bumble bees

[oakvillebob]

I'm not sure if it belongs in this forum but here goes. I have a problem with bumble bees which have taking a liking to living under my shed. I called an exterminater which sprayed the edges of the shed and said to call him if they came back (which they did). I called him back and he sprayed again but the little buggers are back again. Has anyone else had this problem? And how have you dealt with it. My smoker and other garden tools are in the shed so I have to wait until it is dark to go in and get what I need for the next days activities. If worse comes to worse I guess I will have to wait until the colder weather arrives and just move the shed somewhere else.

 

[mossymo]

oakvillebob
Moving the shed will not work either..... as you were told, spray for the bee's yourself (after dark). This will cut their numbers down.

To remove them all you need to remove the hive, use warm soapy water to clean where the hive was mounted, honey residue is strong) and then use a spray paint that covers odors where the honey residue and hive where at. Just purchased some at the hardware store, if you need the brand, let me know.....

My wife and I are just getting over going through this, the bee's are a pain in the arse..... another way to cut down the bee numbers is to place a few container's with a 50/50 mix of Mountain Dew and Almond Joy (dishwashing detergent, the original) in the general vicinity of the hive.

 

[oakvillebob]

Thanks Mossy; I went out back tonight while they were inactive and put boards around the edges; hopefully they will get frustrated trying to get back home and move on to more hospitible surroundings. I will try the dishsoap suggestion as well. If that doesn't work then I guess I will take the shed apart when it is too cold for them to fight back and clean up whatever is underneath.
thanks,
Bob

 

[pops6927]

Had the same problem many years ago with a hive underneath the edge of my garage in the ground. I asked the exterminator who was at the meat store I was working at for something to help and he gave me a half of a qt jar of some sort of insecticide; he said to mix it with the same amount of water and spray the hole with it. Well, didn't have any sprayer so I just dumped it down the hole.
Don't know what the stuff was, but the next day we came home from work and there were dead bees in our kitchen next to the cellar door. Went down cellar and there were thousands of them half dead to dead! The stuff drove them from their nest in the ground to follow the electrical pipe that was buried between the garage and house, falling out by the electrical box and were everywhere! All over the workbench and floor. It was over 30 years ago but neither of us can forget the crunch crunch crunch walking thru the cellar cleaning them all up! Got rid of 'em, but wow, what a mess!
I told the exterminator about it later and he howled, said that about an ounce was enough to have killed 'em all, it was a pro quality DDT that killed whole hives. He'd never heard of bees being that ferocious to get away from it so bad that they'd tunnel 40 feet!

 

[davenh]

Now that you have some boards closing it in, toss in a insect bomb/fogger, or two, while they are all inside for the night.

 

[allen]

Is your shed sitting on dirt, concrete, or on blocks? if it is on blocks put skirting or plastic around the base of the shed and ground of the shed and try a bug fogger under it, Or spray around the base with Wasp- Hornet spray, we do that around our dock doors and it seems to help

 

[pitrow]

I've found that gasoline works wonders on yellow jackets. Just a little bit down or even near their hole and they'll pack up and move on. I did it just last fall to a big nest they had made in my rail-road tie retaining wall. I couldn't get it right in the nest, but got some on the ties where they went in and out. They were gone the next morning (unfortunately they relocated to my storage shed). Apparently they can't stand the fumes.

I don't know if it'll work on bee's, but might be worth a shot.

 

[supervman]

Human Urine works GREAT on snake dens. DON'T ASK!
Probably work on them too but I'd try the jar of it down the hole rather than "bee exposed" :)

 

[coyote]

pit has the right idea..But he left out one importent part..he forgot to light it..if you do it at night you can make smores and roast marshmellows..maybe even sear a brisket or butt..

 

[oakvillebob]

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys...you're the best. Right now the two really big ones (the queens I was told) are nowhere to be found (hopefully upstairs) and there are still a couple of smaller workers still buzzing around trying to find their way back; a big improvement from yesterday when there seemed like there were hundreds buzzing around. My shed is mounted on the ground so I think that I should probably move it temporarily and put down a concrete base for next year. My wife was so frustrated with them that she tore up our veggie garden and herb garden today to limit their access to flowering plants.
Oh well...my tomatoes werent doing so well anyway and in a couple of weeks the markets will be selling them for next to nothing grrrr....

 

[spoofer]

My friend who works for the Conservation Dept. uses Clorox Bleatch on their Holes at night. It works great and claims it dosen't do as much harm to the Enviroment.

 

[jerseyhunter]

They probably like it under there cause when winter comes they will hibernate under ground, which is probably where they are now. The shed is also protecting them form the elements. Good Luck and move the shed, and pour in the gas.

 

[oakvillebob]

They're back!!!! At this point I am ready to try the gasoline method and if that doesn't work try it again and toss in a match as someone previously suggested in jest. I called the exterminator who has been twice and he said that he will come back next Monday and really pack in whatever powder he used the last time provided it doesn't rain (water apparently renders the powder ineffective). These f***ers are driving me mad. He also said that of all the pests he treats bumble bees are the hardest to kill off; everything else such as hornets or yellowjackets are usually killed off after one treatment. I am thinking about piling dirt or crushed stone around the edges of the shed to bury them for now. Seems like the $90 I spent on the exterminator was a waste of money.

 

[oakvillebob]

Thanks to everyone who replied. They are now gone on to greener pastures.
thanks,
Bob

 

[GaryHibbert]

Hey Bob

If they come back (or you have problems with any other flying pests) there is a product out there called KONK.  It is made for auto spraying barns, stys, etc.  The stuff is deadly.  I had a nest of yellow jacket wasps in my tractor, so I sprayed them down.  You could litterally watch them die in no time flat.  Then I sprayed the nest--haven't seen a wasp since last year.  The only problem you might have is this--I bought this stuff at Peavy Mart and I don't think you have that store stateside.  If not check out the various farm supply outfits.  Believe me, this stuff is GREAT

Gary