# Bumble Bees



## jasonvanorder (Feb 23, 2009)

How in the devil do I get rid of bumble bees? I have 2 or 3 that just love to buzz around the front steps at home and the kids are scared to death of them. Never see more that just the 2 or 3 and cant find a hive anywhere?


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## OH-YEAH!!! (Jun 18, 2009)

Badminton racquet???


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## jlr1987 (Mar 9, 2010)

they may be carpenter bees. They look a lot like bumble bees but are black on the bottom rather than yellow. They also seem to almost hover in one spot. They are not aggressive and only females have a stinger but they rarely sting. They will make small holes in any unpainted wood which is where they make their nests.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## WALLEYE MIKE (Jan 7, 2001)

jlr1987 said:


> they may be carpenter bees. They look a lot like bumble bees but are black on the bottom rather than yellow. They also seem to almost hover in one spot. They are not aggressive and only females have a stinger but they rarely sting. They will make small holes in any unpainted wood which is where they make their nests.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Got them too. Usually 2 or 3 together. Seem rather docile. They just hover around. Never see any signs of a nest anywhere.


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## jasonvanorder (Feb 23, 2009)

jlr1987 said:


> they may be carpenter bees. They look a lot like bumble bees but are black on the bottom rather than yellow. They also seem to almost hover in one spot. They are not aggressive and only females have a stinger but they rarely sting. They will make small holes in any unpainted wood which is where they make their nests.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Sounds about right but how do i go about getting rid of them short of killing them (5 year old daughter hates them but doesnt want them to die)


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## hfitch (Apr 14, 2011)

take a smaller pebble or stone and lob it up toward the bees. If they chase it they're a carpenter bee. We told our kids and grandkids they were our pet bees and showed them that. Made them a little less afraid of them and now they think the bees are their pets! lol They chase other flying insects and eat them, that's why they chase the stones. Watch the windows, though!


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## MPT (Oct 7, 2004)

A jar full of pennies or a mobile made out of old cds.


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

I have them (carpenter bees) in greater or lesser numbers every year. They destroy wood, so I treat them as pests (eliminate them by any and all means). 

Look for a 1/2" diameter perfectly round hole "drilled" into wood, near where you saw the bee. That is an entrance to the nest. Also, in the evening when the bees are in the nest, you can hear them crunching the wood. It is amazing how loud it can be, if there are several bees, and you are right near the nest. It is an unmistakeable sound. Another sign is a pile of sawdust near a piece of wood. It may not seem like sawdust because it is very fine, but it is the leavings of their chewing. 

Don't read the following if you don't like to kill bees. Take a can of foaming bee/wasp killer, and put the nozzle directly into the hole, and fill 'er up. Find as many holes (there may be many) and do the same thing. Fill up each hole daily for a week, and you should be rid of them. Keep revisiting the nest site to see if they re-establish. I've done this for several years and it works. The only caveat is that they will find a new nest location so you need to keep on the lookout.


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