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Need help killing LAWN BEES!!! (1 Viewer)

Jenna

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Jeanette Howard
Damn!
While mowing grass this morning, I went through TWO different lawn nests of bees! I felt a sting, looked down, and there were at least 15 of those MF bees clinging to my loose, black, nylon track pants. Well, luckily I killed the rest of them without getting stung again, but my two beloved dogs (collie and beagle) were following me and they got stung too.
Does anyone know how to kill bees, once they nest in holes in your yard????
I remember my stepfather telling me to pour gasoline down the hole, then cover it with a bucket overnight (which I have just done). Will this work? ...or does it just kill the grass?
Any replies will be appreciated...and NO, I don't have anyone else to send out there to mow in my place. Not yet anyway. :frowning:
 

Jenna

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Terrorists???? Definitely.
These bees certainly weren't oppressed as they certainly were flying freely around my yard trying to sting me in the ass! :eek:
 

Denward

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I think a pesticide would have been better than gas. Call your neighborhood hardware store and ask.

Death to the bees!!!
 

Jared_B

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Get the standard wasp and hornet spray can, and shoot it down the holes. The stuff kills any bee/wasp it touches almost instantly, but I think it would be better on the grass.
 

Jim_K

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Don't kill them! :frowning:
Didn't nobody teach you that Bees are our friends. :laugh:
[Edited] so as not to be responsible for an act of idiocy. :)
 

Chet_F

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"try the classic hair-spray/lighter combo & blowtorch 'em.
Although that's no good for our Ozone layer."

Putting aside the fact that the can can blow your hand off!
 

Denward

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I don't think an aerosol can would be a good idea if they're in the ground. Most cans don't work very well if they're not vertical. I would recommend a liquid pesticide and use something like a dishwasher liquid bottle and give it a good squirt into the hole and then RUN!!!!:eek: :eek:
 

Dave Poehlman

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Scotts makes a Turfbuilder plus insect control. I don't know if it kills/deters bees, but you also get a greener lawn.
 

Greg_R

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The gasoline method works well. After you've killed them be sure to destroy the nest (otherwise new ones will move right in).
 

NickSo

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Yaknow what would be cooler? Pour gasoline down the hole, light it, run away and watch it from a far as fire shoots through the underground tunnels searing the stinging bastards... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA...
ok im just kidding, for all you bee lovers :D
 

BrianW

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If they’re round, yellow & black, and really hairy, then they’re probably just bumble bees. They build their hives in holes in the ground, or even in piles of grass or debris. They're the trailer trash of bee population. They’re very aggressive, very territorial, and once they lay claim to a back yard, the only option is to eradicate them.

Despite the advice given here, most wasp and hornet pesticides won’t even make bees mad, much less kill them. There is a product from Ortho, however, that will kill them. It’s a wasp and hornet killer, but it has a “special ingredient” for bumble bees as well. It comes in a yellow and white spray can. Whatever you get, check the label, because if it doesn’t say it will kill bees, it definitely won’t. This Ortho stuff is the only thing I found that will work.

Get lots of cans to have in reserve, because any surviving bees will go start another colony somewhere else nearby.

I mowed over a hive some years ago and received over two-dozen stings. I called a local bee expert to see if they could be moved. According to him, these bees don’t have a queen that lays all the eggs. Instead half the colony is half male, half female, and they breed like rabbits. A mating pair can start a new colony if you don’t get them all. He said their benefit to nature was minimal-to-destructive since they harass butterflies and even birds, driving them away from their food sources and habitats. He said to kill ‘em real good.

Good luck.
 

Wayne Bundrick

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They're the trailer trash of bee population.
You mean they're frequently seen drunk and shirtless on "Cops"?

I looked at several sites on the web and most of them recommend using a dust insecticide at the entrance.

I found one U.K. web site that says bumble bees are endangered and it's illegal to poison them!
 

Jenna

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Brian, the SOB-Bees that attacked me today looked like the "trailer-trash" variety: small, yellow, fuzzy - typical bumble bees. At first I thought they were little briars - until they started moving! I didn't know I could run that fast!
After I squished all the dozen-or-so still clinging to my pants after my 100 yard dash, I ventured back to their hole-in-the-ground "nest". While doing so, I walked right over a second nest but eluded their stings by running even faster. (I'm sure my neighbors were rolling on the ground laughing by now!)
I took a can of "wasp killer" and a gas can, went back to the nest, sprayed the ones that I could so I could get close enough, then poured gasoline down the two holes and covered them with buckets (so none could escape alive).
I bought 2 cans of "wasp/hornet" spray that stated on the back that they also kill "yellow jackets"...and will respray tomorrow evening...(as it rained tonight and I fear my spray/gas combo may have gotten diluted).
Last question:
HOW DO I DESTROY THE UNDERGROUND NESTS??? DIG THEM UP??? (which will ruin the lawn.) FILL THEM IN WITH DIRT???
 

BrianW

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I bought 2 cans of "wasp/hornet" spray that stated on the back that they also kill "yellow jackets"
Alas, I don't think that will be good enough. Yellow jackets are just another variety of wasp which is actually more related to ants than to bees.

Try your local county exchange or a bee professional in your area, or even animal control. They may be able to help.
 

BrianW

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Oh, I almost forgot:
HOW DO I DESTROY THE UNDERGROUND NESTS???
When I got rid of my TTBBs (trailer trash bumblebees), there must have been enough poison in the ground to render their habitat uninhabitable, so outright destroying the hive wasn't really necessary. They never reclaimed their home, in any case. The straggling survivors did move and try to start new colonies nearby, however, so be on the lookout for that possibility.
 

Justin Lane

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When I worked for a landscaper a few years back, we frequently ran into these bees. They could really be a pain in the ass when attempting to work while avoiding being stung at the same time. The best solution was to pour gas down the hole and leave, or light it on fire. Solved the problem almost everytime.

J
 

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