How To Get Rid Of Ground Nesting Bees: 5 Easy Ways

Bees are essential to the environment, and having them in your garden is usually not a bad thing. The buzzing might cause discomfort, just like seeing frogs in your yard, but bees are generally friendly.

They can help with pest control and even aerate your lawn with their elaborate underground habitat.

However, if you notice there are a lot of bees flying around your yard, it might be time to do something about them. Bees are not aggressive towards humans unless they feel threatened. But most of us don’t feel comfortable around them. There is always that fear of getting stung.

So if you want to learn how to get rid of ground-nesting bees safely, keep reading!

The Basics About Ground-Nesting Bees

Even though they might look similar to honey bees, ground-nesting bees have different habits. For instance, honey bees live in a beehive, while ground-nesting bees prefer to be alone.

However, they do tend to form small groups and live close to each other. So don’t be surprised to see more than a dozen ground-nesting bees in your garden.

There are several species of ground-nesting bees, so identifying them by appearance could be a bit tricky. Both their size and color vary.

Your best choice for pinpointing the exact type of bee you are dealing with is to find the nest. Spend a couple of hours just observing your garden. If the bees are disappearing beneath the ground, they are certainly not honey bees.

Ground-nesting bees love to build small hideouts in the ground. Unlike other animal-made holes, these do not damage the structure of your lawn. The holes are not large and always accommodate a single bee.

Of course, multiple holes mean there are more bees around. They rarely create huge colonies in a single place, but it is not unheard of.

How To Get Rid Of Ground Nesting Bees

Numerous methods are effective when trying to get rid of ground-nesting bees. But before we dive deeper into the subject, it is important to mention that you need to protect yourself beforehand.

Bees do get aggressive when you try to destroy their nests. So cover your skin and wear gloves!

Use Water

Ground nesting bees love dry soil. You can simply start watering your lawn more often, keeping the ground moist at all times.

It might be the safest way on the list because all you need to do is turn on the sprinklers, and that’s it. You will not get instant results, but the bees will move out when they realize their homes are inhabitable.

Introduce New Plants to Your Garden

Just like fleas and ticks, bees are not fond of plants such as peppermint or eucalyptus.

So introducing these herbs to your garden is a very humane way to get rid of ground-nesting bees. Also, cover up any dry patches and take good care of your lawn. Improve the quality of the grass by mowing regularly.

Once the grass gets super thick, ground-nesting bees will have a hard time reaching the ground.

Try Vinegar

Do you use pet-safe weed killers regularly? Going natural could be one of the best options, especially if you want to protect your furry friends.

Making this DIY bee repellent is simple – all you need to do is mix vinegar with water, preferably in a spray bottle and shake it well.

Spray the area affected by the ground-nesting bees, but make sure you do it at night. This mixture doesn’t do damage to plants, so you could cover the nearby flowers or other plants often visited by the bees.

The Scent of Cinnamon

If you are wondering how to get rid of miner bees in the cheapest way possible, the answer is cinnamon.

Even though ground-nesting bees look similar, miner bees have smaller and stockier bodies. The best way to force them out of your garden is cinnamon.

Bees are generally repulsed by the smell of cinnamon. Therefore, grab some ground cinnamon and sprinkle it around the holes. You can also use cinnamon sticks.

A DIY Bee Repellant

Learning how to get rid of digger bees can involve some improvisation. For instance, you can make a bee repellant yourself. It is a great idea if you don’t want to use a store-bought insecticide.

You will need a baby shampoo as a base. Add tea tree oil, canella oil, and mint oil to the mix. Then go out to your garden and spray this around the holes in the ground.

Remember to protect your airways with a mask or cloth before using this mixture.

What Not To Do

Some of you might want to learn how to get rid of ground bees with gas, but this method could be quite dangerous and not recommended.

It is true that people do pour gasoline into the holes and lite it on fire. This is not a smart solution as there are easier, safer, and more affordable ways to get rid of bees in your yard.

Preventing Ground Nesting Bees

Once the ground-nesting bees are gone, start working on prevention. Continue watering your lawn, making sure there are no dry patches in sight. You could continue growing peppermint in your garden since it keeps other bugs away as well. Just remember to maintain the grass and keep it as healthy as possible.

While you can use chemical repellants now and then, make sure they are at least organic and safe for pets.

Repellants are sprayed on the soil, so if there are any harsh chemicals in them, they could damage the grass and the surrounding plants.

The best time to use a repellent is in spring before the bees move in.

Summary

Bees are good for the environment and a big part of the ecosystem. Therefore, try driving them away from your yard instead of exterminating them.

It shouldn’t be a problem because there are so many natural ways to make ground-nesting bees leave your yard. They are not fond of plants like peppermint and spearmint. You can either plant them or spray a mint-based mixture near the holes.

Of course, watering your lawn can make the yard look healthier and also make the bees go away because they can’t inhabit moist soil. Make your grass healthy by mowing it every week.

While bees will not attack you first, you and your family will feel way more comfortable after they leave. So try one of the methods mentioned above and you can enjoy warm sunny days outside without being on a constant lookout.