My bees have pretty much stayed away from our pool until the last couple of weeks. I am assuming their normal source of water has dried up recently. I've had a Boardman feeder with water by each hive since installation in April and a small water dish with floating chunks of wood near the hives also. I have been running a dribble hose on a couple of cement slabs pavers blocks but they haven't gone for that. Anyone have a way to keep them away from the pool short of swatting them? They really like the ladder (less chance of drowning I suppose). Could I set up a fan near the ladder? We have a party on saturday with lots of non-bee folks who won't be convinced that the girls won't sting them away from the hive!
Thanks,
Greg
bunch of people having that problem this year. i think it's hard to get them to change when they have latched on to a place.
when i was trying to attract them to my water source, i pored some unused syrup with lemon oil into the water. it was very diluted, but it did the trick. also, provided something that is either shallow, or has places for them to reach the water without drowning.
can you dry your steps after use?
I'll try the lemon oil nad syrup/honey on my latest atempt to setup a new supply and see how it goes.
Thanks for the idea!
Greg
i have 8 hives over at a friends house and he has a pool. had no problems for a while but all of a sudden they took the pool over. ran my friends wife out of the pool and man was she mad and i thought she was going to make me move them. i found a plastic kids pool and put some rocks in it so the bees wouldn't drown and kept water in it. we covered his pool up and kept water off the top of the cover. it has taken two weeks for the bees to start using the kid pool and they are all over it. i have learned a bunch from this deal.... keep water around even if they don't use it and never run a woman out of her own pool :shock:
This is the first year since I've started that my mutts' water bowls haven't had bees competing for Olympic medals. I find them often in a marshy area down at the bottom of my property this year. I wonder what makes them like one area more than another. :?
My wife ants to build a pool, and this has been a real concern for me. I do have a creek thant runs through our property and flows all year. I see the bees on the banks all the time. the seem to like it when I run my UTV through the creek and make small pools at the crossing. If we build a pool and the bees run my wife out, I will have quite the situation on my hands.
Do you put salt in your pool? Bees prefer water that is a bit brackish. If you add a small amount of salt to your water sources, it will make them more attractive. Good luck.
Add a few tablespoons of honey and they will re-orient ASAP. Just dont let this source dry up is all. My bees go to my neighbors koi pond which she likes. my other neighbor has a pool and its the only way I can keep them from their pool is to add honey about once a week to my neighbors koi pond. Seriously, it works like a charm. Thank the lord i have one great neighbor who lets me add honey to a pond! I drizzle around edges on rocks and little in the water too.
Waxmoth: I use salt in my pool with a chlorine generator. So my pool is a natural attractant to the bees. It saves me about $200 - $300 a year on other chemicals and is a lot better on the skin and environment.
Konasdad: I am trying some honey in the water in a small bird bath I setup in the front yard. I also added some lemon grass oil on aprevious recommendation. The bees have gone for this pretty well although I still have a pretty good number by the pool because of the salt I use from what Waxmoth is saying.
I'm also trying a dripping faucet on som cement patio blocks with a little lemon grass oil too. I'm hoping the bees will stay away from the pool if they find the other two sources more attactive.
Thanks,
Greg
OK guys,
I have the same problem now. The bees previously were happy in the pond, but now they have oriented to a leaky faucet near the outdoor solar shower. People are afraid to turn on the handle because the pipe is totally covered in bees.
We are going to try and fix that leak and hope they come back to the pond. So what I am understanding here is lemon oil or lemongrass oil???? And you just sprinkle some around. If I put it in the water it will just be washed away because this is a moving pond.
Thanks for the help
Annette
Lemon grass oil dabbed or sprinkled around so it won't wash away (if you can). I set up a small bird bath or two and added some honey on others advice as well. The bird bath is working veery well but there are still some bees by the pool.
Good luck,
Greg
We have a small above ground pool for the visiting grandkids. Certain areas of the rim hold splashed water and the bees are at these areas. We tied washcloths to the frame in these areas and sprayed Fisher's Bee Quick on them. The bees come....the bees go.