ground bees
 

I've got ground (miner?) bees in the backyard. Generally there not a
bother as they seem totally uninterested in my family, but they are
expanding their range and digging up my lawn. I really just want them to
go elsewhere.

Any ideas on you to get rid of them?

My local garden store said to use an insecticide, but my wife does not
like that idea with the kids and I don't really want to kill them, just
get them to move. I was thinging of pulling up the whole lawn are and
mixing in some DE in with the topsoil (amending the soil a good deal at
the same time), and then reseeding the whole space. Man, that'd be a bit
of work tho.

thanks
bob

"alazar" wrote in message
...
I've got ground (miner?) bees in the backyard. Generally there not a
bother as they seem totally uninterested in my family, but they are
expanding their range and digging up my lawn. I really just want them to
go elsewhere.

Any ideas on you to get rid of them?

My local garden store said to use an insecticide, but my wife does not
like that idea with the kids and I don't really want to kill them, just
get them to move. I was thinging of pulling up the whole lawn are and
mixing in some DE in with the topsoil (amending the soil a good deal at
the same time), and then reseeding the whole space. Man, that'd be a bit
of work tho.

I had the same situation last year. I'm not into killing everything that
moves, so I left them alone. Unfortunately, towards the end of the season,
they got rather aggressive. I forgot about them TWICE and flooded the area
with water. They came after me with a vengeance and I got stung all over my
arms and legs. I might be more likely to exterminate them if they took up
residence again in an area that I had to water or cultivate. If I had small
children, I would also consider getting rid of them.

Are you sure you were dealing with bees and not yellow jackets, your
description of their behavior is more like wasps.

Quite a benneficial insect actually.
These are solitary bees and while it is possible to get stung it's not
real likely.
(solitary but gregarious)

Ask yourself this- has anyone been stung?
The DE will probably have zero effect.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Are you sure you were dealing with bees and not yellow jackets, your
description of their behavior is more like wasps.


Oh, you're right. They were yellow jackets.

Yes, yellow jackets are notoriously aggressive ... best to rid the lawn of a
nest or avoid at all costs.


"Vox Humana" wrote in message
. ..

wrote in message
oups.com...
Are you sure you were dealing with bees and not yellow jackets, your
description of their behavior is more like wasps.


Oh, you're right. They were yellow jackets.

In article , "Catty One"
wrote:

Yes, yellow jackets are notoriously aggressive ... best to rid the lawn of a
nest or avoid at all costs.

Depends on what one calls aggressive. Yellowjackets are not prone to
stinging if their nest is not molested; they will probably never sting
anyone who doesn't accidentally step on one or push up against it or
intentionally harrass it. But if you're having a picnic they'll be very
pushy about getting on any meat that's being prepared or eaten outside,
there is no way to make them go away if there is meat in the vicinity,
they are aggressive at scavenging meat.

If their ground nest is where children are playing & so apt to stomp on
the nest & excite the yellow jackets enough to swarm, they should be
gotten rid of. If they are close enough to make picnicking outdoors
unpleasant, it hardly matters that they're not apt to sting in that
situations, it's no fun to have them crawling all over the paperplates
scavenging meat, so again the nest will need to be gotten rid of.

But if they're in an out of the way spot they are a benefit to the garden.
Paper wasps are even more gentle & not pushy because they're not
interested in scrap meat off picnic plates, & they do spectacular good in
the garden preying upon pest-insects. Their paper nests are most often
somewhere out of the way, but if they could be accidentally knocked into,
the spot should be marked with a flag so no one bumbles into them. They
are extremely docile & won't attack people who haven't first assaulted the
nest. Their nest is transient besides; a paperwasp nest will be abandoned
the same year it is made, &amp they'll never return to that spot. I regret
that some years they don't nest in my yard at all; I am glad when they are
here as they keep the garden healthy.

I'm less delighted by ground-nesting yellow jackets as they're too easily
in the way & can disturb one's peace of mind despite that they they never
sting unless stupidly provoked. The bald-faced wasp & paper wasp are so
extremely docile that fearing them is just silly, & their nests are small
enough there's never too many of them for comfort. But ground
yellowjackets can have very extensive colonies & will get testy if any
part of the colony gets molested. Also because they eat garbage & dead
things, they're not as skilled at being predators of pest-insects as are
paperwasps, though they do also prey on insects. For sedate transient
paperwasps though, people should not worry about them & should be glad to
have them, but if I had yellowjackets in the ground nearby I'd consider
getting rid of those.

-paghat the ratgirl

"Vox Humana" wrote in message
. ..

wrote in message
oups.com...
Are you sure you were dealing with bees and not yellow jackets, your
description of their behavior is more like wasps.


Oh, you're right. They were yellow jackets.


--
Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
http://www.paghat.com/giftshop.html
"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to
liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot." -Thomas Jefferson

paghat said:

In article , "Catty One"
wrote:

Yes, yellow jackets are notoriously aggressive ... best to rid the lawn of a
nest or avoid at all costs.

Depends on what one calls aggressive. Yellowjackets are not prone to
stinging if their nest is not molested; they will probably never sting
anyone who doesn't accidentally step on one or push up against it or
intentionally harrass it.

You will never convince my daughter of that. A yellowjacket flew into
her, dropped in her lap and stung her during a zoo outing. She did not
harrass it or swat at it.

She has been terrified of wasps ever since. Thank goodness she is a
very intelligent girl and does not extend that fear to bees (or other
insects). And she doesn't mistake bees for wasps.


--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

Soap. Yes, soap. Non-chemical and works every time. Something in the soap
makes the exoskeleton of the wasp just dissolve.
I had a huge nest of them in my barn where they a total PIA to my horses and
myself.
Mix reg. dishwashing liquid with water and soak nest liberally. I used an
Ortho Dial type sprayer for this.


CIndy



"alazar" wrote in message
...
I've got ground (miner?) bees in the backyard. Generally there not a
bother as they seem totally uninterested in my family, but they are
expanding their range and digging up my lawn. I really just want them to
go elsewhere.

Any ideas on you to get rid of them?

My local garden store said to use an insecticide, but my wife does not
like that idea with the kids and I don't really want to kill them, just
get them to move. I was thinging of pulling up the whole lawn are and
mixing in some DE in with the topsoil (amending the soil a good deal at
the same time), and then reseeding the whole space. Man, that'd be a bit
of work tho.

thanks
bob

Huge difference between ground nesting bees and German yellow jackets.
Early in the season is when you usually see the ground nesting bees which as
usually described as "gentle," as they nest in individual cells and don't
have a communal nest to defend.

On the other hand, German yellow jackets, which start showing up in late
summer, are quite aggresive They are probably the only insect in this area
that I am truly afraid of.

For more information to identify which apian insect you're seeing, check out
this Extension bulletin:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distrib...re/DG3732.html

Good luck!
Suzy O, Wisconsin, Zone 5


"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
...
paghat said:

In article , "Catty One"
wrote:

Yes, yellow jackets are notoriously aggressive ... best to rid the lawn
of a
nest or avoid at all costs.

Depends on what one calls aggressive. Yellowjackets are not prone to
stinging if their nest is not molested; they will probably never sting
anyone who doesn't accidentally step on one or push up against it or
intentionally harrass it.

You will never convince my daughter of that. A yellowjacket flew into
her, dropped in her lap and stung her during a zoo outing. She did not
harrass it or swat at it.

She has been terrified of wasps ever since. Thank goodness she is a
very intelligent girl and does not extend that fear to bees (or other
insects). And she doesn't mistake bees for wasps.


--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)