bees?

hannabee · March 18, 2019, 01:33:05 AM

hi I tried to have bees in my garden and they never moved into the bee house? do I need to buy bees to put in the bee house?

BeeMaster2 · March 18, 2019, 09:18:28 AM

What are you using as a bee house? Is it a box with frames in it? If so is there foundation in the frames. Scout bees looking for a new home actually go into the prospective hive and measure the inside. If the frames have foundation, it makes the hive look too small. You want the frames empty with a strip of wood in the top spot and paint the bottom edge with melted bees wax.
Put the hive at least 5 feet up and no higher than what you can pick up with your feet on the ground. Put a drop of lemon grass oil on the entrance and saturate a Qtip with it, put it in a baggy, seal it up and put that in the bottom of the hive.
Good luck.
Jim Altmiller

Skeggley · March 18, 2019, 03:44:41 PM

Or better still you could build a native bee hotel or two. ;)
https://modernfarmer.com/2018/05/how-to-build-a-native-bee-hotel/

Acebird · March 19, 2019, 09:49:20 AM

Quote from: hannabee on March 18, 2019, 01:33:05 AM
hi I tried to have bees in my garden and they never moved into the bee house? do I need to buy bees to put in the bee house?

I am going to take a wild guess that if there are no bees in your garden there aren't any in your location. If there aren't any it will be tough to keep them there just by buying bees. Your garden alone will not support a honeybee hive.

Michael Bush · March 19, 2019, 10:13:01 AM

If you are talking about honey bees, then yes, it would be best to buy some bees. Though you could bait it with lemongrass oil and some QMP (sold as "Pseudo Queen" by Mann Lake and other suppliers) and you might catch a swarm. If you are talking about a native/solitary bee home then they usually move in on their own, though I think there are people who sell them.

Langstroth hives:
http://bushfarms.com/images/Hives1.jpg

Native bee house with Leaf Cutter bees flying:
http://bushfarms.com/images/NativeBeeHouse.jpg

Leaf Cutter bee on my hand:
http://bushfarms.com/images/NativeBeeLeafCutter.jpg

hannabee · March 19, 2019, 12:18:09 PM

I have one that I purchased at Home Depot as well as a formal looking be house, the one I purchased looks more like a literal house and the other is more of a slat set up. Is there a certain area in which I need to set it up? I have a relatively large garden and put the house in the back area where I have had seen natural hives before, yet I cannot seem to get any bees. If I purchase bees, is there a place I need to go to do so?

Acebird · March 19, 2019, 01:36:30 PM

Cut out the natural hives or catch the swarms.

Dallasbeek · March 19, 2019, 01:44:16 PM

Quote from: hannabee on March 19, 2019, 12:18:09 PM
I have one that I purchased at Home Depot as well as a formal looking be house, the one I purchased looks more like a literal house and the other is more of a slat set up. Is there a certain area in which I need to set it up? I have a relatively large garden and put the house in the back area where I have had seen natural hives before, yet I cannot seem to get any bees. If I purchase bees, is there a place I need to go to do so?

Ah-ha! Now it sounds like we?re talking about mason bees, which are solitary bees, as opposed to honeybees, which are social insects that live in large colonies. Mason bees are readily available online, as is information about raising them, etc. There are about 2,000 kinds of mason bees and some are excellent pollinators and are particularly desirable if you have fruit trees. I have seen nice houses for mason bees at Home Depot, Costco and Sam?s. None of those places sells bees, however. You can buy one of the house and hope bees will find them, but you would be way ahead by going online and buying bees from one of the companies that specialize in them. I believe they sell various types of mason bees depending on the kind of crops you have that need pollination. Good luck with them. They are reported to be the easiest kind of bees to raise.

Dallasbeek · March 19, 2019, 02:08:11 PM

Hannabee,

I looked on Home Depot website and found the bee house they sell. It has a lot of little tubes of various sizes in a nice little house. If that is what you bought, it definitely is for mason bees, not honeybees.

Michael Bush · March 19, 2019, 02:37:43 PM

Post a picture of the "bee house" and we can offer better advice.

hannabee · March 19, 2019, 02:51:31 PM

thank you all so much!!!

drobbins · March 19, 2019, 04:21:35 PM

Does anyone know if the same attractants used for swarms will attract Mason bees?
Like lemongrass oil?
Or maybe it's not needed?

Michael Bush · March 19, 2019, 04:49:52 PM

>Does anyone know if the same attractants used for swarms will attract Mason bees?

I don't thinks so.

>Or maybe it's not needed?

It is not needed. I put my bee houses out a few years ago and every year there are more. I need to put more out because they are so desperate for a place to use. They were hovering all over my porch looking for more holes.

drobbins · March 19, 2019, 05:13:07 PM

I just ordered a couple, cheaper on ebay than the big orange box

The15thMember · March 20, 2019, 05:16:07 PM

I make native bee houses out of cans and paper straws. I just cut the paper straws in half, fill up the can with them, and nail it too a tree. I've only been doing it for a year, so I don't have many bees yet, but I have seen little leafcutter bees and sweat bees using the straws. It's cheap and easy, and the use of the straws means you can replace the used tubes yearly, which will cut down on parasites for the bees. I got the idea from HoneyBeeSuite.com if anyone's interested in more info.

Dallasbeek · March 20, 2019, 08:47:46 PM

It is a good idea to have different sized tubes because there are different sized mason bees. You are correct that replacing (or cleaning) the tubes yearly is a good practice. Some people drill holes of various sizes ihrough a wooden block and put a thin wooden backing on the block. Then, I guess you ream out the holes each year. You can get a lot more in a house by stacking tubes, though.