How do you get rid of ground bees? In this article, we’ll discuss 8 ways to exterminate these species completely using natural homemade products.
Ground bees make up 70% of the bee genus that lives underground. They are different from social honey bees, who live together and make honey.
How To Get Rid Of Ground Bees Completely
Ground bees are nothing like honey bees except that they are also pollinators, and they collect nectars from flowers.
Even though they are not social like the honey bees, once you spot one, you can easily find over a dozen, all living close to one another but not living together. And like a lot of other types of bees, they don’t sting except when threatened.
The male does not even have stingers, but the female which has, won’t use them unless she is defending herself.
Different species of bees live underground, so you may find different types of bees with slightly different appearances, living inside the soil.
But then, the average ground bee is a bit hairy. It has hairs on its stomach and thorax. It also has a small body that is round and divided into three segments; the head, abdomen, and thorax. A ground bee has six legs, a pair of antennae, and a pair of eyes. They have mandibles, but they do not use them for biting.
Ground bees are quite different from wasps. Like honey bees, they are not predators; they don’t feed on any bug- theirs is just to get nectars from flowers and pollinate them.
The most significant attribute of ground bees is that they live inside the ground. They make a home for themselves by digging little holes and hiding places that are not more than a few inches deep.
One way to confirm their presence is that you will begin to see some loose soil piles that surround tiny holes, which are large enough to house the bee.
8 Ways To Get Rid Of Ground Bees Naturally
Ground bees are harmless unless they feel threatened, and the only gender that can react to a threat by stinging is the female.
This is one of the reasons why it is essential to get rid of the bees. Otherwise, their presence is an essential part of your vegetation.
If you have neighbors or you are allergic to bee stingers, then you need to get rid of bees from your yard as fast as possible.
There are many natural means of getting rid of ground bees. You don’t have to use pesticides when you can get them off your garden with homemade solutions.
The following are remedies to get rid of ground bees naturally.
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Killing Ground Bees With Water
Using water to get rid of ground bee is one of the natural forms of eradication. All you have to do is simply keep a running sprinkler over your lawn or garden.
Ground bees love to live in dry grounds, so when it gets moist, they naturally relocate to another dry ground to live in.
Whenever you notice another ground bee or two in your garden, repeat the watering. You need to keep your ground moisturize from time to time to discourage their establishment in your yard.
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Cucumber and Garlic Peels
One of the plants that repel bees is the cucumber. Also, the smell of garlic is an excellent repellent to a wide range of insects, including bugs and bees.
If for some reason, you don’t want to keep your garden moisturized but want ground bees out, spread peels of cucumber and garlic around.
Instead of disposing of cucumber peels, use them as a deterrent against ground bees. And if you don’t want to use garlic peels, get garlic powder – it is as effective.
All you have to do is, sprinkle the powder around your yard, and you are assured that the bees will relocate elsewhere.
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Minty Spray
Do you have a heavy infestation of ground bees in your yard or you just acquired a property that is heavily infested with ground bees? Then, you can get rid of them by extermination.
A practical method of ground bee extermination is to prepare a minty spray. This is a combination of peppermint and soapy water.
Soapy water traps the bees, prevents them from flying, and also suffocates them, while peppermint finishes up the job.
Material Needed For The Minty Spray
- Peppermint Castile Soap (2 cups)
- Water (2 cups)
- Bowl
- Spray bottle
Direction
Step 1- Mix the water and the Peppermint castile soap in a bowl
Step 2- Boil the mixture of soap and water
Step 3- Allow it to cool and then transfer into the spray bottle
Step 4- Spray the solution around the infested area. Try as much as you can to spray it directly on the bees.
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Vinegar
Vinegar is also a potent exterminator of ground bees. White vinegar is especially useful because of its acidity which is capable of drying out bees’ exoskeleton, even as it drives them out of their hiding places.
What you need to prepare the vinegar solution is white vinegar, a cup of water, and a spray bottle.
Pour a cup of white vinegar and add a cup of water into the spray bottle. Shake this properly to get the right mix. After which you spray the infested area with it.
When spraying a vinegar solution in a ground bee-infested area, ensure you put on standard protective gear, to protect you from getting stung to death by angry bees.
You can also use ammonia for ground bees in this manner.
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Soda Bottle Trap
For this trap, use something sweet like juice as your bait to draw the bees in. Eventually, the insects get drowned in the juice.
Material Needed for the Trap
- Soda Bottle- Plastic
- Fruit juice
- Scissors
Direction
Step 1- Cut the top part of the soda bottle and keep it aside
Step 2- Pour the fruit juice or sweet soda into the bottom part of the bottle
Step 3- Replace the top of the bottle in an upside-down position so that it forms a funnel
Step 4- Place this around the infested area
Repeat this process until you get rid of the last bee in your yard or garden.
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Essential Oil Spray
Essential oils are very handy when it comes to repelling a wide range of insect pests; like bed bugs, mosquitoes, and even bigger pests.
They also repel bees because not all scents are welcoming to bees. The insects stay away from such odors, as far as possible.
Using some of the scents they hate against them is a great way to send them off.
Materials for Essential Oil Spray
- Cinnamon oil
- Tea Tree oil
- Peppermint oil
- Baby shampoo (1 cup)
- Spray bottle
Direction
Step 1- Pour the baby shampoo into the spray bottle. If you can’t get a baby shampoo, use a dish soap
Step 2- Put a drop each of peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, and tea tree oil into the spray bottle
Step 3- Shake well to mix the solution properly
Step 4- Apply to infested areas
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Mothballs
You can use mothballs to drive away ground bees. Mothballs have a reputation for exterminating many insects, ranging from bugs to mosquitoes. It also repels ground bees.
Using mothballs is one the smartest way to repel an infestation of ground bees, and you won’t need to call pest control services.
Material Needed for Mothballs
- Mothballs
- Garden plant hanger
- Mesh bags
Direction
Step 1- Put the mothballs into fine mesh bags and tie them
Step 2- Get a garden plant hanger and place it within the area of infestation
Step 3- Hook a part of the plant hanger to the tied mesh bags, ensuring they hang directly over the infested area
Once this is done, ground bees begin to vacate their homes and move out of your garden because they can’t stand the smell of the mothball.
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Plants
Certain plants can also be used to eradicate bees, as some shrubs will repel them.
Examples of these are:
- Basil
- Marigolds
- Eucalyptus
- Geraniums
- Peppermint
- Wormwood etc.
Conclusion
It is important to note that ground bees are beneficial because of the role they play in pollinating your plants. So you might want to consider this before eradicating them.
Apart from that, they only nest during spring, so you are sure that they cannot be your tenant for a very long time.
They are not like their sister pollinators who are aggressive; they will not attack unless they are trying to defend their territory or themselves. Plus, a ground bee will die after stinging you.
Therefore, unless you or any member of your household is allergic to the stings of bees, they pose little or no threat to your lawn or garden.
However, knowing how to get rid of them puts your mind at rest in case of a possible infestation. You don’t want to get stung, not even when you have younger children and pets around.