Relocating Bees

Do you have a swarm of bees? Bob Sitko, 651-436-7915, dsrhsitko@msn.com will assign a beekeeper from your area to come rescue this valuable resource.
Call also for information on hornets, wasps, bees in the ground, walls, and hollow trees or to register as a Swarm Chaser. Thank you!

Here's a photo to help you determine what you have.  Honey bees are fuzzier and rounder looking and don't have a tiny pinched waist.  The wasps and yellow jackets are more shiny and pointy.  

  Bald Faced Hornet

Honey bees don't visit picnics unless there is a vase of fresh flowers with nectar and pollen to collect. Honey bees are vegetarians and find soda and watermelon too weak to bother with.  The honey bees that are out foraging for food are not guard bees, they are foragers.  Only a handful of honey bees located at the hive entrance are guard bees with the job of protecting the hive's honey stores and young from intruders.  Out in the field the bee has no reason to be aggressive; you can garden alongside them.
Wasps and Yellowjackets eat smaller insects and frequent picnics, especially in late summer for the meat, soda or cut watermelon. They can  be aggressive scavengers around human food and decaying fruit.  Bald faced hornets are a type of yellow jacket. 
Paper wasps and Bald faced hornets have the paper lantern looking hanging nest. Sand wasps and yellowjackets often nest in the ground. Honey bees nest in manufactured hives or tree cavities.

When a “Bee” is not a Bee.

Late summer/early fall is the time of year when “Bee “ problems often turn out to be yellow jacket wasp colony problems once  a photograph is provided. If the insects are pesky and need to be  removed right away, here are 2 ways to deal with them:If they are in the ground, pour in some liquid soap, and put the water hose in the hole for about 2-3 minutes or if they are in a vertical surface, like under the siding, wait until sundown when they are all in the nest, spray them with EcoSmart spray (available at Cub Foods), an organic wasp/hornet spray safe for kids and pets (unlike Raid). Keep spraying them as they come out as it is a contact killer and will not work if you just spray it in the hole and leave.

If they are not bothering you, wait until the first few hard frosts and they will all die, then you can plug the entrance and they will not nest there again.

Getting Honey Bees to Use a Different Water Source

1) Empty undesired water location for 3 days or longer, 

2) Place desired water source closer to the hive, ideally within 20 feet. Add an attractive floral scent like vanilla.   

3) After bees find and get in the habit of using the new water source, refill original location.Bees prefer sucking water out of porous surfaces where they have good footing.  They will find moss or mud or old bumpy concrete at edges of calm water features more attractive than smooth plastic basins.  The key is, so long as the bees are active (April-Nov), never let this water source dry up or they will find something else. A slow drip or recirculating feature will keep the water from getting stagnant or mosquitos from laying eggs in it.