Subject: Re: Bees, how to keep them away ?

From: [email-masked] (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
Date: 8 Mar 1995 13:13:18 GMT

In a previous article, [email-masked] (Danial Rubin) says:

>Hi All,
>
>I have a problem with bees nesting around my apartment's patio.  The
>patio is surrounded by trees and there seems to be an abnormal amount
>of bees nesting around the area.  Last summer there was a nest inside
>a wall mounted patio light.  Is there any way that I can do something

These are almost certainly hornets, not bees.  The only method
of keeping them at bay is to destroy their nest as soon as you see
evidence they are building one.  

However, be careful.  Destroy the nests at night when the hornets are all
in them.  Hornets are---much--- more aggressive than bees and have a 
substantially more painful sting.  If you try to wipe out the nests
during the day, you are much more likely to be stung, and you probably 
won't get rid of all the hornets--they are very persistent at nest building.

Ultrasonic "repellers" won't help; I don't know why people buy them.

J. Del Col (who has to get rid of at least one white-faced hornet
	    nest per year, not to mention the mud daubers in the garage)
-- 
Jeff Del Col   * "Sleeplessness is like metaphysics.
A-B College    *  Be there."
Philippi, WV   * 
               * ----Charles Simic----

---

From: [email-masked] (John Tusciuk)
Date: 8 Mar 1995 10:45:02 -0500

Danial Rubin ([email-masked]) wrote:
: Hi All,

: I have a problem with bees nesting around my apartment's patio.  The
: patio is surrounded by trees and there seems to be an abnormal amount
: of bees nesting around the area.  Last summer there was a nest inside
: a wall mounted patio light.  Is there any way that I can do something
: early in the spring to keep the bees away.  I was thinking that placing
: a ultrasonic bug repeller on my patio early in the spring would help.
: What do you all think?  

: If anyone can think of another group to ask this question in let me know.

: Thanks
: 	- Dan

The previous posters are right, they probably are hornets, but if they
ARE bees, see if you can find the name/number of a beekeeper.  If you
have unwanted honeybees, often beekeepers will come and take them off
your hands for you.

If they are hornets, and you want to use a spray, I've used ORTHO wasp
and hornet killer (the can says things like "effective from 15 feet").
It really does knock them out of the air.  The stuff is just as toxic
to just about everything (it affects our nervous system the same way
as it does insects), so be careful about breathing it or getting it
somewhere pets or children will contact it.

If you get unwanted hornets in the ground, I read an excellent method
of getting rid of them.  I read this while browsing in a bookstore, so
I don't remember the title or author, but we tried it and it worked
marvelously.  Take a large, glass jar and at night cover the opening
to the nest.  They will starve to death in about a week.  Make sure
that the jar is CLEAR GLASS.  If you put anything opaque or ground
level over the opening, they will dig around it, but apparently once
in the jar they have "left the nest" and so don't know how to fix the
situation.  Be careful when you do this, though, because even at night
we had hornets come out of the nest when we disturbed it.

John Tusciuk
[email-masked]

---

From: [email-masked] (Danial Rubin)
Date: 7 Mar 1995 13:39:15 -0500

Hi All,

I have a problem with bees nesting around my apartment's patio.  The
patio is surrounded by trees and there seems to be an abnormal amount
of bees nesting around the area.  Last summer there was a nest inside
a wall mounted patio light.  Is there any way that I can do something
early in the spring to keep the bees away.  I was thinking that placing
a ultrasonic bug repeller on my patio early in the spring would help.
What do you all think?  

If anyone can think of another group to ask this question in let me know.

Thanks
	- Dan