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Thread: Remove bugs and bees from my property

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Remove bugs and bees from my property

    Maybe this is a stupid question, but is there something I can spray to keep bugs and bees off my property?

  2. #2
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    Apr 2007
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    Mebane NC
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    Are they destructive or just annoying?
    Bees are necessary for the reproduction of many plants and trees.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Saffold View Post
    Are they destructive or just annoying?
    Bees are necessary for the reproduction of many plants and trees.
    They're destructive plus I'm allergic to bees, so I don't really care about the flowers and the trees. Either way, I'm just tired of them and would like to see them gone.

  4. #4
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    Malathion or Sevin. But they might not be too nice to the birds.

    I've used Malathion on small areas near and under the deck. Keeps the mosquitoes away nicely. Doesn't smell as bad as Sevin.
    Sevin is an abrasive liquid. Good for hard shelled insects.
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  5. #5
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    If they're carpenter bees, the easiest thing to do is trap them. This one works amazingly well: http://youtu.be/DD5ExhmaZA8

    Caught 10 so far this year.

  6. #6
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    Yes remove all plants and trees and grass and pave over your lot. the problem is solved.
    Steve knight
    cnc routing

  7. #7
    When bees are foraging they have no interest in you. The only way you'll get stung is if you step on one (bare feet) or swat at them. But I understand your concern if you have an allergy to bee stings. My dad kept bees so I have an affinity for them. I enjoy seeing them in my yard.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  8. #8
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    Steve, I've been stung in a parking lot so that doesn't work too well.

    Mike, I don't particlularly care for them around my food because they don't really get the difference between "swatting", "shooing", and "eating/drinking."

    We've been trying those WHY traps that are supposed to trap wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets but they specifically don't attract bees. And I'm not too impressed with they way they are working for anything else either. Supposedly you put them out early in the season and catch the queens, then the colonies don't form. So far I just seem to be catching other bugs.


  9. #9
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    They also get upset when you bother their hive....you know, like underground hives near my front door, hives in my dumpster (it's just for work material....no food, but they love all the nooks and crannies, and that's where the last one got me that sent me to the ER), hives underneath the deck, hives in the hot tub, hives in the shed (as well as carpenter bees). They seem to just LOVE my house and not only are they dangerous, they cause me great expense when I have to hire someone to remove them because I can't.
    Last edited by John Coloccia; 04-21-2012 at 1:27 PM.

  10. #10
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    Sounds like you getting crotchety in your old age. Bee's don't bother you if you don't bother them & for bugs is you find a way to rid your yard of them you'll be set for life...With out spraying poisons everywhere which is detrimental to the birds & other animals...

  11. #11
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    Well there you go John, just stop using your dumpster, deck, hot tub, shed, etc. That way you won't have to go to the Senior ER.

    I think I'm aquiring an alergy to them as every time I get stung (every few years) it seems to swell worse and worse and I don't feel all that great. My mom has to carry an Epi Pen after getting attacked by ones in an underground nest that was in her flowerbeds.
    Last edited by Matt Meiser; 04-21-2012 at 2:13 PM.


  12. #12
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    Feb 2009
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    I've got wasps in my yard; I think this is the 4th year in a row. We have an aluminum fence where the horizontal pieces are U-shaped and so the wasps like to nest up under those and in the main posts. I got nailed by a couple of them last year while mowing the lawn. Nasty buggers.

    I sprayed some Sevin in the fence channels just a few weeks ago, flooding or knocking out old nests. Unfortunately they're back; right next to my wife's planter boxes. Actually today while clearing space for a new planter there were about 5 wasps hanging out on one of the other planters. I think they were looking for their home because I hit one of the fence posts with another spray just a few days before after seeing a wasp hanging out on it. I'm going to go back out there tonight and hit that space again, this time trying the Sevin again. Hopefully that will do the trick.

    My Dad suggested spraying a non-expanding foam into the U-channels to see if that would prevent them from trying to nest. Might have to try that in the fall. I'm getting tired of these things bothering me when I mow. Otherwise they're not a problem... but I do have to get up against my fence in order to mow and trim!

  13. #13
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    I had some of the wood boring wasps at my house a few years ago. I just finished adding my shop to the end of the house & used Western Red Cedar for the trim. I was taking an outside shower & noticed a perfectly round 1/2" hole in the trim under the lead flashing which I didn't fold down yet. I folded the lead down & the next day the same hole through the lead. Went on line to find out about them & found a site that sold a kit to help get rid of them. In the kit was some poison, a squeeze bulb with a long tube & some 1/2" corks. I was to put the poison in the bulb & stick the tube into the hole which went a long way into the trim then squeeze the bulb to blow the poison in there then cork the hole. I guess the poison dehydrated the bee's & the larva in there. I changed the trim & cut it open to find a long channel eaten away into the soft wood of maybe 10" & little pockets off the channel that had the larva in it....If you don't kill the baby's the come back every year. I was a caretaker of a house with cedar trim & it had about 60 holes into the trim where they came back year after year to make a new home....

  14. #14
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    Let's be clear, are you referring to honeybees3732f04.jpg, wasps3732f03.jpg or hornets3732f02.jpg?

    Honeybees are very valuable and you should not try to exterminate them. Using any sort of insecticide can wipe out an entire colony. If you don't have flowers or flower scents, honeybees won't hang around. They rarely go to soft drinks or food items. Please leave them alone and they will leave you alone. Honey bees only sting for two reasons. #1 is to protect their hive. SO if you aren't bothering their hive you have no worries. #2 is self preservation. If you swat or mash one it will sting so don't do either. Even if one lands on you most likely it will not sting and will just flay away in a few seconds. A honeybee can only sting once as the stinger is barbed and will stick in you and tear free of the bee which also kills the bee. If this happens scrape it off with a finger nail, do not pinch it as it will inject more poison into you.

    Wasps and hornets are fair game and are often aggressive, particularly around their nest. They are commonly found coming to food and soft drinks and can be a royal pain and aggressive around food sources. There is no way to keep them away from your property as they will nest in any sheltered area, crack in your house, a tree, in the ground or in bushes. Swating and Shooing will make them mad and if they get mad they get aggressive and will tend to sting. They can and will sting more than once and they will live to sting another day as their stinger is not barbed and can easily be withdrawn after stinging.

    Get yourself an eppy pen and keep it handy if you plan to go outdoors. I've been stung when running and also when riding my bike when I collided with one.
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  15. #15
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    As parent to a child who packs an Epi-pen everywhere I find these responses less than helpful.
    Anaphylactic shock is a real consequence of stings, and sensitivity tends to increase with exposure.

    In short, each sting generates a greater immune response up to and including cardiac arrest.

    If you're just brushing this off, you're ignorant of the risk.

    My guess is that what we're talking about are "yellow jackets" which are social wasps. Were I allergic, I wouldn't stick around to make an identification, either.
    These don't like the sound of footfalls, and will swarm when agitated. A mild, dry Winter followed by a dry Spring made them very active when the first rain came.

    While the benefit of these eating other insects is real, the personal risk holds greater weight.
    (I'll trade aphid infestation for anaphylactic shock, thank you.)

    I think the idea of spraying the dumpster is a good one. I wonder if a time-release fogger could be installed?
    There are some traps that will catch them as they forage, but this does not address nests.

    Even professional resources aren't encouraging about long-term eradication, the discussions all turn to management.
    The literature warns that they'll swarm when poisons are detected.

    I believe the OP is on the right track, to contact a professional service about steady state abatement.
    Eradication is not likely possible.

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