Normally I don't like to spray bee's because I know we're having a problem with bee populations disappearing and I like to save the bee's, not hurt them.

But the situation at the pool is just crazy. They are all over the place and people are getting hurt/stung. Even the dead bee's are dangerous cause people step on them.

And we have some friends who are allergic to bee's.

So on Sunday I sprayed the general floral area where they hang out. I was alone at the pool at the time. And two minutes after I sprayed, a giant bee, that looked different than all the smaller bee's we usually get, attacked me. It stung me right on the nose. And it wasn't one of those accidental bee stings, the bee flew into me, stinger first. Ouch it hurt.

So my question is, what can I do about the bee's. Again, there is no visible hive anywhere. The spray doesn't seem to work and I can get two to three dozen of them flying around the bbq and the food. People are running inside to get away from them..

Any ideas on what I can do?

"B" Line

[LeMansX5]

F'ing bees. #*#! I was going to post this thread today as they have invaded our deck. We don't sit on deck anymore because there are 4 bee hives. Luckily no stings so far. Last year I sprayed Raid and then removed bee hives. They are back again this year.

[primetime]

Damn Bees!!!

[trueX5er]

Move here No bees

Good luck though. Maybe call a local beekeeper?

[motordavid]

"Bee"Line,
How 'bout a bee Id?

I doubt the aggressors are honey bees, carpenter bees, bumble bees
or most wasps...I'd guess the hornet specie(s), which can be benign
or, damn agressive and mean.

Esp. the "ground hornets", a kind of yellowjacket actually.
They tend to coop in rock work/ground holes, etc. If you find
their lair, (watching them constantly fly back to their den), blast
them after dusk when they are all cooped for the evening.
Some nuts use gas, (just the fumes do them in), though dusting
sprays,eg DrioneDust, is the rec'd...
http://www.pestproducts.com/drione_dust.htm

You knock off a few ground hornets nests and you will be pretty
free, imo.
GL,mD

[NJ04e53]

yah, it seems like bees are all over the place now. we never had any problems with them until recently they're all over the garden.

how about this for an idea..

[AzX5]

Africanized bees are a problem here. Any sign of a hive, I would call a pest control company to come remove it. Ain't worth risking the chance of pissing them off.

[Quicksilver]

Are we talking bee's or are we talking yellow jackets? (Black and yellow insects) There's a big difference and you need to make sure you find out.

If you have bee's then there may be a hive close by which means you need to call a bee keeper to have them removed.

If we're talking Yellow jackets that's totally different. They want meat and sodas and pool water pure and simple. That being the case it's too late in the year for real control. Traps must be set in the early spring to catch the queen which put's the wammy on the whole bunch. But you can still put traps out now (at least 3 in the evening so you don't get stung) in areas away from where people gather but where it looks like they are congregating.

We also found that a couple of fans close by food tends to confuse their sent patterns.

[B-Line]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

We also found that a couple of fans close by food tends to confuse their sent patterns.

That's a great idea.. I'll try that.

[B-Line]

MD and Quicksilver,

I suspect you are correct. The thing that attacked me was big and fat while the things flying around the food are smaller and skinny.

So just so I'm understanding, the thing that stung me was a bee, but the things flying around the food are yellowjackets?

This is what the food guys look like (I think)


And surprisingly, they LOVE Smirnoff ICE. If you leave an open bottle of Smirnoff ICE out, within a few hours there will be 6-8 dead ones in the bottle.

I want to add, other than the flying thing that deliberately attacked my nose, it seems as though all the other bee stings have been, non-aggressive. It's not as if a swarm has attacked anyone. One of our friends got stung on the top of her toe and my wife got stung on her leg. Our other friend got stung by lying on the dead insect.

My point is, they don't seem "sting" aggressive, but they are food and pool aggressive.