How do you kill ground bees in lawn?

Answer 1

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:

• In my backyard we had a massive nest (about 1 meter long) in my tree. My dad dumped a bucket of turpentine on them; nothing can survive breathing turpentine.
• The best way to make bees escape and fly away is to provide smoke (NOT FIRE) in the area.

• Make a big torch - just like all the movie stars use in the movies when they are exploring the cave. Approach the entrance to the hive (with your red filter over the flashlight, which is less alarming to bees), with your match ready to fire up the torch. Yes, rags with kerosene or other fuel that will last awhile after you light it (gasoline is not a good choice). Light the torch, hold it down right over the hole entrance to the hive, and when the bees come flying out, they burn up. It takes a while, but the hive will empty. Primitive, but effective.

  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.

• Dump a bucket of soapy water (Ex. Dawn, Liquid soap, oxy clean) you may mix them, then dump some insect repellent in your mixture. Dump it down the hole/entrance of the nest. If you can't get near it during the day when the bees are active, you can dump it at night. NOTE: Just to be safe, after you dump the bucket, RUN. You have about 10-20 sec. to leave the area before the bees will attack. Or, in other words, don't stay around to see the bees come out! Be sure to keep the soil soaked all times around the nest and entrance because the bees hate wet soil. And, the entrance should cave in from being wet, therefore, trapping the queen and most bees inside. the bees that are trapped outside the nest will eventually leave.

  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.

• It sounds like you have mud wasps and not bees. Bees usually will stay near sweet-smelling or colorful bushes and flowers and during Fall, will become dormant and often walk along the grass or fly extremely low. Mud wasps are ugly little critters (usually elongated body, thinner than a bee, with dark stripes) and they have a nasty sting. These mud wasps are different than other wasps. They burrow into the earth (preferably damp earth, but can still burrow if the earth is dry.) There are channels underground all over the place, so it's best to get an expert in to get rid of them.

  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 had a ground bee problem that only realized after I had been stung eight times and my breathing began to be labored! After the hospital, I went to a farmer's co-op and got a Bonid powder bomb. I waited until it was dark and cool, sprayed that bomb right into the hole and covered it with a plastic cover. As of this morning I didn't see any activity around the hole. For a larger area I'm not sure it would work.
• Use a tarp. In 48 - 72 hour they will be gone and it will be a done deal without chemicals and with only minimal damage to your yard.
• Great idea - this worked wonders for a family friend. She used one black tarp a friend had lent her, then used a number of clear tarps she bought at the store. They were left on the ground (held in place by small logs) for about a week, and at the end, there was a large spot of dead grass where the black tarp had been, but under the clear tarps, the grass was healthy. Neatly got rid of the bees as well - but without pesticides.
• My dad is an exterminator. Depending on what type of bee, because there is a such thing as a "carpenter ant" that lives in the ground and will kill your yard. Normally, it would be wasps that are in the ground. Go to a hardware store (Lowe's , Home Depot, etc.) and try to find a powdered form of Dianzinon with a powder, they walk in it and take it back to the nest. If that does not work, contact a local exterminator.
• Use a wet/dry vac. Put it at the entrance and turn it on. It sucks them up fast. To make sure they are dead spray some bee killer in the hose while it is running. It kills them fast and it is easy to dispose of, too.
• OK, I will use your wet/dry vac idea, although, I prefer pouring gasoline down the hole and watching them burn.
• I have used everything from Gasoline to bleach. The thing that works best for me is a railroad-fuzzie, sometimes called a flare. Light it, stick it in the hole, cover the hole with some type of metal.
• Pouring gasoline down the hole has worked for me. But, it must be done WELL after dark. If you do it before all bees return for the night only those in the nest at the time are killed. The others just go and find another area close by to get underground again. So, kill them ALL by doing the gasoline thing WELL after dark when ALL have returned to the nest. There is no need to light the gasoline to accomplish this. Not only is it NOT necessary, it is VERY dangerous.
• Contrary to some advice here, do not pour gasoline down the hole, whether you plan to light it or not. It is environmentally wrong to do so, not to mention illegal (Federal Law). What laws? FIFRA, for starters, and the Clean Water Act and probably a lot more, including state laws. Plus, have you ever seen what gasoline does to grass? You won't have any grass left around the hole where you poured gasoline. And if there are any shrubs or trees nearby you may kill them as well if you manage to nail the roots in your zeal to kill a few bees. Go to the garden center and find an insecticide that is labeled for ground bees and follow the instructions on the label. Alternatively, you could try to vacuum them up with a shop vac, as someone else suggested. Or just try to let them be if possible. Mow around them and come back at night and mow the patch you skipped.
• I waited until it was dark out and then I sprayed the inside of a plastic bucket with Raid so that the sides were coated and there was a significant liquid amount in the bottom of the bucket (do this OUTSIDE). I then carried the bucket to the hole in the ground that the bees had been coming out of and slammed the bucket down over the hole and put a few rocks on top of the bucket. Loud angry buzzing ensued. The next morning, half of the bucket was dark with bee bodies, and the buzzing had stopped. I let it sit a few more hours and then removed the bucket.
• I fixed my problem by pouring gasoline down the hole. Do not ignite! I sat and watched where they came out. Then I remembered those spots. I carefully walked up to see the hole.

  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!

• An easy non-poisonous way to get rid of them is to put a glass bowl over their nest. You must do this after complete dark, to make sure they have all returned home. The next day you will see them trying to leave the nest. The glass is important because the bees will not try to dig their way around it as it seems easy to fly away but they keep trying and trying. Eventually after a few days the nest dies of lack of food and water. It's sort of fun to watch them through the bowl and know you've GOT 'EM!

• Gas at night will work. I am going to try gas and a fuse from the fireworks store next time they are far away from the house.

• This works best if you have multiple holes. Buy some fireworks fuse, get some medium speed fuse, say 1/2 meter per second. Run fuse into each hole coming from one main fuse. Pour gasoline in each hole, then light main fuse, sit in lawn chair with cold beer and enjoy the show.

  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

• First, please think of the environment & long term effects of your actions. Best to let beekeepers come & get the bees, but if you cannot wait for them for some legitimate reason, then... best to wait until dark (when all the bees are back in the hive) and then pour a gallon of white vinegar down the hole. It is non toxic - yet effective. You may need to do another gallon the next night if you still see some bees flying in and out of the hole in the daylight of the following day.

  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, this is what NOT to do: With a yellow jacket problem of which I have no idea of the magnitude, I chose to spray them. Just spraying what I've managed to uncover does not seem to deter them. I used two cans of RAID Wasp and Hornet spray and still they come. Now I am trying to flood it with the hose.
• Here's more about using a garden hose: I've tried the garden hose thing and it does NOT work. The only thing I accomplished was getting stung 5 times and making the hole bigger.

• DON'T RECOMMEND GASOLINE OR FLARES!

  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.

• Flares likewise are DANGEROUS. They use materials that will burn often in water and even surrounded by dirt. So, sticking a lit flare into a hole could cause the flare to explode and cause injury!
• This is a good lesson: Use things in the manner for which they were intended; chairs aren't ladders, and gasoline is not a pesticide!
• No one else has mentioned this, but when you work with gasoline, flares, pesticides, etc. you must wear safety glasses! A sting hurts, but you'll recover; lose an eye and it's gone.

Answer 2

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.

Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

Throw Sevin dust into the hole. The bees will be dead within 24 hours.

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

you can buy a pesticide....

Answer 7

bee raid