Bees in the ground?

Can anyone tell me how to safely get rid of a bees nest in the ground? So far I've taken a hose and left it going for a bit right inside the nest. That seemed to cut down on some of them. I want to make SURE they don't come back. Winter is coming up so I'm figuring that after the first frost I can maybe dig the area up and remove the nest or something? Can anyone suggest anything to kill them or make sure they don't return without dumping chemicals into the ground? It's right in the garden that we're hoping to bring back to life. (Previous owners let it go without tending for 5 years and likely never noticed the bees.)

Reply to
HomeDecoy
Loading thread data ...

Water? Even water is a chemical, technically. What aspect of "chemicals" don't you want? Use Sevin dust. It breaks down nicely after a little while.

Reply to
yellowbirddog

Haha true. I guess I'm looking for something that can go in the ground but not cause long-term damage to the soil so that we can grow things there again.

Reply to
HomeDecoy

Just roto-till it, and plant beans. They won't come back to that spot again.

Reply to
Goedjn

Try lime that you spread on your yard. This has sometimes worked for me.

Reply to
Jeff

Ok, then Sevin Dust is indeed what you want. It is regularly used in agriculture.

Reply to
yellowbirddog

Yellowjackets/ground-wasps don't use the same nest year-to-year, at least not here in the northeast.

D
Reply to
spamTHISbrp

If you're planning on growing edibles in that area, then you do NOT want to use ANY so-called "safe" or "relatively safe" pesticide. None of them ever has been or ever will be shown to be safe. It is not possible.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Horse-puckey. Sevin is perfectly safe when used as directed.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Option 1: Sevin dust.

Option 2: a pint of gasoline and a match. Stand back a safe distance and throw lit matches at the hole until it ignites. Bye-bye, bees.

Reply to
Doug Miller

In daylight use 2 by 4 or other long pole to EXACTLY mark the entrance...

Come back at NIGHT, use NO lights at all! They will instantly go after lights:(

Pour gasoline into bucket, approach quietly dump gasoline quickly down hole. This kills them instantly!

Now light the hole if you want it will burn off the gasoline.

If you REA:LLY concerned a few days later dig up the nest and surrounding soil dump in non garden area.

or leave that area for flowers only for a few years

avoid the hole for a few days straglers who didnt make it home the night of the disaster:) will fly around a bit then go away

Reply to
hallerb

In daylight use 2 by 4 or other long pole to EXACTLY mark the entrance...

Come back at NIGHT, use NO lights at all! They will instantly go after lights:(

Pour gasoline into bucket, approach quietly dump gasoline quickly down hole. This kills them instantly!

Now light the hole if you want it will burn off the gasoline.

If you REA:LLY concerned a few days later dig up the nest and surrounding soil dump in non garden area.

or leave that area for flowers only for a few years

avoid the hole for a few days straglers who didnt make it home the night of the disaster:) will fly around a bit then go away

Reply to
hallerb

Remember to always follow directions/codes/common sense:

I had yellow jackets, a lot, nested under some mulch. I used some carpenter bee powder (I had for the carpenter bees that attack my deck), and dusted their enterence. The Yellow Jackets swarmed for a while and when I checked back later, I found many dead ones. I then dusted again for safe measure. :)

This is what I did, not a how-to for you. :)

tom @

formatting link

Reply to
Tom The Great

Horse-puckey. No substance can be considered safe in or around food unless it is tested on humans. You may find one or two instances of that happening, but they were rare, and the practice is now illegal.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

You can go on thinking that if it makes you feel better... and I'll continue to use Sevin in my vegetable garden.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Go on thinking what? That these things cannot be tested properly? Is that specifically what you're referring to?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

The only pesticide I can think of that has never been shown to be harmful to humans in any concentration (less than 100%, and at that level people do die from being smothered) is DDT. You can get it if you try hard enough.

Reply to
HeyBub

If you take a clear plastic or glass bowl, place it over their hole and press it tightly to the ground, so they can't walk under the edge, put a weight of some sort on it to keep it in place, they will starve to death. Do this at night when they've all gone back into the nest and are not active. As long as they can see sunlight, they don't dig themselves a new exit hole

Reply to
RBM

I had the problem. They were too far down for hardware store sprays. I finally called a pro, and I'm glad I did.

If you can wait for frost, that will work.

Reply to
Bert Byfield

You probably have yellow jackets rather than bees. These critters all die over the winter, except for a queen that has probably flown on to a new spot. Poisoning the nest now won't do much good.

formatting link
has a nice article.

HomeDecoy wrote:

Reply to
DLC

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.