A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Bee Repellent

Does anyone know of a plant that will keep away bee's? I thought last year, someone said something about feverfew. But I don't remember now. And if you do know of a plant, How many do you actually have to plant in order for it to really Work?

Thanks!
We have such a horrible bee problem here!!

not feverfew... lots of pollen there. I am trialing plants to attract plants and feverfew is one that i use.

Also keep in mind plants need bees and insects to pollinate them.. so why would a plant repel them?

why do you want to repel them?

well my Fiancee is Very allergic, and we seem to have a Huge problem Year after year, in this one spot!! Without Fail!!! So I wanted to plant something in that one spot to keep them away, it right in the ground. A gardener on here directed me towards this link about feverfew....

http://databar.com/hemispheres/herbalf.html

Thanks!!

well if you want to keep bees away i would not plant plants. Remember almost all plants bloom and that attracts bees. Also things like wasps are predatory and they will feed on other insects on the plants.

Also they will be drawn to wet areas, to get moisture, like water out of mulch. I also have found they like empty soda cans (not diet) to get the left over soda out of. Bees drink water and sugar in addition to nectar.

Maybe some nice yard art? or some plastic plants ?

good luck

also are they sure bees or are they wasps?

ninnywinky...
"So I wanted to plant something in that one spot to keep them away, it right in the ground. "

I don't quite get that part...are they burrowing into the ground?

Sorry pepper, Yes they are Burrowing in the Ground, Every year, Same Spot! And every Yeah we have a pest guy come out, Kills them, and then they are there again the next year!!!! Like Clockwork!!

I don't really have any flowers planted outside, One day I will, And I just received some seeds that i will be trying, but other than that, I have never planted anything in the back yard that would attract them.

Determined little "Buggers"
They pest guy said they are yellow jackets.

FYI you can use beneficial nematodes instead of chemical pesticides.

Here is a link with some extra information....

yellowjacket fact sheet

Buglady...Thank you for the information. I have long been confused by the many species commonly called yellow jackets, and that article clears it up. I have noticed an interesting behavior in the red paperwasps that you might know of. While the nest is intact, they can be aggressive, but I have found that by severing the nest from its anchor, the wasps immediately become docile and will not make any attempt to sting. I use a stick and just break the nest off, and the wasps leave the area within minutes and don't return.

also keep in mind that only the females can sting... not the males....

also the nests are their babies.. they just want to protect their young.

Just to let you know, I only destroy a nest if it's right where someone is likely to get stung!

yippy... you will have good bug karma then

For two years in a row my fiance was nearly taken to the hospital while mowing the lawn. He was stung over 30 times, and then about 15 times the second year, and he is allergic to begin with !! I just can't figure out why they hit the same spot year after year....Especially after having chemicals down there!!?

Its the same reason people rebuild their homes in the same spot after a hurricane wipes them out. That is their home they have selected.

and chemicals are not the perfect solution all the time. Trust me you don't want pesticides in the environment that you put down and last forever. What would happen is it would just leach into the water table and then we all get to drink it.

Maybe time for a lawn service?

I thought about the lawn service, but they want $55 twice a week! thats a lot of money!!! You know!?!?? I don't LOVE the idea of chemicals either, but I just don't understand how they can still habitate there!?!??!?

ninni

ninni...in the fact sheet buglady linked to, it describes how placing a clear bowl over the nest and leaving it for a few weeks may kill off the nest.
It also suggests that there are nest removal experts in some areas who can vacuum out the nest and take the wasps to venom labs.
While we're on this topic, buglady, there was a colony of VERY aggressive yellow jackets living in a colony in ivy growing up a wall right where an elderly couple entered their home. My nephew was stung severely while pruning the ivy, and we were afraid of what might happen if these little old people got stung...these were VERY venomous wasps. Maybe even a type of yellow hornet, I did not I.D. We first tried spraying with pyrethrin, which did not work...I always got instant knockdown with pyrethrin with other wasps, and I always try to use natural products. We next tried a wasp killer product with resmethrin. All either of these products did was make the critters VERY angry. I think they left the area due to the repellent effect of the spray, but were not killed. Could this be aquired immunity? And what would you do about these aerial wasps in this situation? I'll do some research on the removal service.

One other thing (I know I talk too much! )
If ninny could get diatomaceous earth into the nest, would that work?

Also what make these wasps so "venomous"? Normally its the behavior that is the problem. Take for example the killer bees that are now here in the US. The venom is actually less toxic then the common honey bee. What makes them the problem is their behavior. They go into this attack mode and a person gets will get stung many more times then would if they disturbed a conventional bee hive.

To the question of resistance, i have not seen nor heard of it in wasp (that does not mean it cant happed) A lot of the kill has to do with the delivery method, be sure to use the FOAM spray and night. During the day a lot of the workers are out so if you spray you are only killing a portion of the hive.

I had to remove some hornets for our neighbors and i used a foam pyrethrin spray, a hoe and i wore my bee hat... it seemed to work.

also a lawn service is cheaper then ending up in the hospital or worse.

no DE would not work.. as soon as it gets wet its worthless.

friend of mine is doing this product...

thought maybe it would help you...

waspinator

I don't know about yellow jackets, but if they are burrowing into the ground, why not water the area daily and drown them and their young out. I imagine the tunnels they make would allow water to easily travel down and if done regularly they may not return. You could leave the hose in place so as not to have to risk getting stung each day.

if you are going to drench water i would drench with beneficial nematodes

Beneficial Nematodes