# How do I get bumblebees out of my yard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 21, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904 "2007-03-21T19:08:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/41 "2007-03-22T17:39:13Z")
I think the bees I keep seeing around are carpenter bees. They’re seriously eating my house? Should I do something about it? I mean, I like bees (not up close and personal, but I like watching them and I like how they’re good for my plants) but I don’t like them eating my house! I have some that are yellow and black and stripey, which aren’t carpenter bees, right? And some that have black asses, which are? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/42 "2007-03-22T17:55:31Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] I think the bees I keep seeing around are carpenter bees. They’re seriously eating my house? Should I do something about it? I mean, I like bees (not up close and personal, but I like watching them and I like how they’re good for my plants) but I don’t like them eating my house! I have some that are yellow and black and stripey, which aren’t carpenter bees, right? And some that have black asses, which are? [/QUOTE] Carpenter bee nests are unmistakable. They drill perfectly round holes, which look like somebody drilled them out with a 1/2 inch drill bit. They actually only bore in a short distance, then make a 90 degree turn and bore parallel to the wood surface. You’ll find a pile of sawdust under the hole. Unless you let it go for a long time, the damage will likely be superficial, and can be repaired by stuffing the hole with wood putty. They like untreated soft wood, such as redwood fences and decks. Yeah, big bees with shiny black abdomens. Big stripy fuzzy bees might be bumblebees. ---
**Author:** ![rhythmonly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rhythmonly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhythmonly)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/43 "2007-03-22T18:55:00Z")
After reading the OP (and having survived a Yellowjacket swarming), I recommend the following: 4 or 5 Bumblebees can easily be taken care of by getting a can of 3M Spray Adhesive. Apply a light coat to Bees, being careful not to spray yourself or your dog in the face. Once their little wings stick together, they drop like a bad habit, and are ready for the humane disposal method of your choice. No poison needed, no digging up any lawns. There’s a more stringent disposal procedure that I personally use for the aforementioned Yellowjackets, but it involves a framing hammer, after phase 1 spraying is completed. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/44 "2007-03-22T19:07:40Z")
I say you should take off and nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/45 "2007-03-22T19:21:35Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] I’ve posted a notice that I am declaring amnesty this day only. Bees will be allowed to occupy the left bank of my garden but all else is off limits. If they live in accord with this very reasonable solution they will be left in peace and pollen. If they enter the no fly zone they are subject to consequences. (Sanctions so far have not worked.) The sunny bees are far more peaceful than the bee-ites, it seems. [/QUOTE] Hold on! Hold on! You can’t be so unreasonable. What if they are blown off course by a sudden gust of wind? You are going to have to make assurances that you will be maintaining secure garden boundaries to try to minimise breezes and that you won’t take punitive action during stormy periods. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/46 "2007-03-22T20:25:31Z")
[QUOTE=Jeff Lichtman] The Wikipedia article says that bumblebees are sometimes used for pollination (of tomatoes, for example). Perhaps a beekeeper could remove the colony and use it for that purpose. [/QUOTE] AFAIK, beekeepers are only interested in honeybees of a few select strains. They used to be interested in catching wild colonies, but with the Africanized honeybees around, they are no longer taking chances with wild bees. I’m rather surprised that no one has suggested a professional pesticide company. Me, I’d leave the bees alone, unless they were pretty aggressive. And I’m allergic to bee and wasp stings. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/47 "2007-03-22T21:47:32Z")
> [@](#): > > How do I get bumblebees out of my yard? Tell Prime he’s needed on an urgent mission to spy on Megatron. He’ll be off in a flash. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/48 "2007-03-23T00:40:19Z")
[QUOTE=pkbites] … There used to be a spray (still available?😕 ) that you would spray on the nest at night. It chemically froze the nest. The bees that survived would disintergrate, literally ripping themselves apart trying to move. Even the nest falls apart from it. I was just a kid when I saw my uncle use this stuff so I have no idea if it is still around. [/QUOTE] My dad used to get to drinking beer(s) an take cans of R134-A and freeze the tops of fire ant piles down by our barn. But when the ants melted (or thawed… hmm) they seemed to just get back to work. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/49 "2007-03-23T05:40:27Z")
Screw the sissy, pacifist mentality! [I say go all Dresden on their ass!](http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2243176) They’ll respect you for it… 😃 (link can sometimes take several tries to respond, but its worth the wait…) ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/50 "2007-03-23T19:05:25Z")
[professional exterminator](http://williethebeeman.com/id129.html) ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904/51 "2007-03-23T19:50:42Z")
Nuke 'em from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-bumblebees-out-of-my-yard/396904.md?page=2)