Getting Rid of Ground Bees
Given the current bee crisis - and the huge reduction in bee populations across the country - many beekeepers will come get the bees/beehive for you. You just need to call them.
The first rule is do not do anything until it is dark, when the bees are back in the hive. The second rule (daylight) is do not wear yellow... they are attracted to it. The best color is light shades of khaki, and the other obvious things, such as no sugar drinks, etc.
Don't swat them, but just slowly fade back. If you swat and kill one, like many of the flying stinging pests, they emit a chemical "alarm" that brings others to the "rescue." If you get chased, generally speaking, they fly in straight lines, so zig-zag as you run.
Just pick a safe spot, and watch where they are all returning to locate the hive in the ground, log, etc. If it is off your property, like a ditch behind the fence, etc., you are on your own. If you call a private exterminator, they will not come unless it is on your property. If you call the park service, they usually will not come either.
The Environmentally Safe and Sane Way to Eliminate the Ground Nest
Make sure these are the black and yellow ground-dwelling social wasps (these are not bees) that are very aggressive and not "bee wolves" that hunt wasps (or the rusty-tinged cicada killers). The social vespid yellow jacket wasps are most dangerous in late summer, so if you are near a nest, find someone to deal with the nest who is not likely to have an anaphylactic reaction to being stung.
Wait until dark, when the bees are back in the nest. If you need to mark it, leave an old rag (neutral color) near the nest. Come back at dusk with a scrap of window screen and a pot of boiling water (a small electric water pot will do). Put the screen over the nest entrance and pour in the hot water. Most of the bees will be cooked, these bees do not like wet ground. Check for activity in the morning and repeat if necessary.
Other comments from WikiAnswers contributors:
Most bug spray ideas do not work. The torch does, and you will look like a hero to your kids or wife....If you have lots of bees flying "your way" - such as when you are out on the deck during the day - you are probably on the "fly-way" path of the bees. They use markers to navigate. If you move your deck furniture, or umbrella or all bright-colored items off your deck (or to different location on the deck itself), sometimes they will at least use a different route.
Also, bees hate mothballs. You may put them down the entrance hole and scatter them on top of the land right around the opening. You can also put the moth balls in a pantyhose or sock and hang it above the entrance. Also, you can also hang, at night, a bug-zapper above the entrance and run an extension cord to an outlet, but don't plug it in yet, plug it in in the morning and it will take a day or two, but it should work.
Smoke is usually used or an environmentally safe solution. I had these wasps burrowed under a huge English Ivy in my rockery and my husband and his friend went out in the evening (this is when wasps are at their most dormant time in a 24-hour period) and they used smoke canisters and then stuck a hose in and drowned them. Yes, bees and hornets can drown. However, I wouldn't suggest this and it's best to get an expert in to get rid of them once and for all.
I went back at night with a Coke bottle full of gasoline. Stepping lightly, I got next to the hole and stuck the inverted bottle in the hole and ran like hell. (I guess, if you have multiple holes, get friends and do it at the same time AT NIGHT.)
It is extremely important to do the above AT NIGHT when the colony is back in the hole!!! If you do it during the day, you are wasting your time because many of the bees are outside the nest, not to mention you are risking getting several stings (and believe me, they do hurt, not so much right away, but later on, they make up for it). Again, WHATEVER YOU DO TO KILL THE NEST, DO IT AT NIGHT!
Another fun one if you only have one bee nest; pour gasoline in hole, then throw M-80 or similar large explosive firecracker into hole, sit in lawn chair and watch the show
If, on the third day, there are still a few bees left, again, wait until night, then lay the garden hose next to the hole, turn the water on - low to medium flow - and let the hole fill up with water. Bye-bye, bees!
Contributors share information on what *NOT* to do to get rid of underground bees:
First, gasoline is EXTREMELY flammable at low temperatures... it's the vapor state that actually ignites and gasoline will vaporize at low temperatures! So if it's a warm day (or night) and you pour gasoline down a hole, put down the can, light a match... you might be surprised as the surrounding area around the match ignites! (no, it probably won't explode like on TV). If you needed to use a flammable, I suggest kerosene or some other flammable that does not vaporize so readily at room temperatures.
I have tried several thing...Unfortunatly the only one I found that work is bad for the environment. Poor 1/4 cup of gasoline into theyre nest..DO NOT ignite. The fumes will kill the whole nest.
Determine what kind of bees or wasps they are. It is not likely that they are honey bees, which are important in pollination of flowers, crops, and gardens, but it's best to be sure. If they are honey bees or other beneficial bees or wasps, try to find a beekeeper or other professional who can remove them without killing them.
If they are yellow jackets, you might decide to use a method that will kill them. If you do, it is important that you locate where their entry hole is. Wait until after dark or very early morning when they are in the nest. One method of killing them is to pour gasolne into the hole and light it. Please be careful, though. This method can be dangerous.
Throw Sevin dust into the hole. The bees will be dead within 24 hours.
Simply get a strainer about 2 inches bigger than the hive and spray bug spray for bees at it.(raid).Remember to wash the strainer well with soap if you are going to use it again.
you can buy a pesticide....
bee raid
Ammonia alone will not kill bees. The most effective way to get rid of bees is to have a professional bee-keeper collect the bees. If that is not possible, pick up sevin dust at your local lawn and garden center. Sprinkle this on the bee hive or nest.
All you have to do is with your shoe step on it or grab a paper and swat it.
If the bees have bored into the ground, pour borax into the hole to kill the bees. The bees that survive the initial application of borax will get the dust on themselves and bring it to their nest, spreading it to other bees who will eventually die.
i doubt it
How to Kill Sand Bees. Sand bees or ground bees burrow down into the soil to build their hives.
hornets ---------- there are a number of bees that nest in the ground..digger bees are solitary bees that will nest in large numbers at time, creating holes along the ground...in arid areas honeybees will nest in old ground burrows...wasps like yellow jackets will nest in the ground..a large wasp called a cicada killer is a solitary wasp that also nests in the ground Lar
Field crickets, fire ants, ground-dwelling beetles and ground-nesting bees are examples of insects that make dirt castings on garden and lawn surfaces. Ground-nesting bees include metallic green sweat (Agapostemon spp), mining (Andrena spp), polyester (Colletes spp) and sweat (Halictus spp, Lasioglossum spp) bees in North America. The grub stages of such beetles as the invasive Japanese (Popillia japonica) may be implicated.
No, ground bees are yellow and black and about the same size as honey bees
most insectiside will but before you kill them remember bees are good for your garden. Why would you want to kill bees?
It may be Delta Dust that you are seeing that is used to aid in controlling yellow jackets that build their nest in the ground.
Bees kill other bees to protect the hive or to steal honey from other hives through a hole in the hive.
will cold weather kill carpenter bees