Question: We recently moved from one part of town to the other and we purchased an above ground pool. This time we seem to be getting invaded by bees. We've searched for hives in our yard. No luck! What can we do
to enjoy our pool and not have the little ones get stung?
Wendy from Las Vegas
Answer: Wendy,
In the heat of the summer, bees use water to cool down their hives. They deposit drops of water around their hives and fan the water with their wings. This causes the water to evaporate, raises the humidity inside their nest and cools things down. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. After all, a nest made out of waxy combs would melt quickly under in the summer heat. Bees also use water to dilute the honey they feed to their offspring. They generally collect water from a source as close as possible to their hives. Unfortunately, once they start using a source, it can be difficult to get them to stop.
I would suggest looking around your yard again to see if you can find the hive. If you can't find it, at least try to track which direction the bees are coming from. Then set up a small birdbath on that side of your yard, preferably as far from your pool as possible. Bees are not particularly fussy about where they collect their water from, so if you can offer them a new water source on their way to your pool, you should be able cut way down on their numbers, if not eliminate the problem entirely.
Bees prefer standing water, so if you have jets in your pool, you might also try adjusting them to create turbulence on the surface of the water. This should be enough to prevent most bees from landing and send them off looking for another source.
Good luck!
Ellen
About The Author: Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
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RE: Keeping Bees Away From a Pool
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Post By Harry (Guest Post)
(09/11/2008)
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Bees don't alway build a hive where one can see it. I have found yellow jacket hives in the ground where they fly out of a small hole in the ground, I have found their nests in side of trees, behind my electric meter and inside my phone box attached to the side of my house. Not always a hive hanging in a tree.
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RE: Keeping Bees Away From Pool
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Post By fay (Guest Post)
(07/25/2008)
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i just received an email that said yellow jackets don't like bounce, nor do mosquitoes.
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RE: Keeping Bees Away From Pool
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Post By McMillan968 (Guest Post)
(06/29/2008)
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ALL BEES are desperately needed now!
I know they are HEAVILY attracted to a hummingbird water feeder! ANYTHING SWEET! I've NEVER seen them attracted to a pool! Did you just shock it? The chlorine SHOULD repel them!
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RE: Keeping Bees Away From Pool
Plant brightly colored flowers somewhere else in your yard & they should be attracted to them. It's illegal where I live to harm bees, & with all the hive problems (1/3 hives in US gone in last few years) I hope you can fix this problem easily. There has got to be something around the pool that attracts them. Also, honey bees won't sting unless provoked.
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RE: Keeping Bees Away From Pool
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Post By rae (Guest Post)
(06/23/2008)
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Try putting a big bowl of sugar water somewhere away from the pool and they will be attracted to that instead of the pool.
We do that to keep yellow jackets and bees from eating the grpes in our vineyard.
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