Bee Nest in Garage

[Leo Shea]

I was in my garage last night when I picked up a mop and discovered a bunch of bees underneath the mop on the garage floor! It was pretty dark in that corner of the garage even with the lights on, but I did see that they looked fairly large.

After I picked up the mop they made a buzzing noise but didn't leave the floor immediately. 10-15 seconds later one took off at which point I ran back into the house. I never noticed them in the garage before, and I have been in the garage a few times lately (I don't park in the garage).

Any idea what kind of bees these may be? And how safe would it be to open the garage door at night, spray them with wasp/hornet spray from

15-20 ft. away, then run? They're against the left wall of the garage close to the garage door.

Thanks, Leo [e-mail]

[dr-solo]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List

Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I'm not an exterminator, but that is what I'd do. You have to spray the nest to get them all. Ed

[Salty Thumb]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I think you should try this first. At the least they might be able to get you in touch with an apiarist would might give you more info or take care of the problem outright.

Hopefully if you try running your car, you'll have the sense to let the area clear out and bring a charged carbon monoxide detector with you before re-entering the area.

Are you in an area with Africanized Honeybees?

Good luck hitting anything from 15' out. Also look at the label to see if it works on bees.

- Salty

[Joseph Meehan]

Likely not honey bees. Too bad. The honey bees are in high demand (many of them have been wiped out by a mite. We need as many as possible. In the mean time several other bee like insects have expanded in numbers, but some are more aggressive and not as good at pollination.

I second the idea of calling and trying to find someone to collect them in the event they are honey bees. Otherwise a wasp spray should handle it. Get two cans one fog type and one distance, use both at once. It stops them cold. BTW the time to get then is pre dawn and post dusk.

[des-weges]

A mild solution of liquid dish detergent in water (approximately 1/2 cup soap per gallon of water) will immobilize honey bees and kill them within 60 seconds.

BTW 6.5 oz of Dawn blue in 1 gallon of water will contact kill cockroaches in all stages!!!

"As crude a weapon as a cave man's club the chemical barrage has been hurled at the fabric of life." Rachel Carson

[jim]

probably wasp... if so then just get an insect bomb.. the kind you push the top button down and it stays on... it will kill just about anything... open the garage door.... set off one or two bombs and close door... then after work come home and open the garage door and air it out and there should be no live insects in the garage......

[John DeBoo]

Hmmm, interesting. I use a 3' long strip of duct tape sticky side up. Works like a champ until you step barefoot on it in the dark.

[UU R Mine]

Great to know, now if I could only figure out how to tap into Arty's shower head I'd be all set :)

[Beecrofter]

First time out of the condo unescorted? A single bee flew up after being disturbed and you are in a panic? Here is what you most likely have. Bumblebees who have made their home in the remains of an old mouse nest behind or under your old mop. Or have just used the mop itself as conditions were similar to an old mouse nest which these bees prefer. Now odd as it may sound you might just be able to coexist with them and benefit from their presence by improved garden and wildflower pollination. Walk outside the back of the garage in the daylight and see if they are coming and going by a crack near the garage wall /floor. If you want to keep them put a few rags over the mop inside the garage and allow them to come and go out the wall. If you insist on destroying them put a half cup of dish detergent in a bucket of water and pour it over the mop and nest and soak it thoroughly. I keep honeybees in an absolutely bee-proof T shirt and flip flops. Don't go killing anything until you learn a little about it, you might just want to share some space with it.

Tom

[bearclaw]

It can be hard to tell if they're carpenter bees, but if they are, carpenter bees don't sting.

[Ramblinon]

clipped

An absolutely radical idea. A lot of folks think anything that crawls is there just to irritate them and ought to be killed.

I was at an outdoor restaurant the other day, and the place had some kind of flowering shrub that had loads of honey bees around. The first ones I've seen in years. See bumble bees fairly often, but honey bees are scarce. Used to hunt frogs when I was a kid, and you could hardly take a step without scaring one up. If we killed fewer critters with indiscriminate poisoning, there would probably be more natural bug killers around.

[John W. Wells]

Now, now--be nice. (heh, heh!) My first encounter, 25 years ago, with a carpenter bee scared the bejeezus out of me. Heard this buzzing sound at the end of a pile of 4x4's, bent down to look closer at the one with 3 neatly bored holes in the cut off end, when out he came! He sounded like (and looked big as) an overloaded B25 on take-off! Yikes!

A most interesting slant, Tom!

After last summer's plague of yellow jackets (stop calling 'em "bees" willya, people!) I find I take much more kindly to the other more peaceful (though equally well-armed) members of the insect world. [OK, black widders excepted]

I can now watch with benign interest those industrious little honey bees, paper wasps, and mud daubers, as they go about their business.

--John W. Wells

[dr-solo]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List

Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make.

[dr-solo]

wasps are excellent predators of all kinds of pests. try to live with them if possible. Ingrid

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List

Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make.