How do you get rid of bees in your sandbox?

Answer 1

BeeeGenerally the only bees you will see swarm are honey bees, and only when they are looking for a new home. If they create a ball in a tree they are simply holing up for the night and the ball is meant to protect the queen.

Honey bees, with the exception of the Africanized version, will not attack people unless provoked or you pose a threat to the queen. The problem is that you cannot tell the difference between the two.

The best thing to do is use the old saying " If you don't bother them they will not bother you"; the swarm will move on in the morning to wherever they were going.

If they pose an immediate threat to you or someone else, first contact a bee keeper, who will capture the queen and relocate the rest. This is most desirable method since honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate all across the country. Secondly many local governments have departments established to deal with this so contact the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for help; the third would be an exterminator.

The second and third choices will definitely end in the bees' demise, so check into humane solutions first. I have only had to destroy 2 swarms myself and they were on Golf courses where they had been annoying golfers. Not a swarm per se, but a hive living in an underground valve box and feeding on rosemary blooms, harmless to everyone but the allergic and the guy who someday needs to access the valve box.

In those cases I used soapy water to soak down the hive/swarm, the soap in the water creates bubbles when they try to fly and they cannot, they fall helplessly to the ground and die, that way I was also able to salvage the honeycomb for some good eats.

If you are in the least bit allergic to bee stings do not mess with them at all. If the bees are Africanized they may attack, the same holds true even if you are not allergic. The only way to tell the bees apart is after they are dead, so side with caution.

Answer 2

Since your kids play in the sandbox, you probably won't want to use any poisen. Try going to your pharmacy and buy a jar of boric acid in powder form. Mix this into the sand, which will break up the burrows as well. Boric acid is not toxic to humans but works as a fatal dessicant to bugs. They will ingest during burrowing and grooming activities. Since the purpose of these burrows is to contain larvae, you may just want to replace the sand.

Answer 3

You could try pouring bleach down the hole(s)- becareful of multiple exits. You could smoke them out with a commerical smoke bomb. Or try spraying hornet/wasp spray down the hole. Also, if you wanted to attack the vermin instead of the nest try suspending a peice of fresh fish meat over a pan of soapy water. Errect a little tripod/teepee with 3 little sticks and some wire- make sure that the fish is close to the soapy water- less than an inch. When the bees hit the water the dish soap removes their natural protective water sealant on their wings and they drowned.

You could try pouring bleach down the hole(s)- becareful of multiple exits. You could smoke them out with a commerical smoke bomb. Or try spraying hornet/wasp spray down the hole. Also, if you wanted to attack the vermin instead of the nest try suspending a peice of fresh fish meat over a pan of soapy water. Errect a little tripod/teepee with 3 little sticks and some wire- make sure that the fish is close to the soapy water- less than an inch. When the bees hit the water the dish soap removes their natural protective water sealant on their wings and they drowned.

Answer 4

If you need to get rid of sand bees in a sand box where children play, do not use pesticides or chemical methods, as you risk affecting your children. One natural way of getting rid of them is to offer them another place to burrow. For example, try putting a piece of wood with pre-bored holes on a long handle in the box. After all the bees migrate, move them.

Answer 5

If they are standard honey bees you can call your local bee keeper who will gladly remove the queen and place her into a new home that he/she can take back to their bee farm. It may take a few days for the bees to transfer to the new home, but they will be gone with minimal damage to your space.

Answer 6

Pour salty or boiling water several times.