Sand Bees

[The Real BigGuy]

Just went down to my perched beach and found it awash in sand bees. Any suggestions on how to get rid of them. I found what looked like a tunnel and sprayed it. They are still swarming around the beach.


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[Winilyme]

Depending on how big your beach is, considering covering it with a tarp when it’s not in use.

[MeredithMan]

I have a problem with ground wasps and read that diatomaceous earth is a natural killer for them. Haven't tried it yet, so I can't confirm, but there were a lot of articles about it online.

[chachee52]

Gasoline and a lighter is always an easy way to get rid of them in the ground, works every time

[thinkxingu]

I'm not sure how well it will work in your situation, since it's sand, but after having tried sprays, powders, and water, the only thing that ended up working with ground hornets—and I'm totally serious here—was standing at the hole sucking them up with a shop-vac for about ten minutes and then about an hour later for another ten.

They never came back.

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[Winilyme]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

I'm not sure how well it will work in your situation, since it's sand, but after having tried sprays, powders, and water, the only thing that ended up working with ground hornets—and I'm totally serious here—was standing at the hole sucking them up with a shop-vac for about ten minutes and then about an hour later for another ten.

They never came back.

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Innovation at its best. Must have given your neighbors a good chuckle.

[garysanfran]

Wow. So you ended up with a vac bag filled with live hornets?

A sinister thinker could do some damage with those.

[thinkxingu]

Talk about timing—this pic, of me in my "bee suit," just came up in Facebook memories.

I used this protective ensemble to take out a nest of bees from my basketball net. It worked perfectly (everyone knows bees are gentlemen and don't attack below the belt).

Ingenuity or frugality?!



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[TheTimeTraveler]

Originally Posted by chachee52

Gasoline and a lighter is always an easy way to get rid of them in the ground, works every time

I wouldn't advise doing that. You are contaminating the soil on your property.

Boiling Hot Water in the middle of the night will resolve the problem without causing dirty soil issues forever.

[Susie Cougar]

I agree with TTT. I have always use boiling water when insects have become a problem. I am one of those people who doesn’t use any kind of insecticide.

[The Real BigGuy]

Thanks for the ideas. Last evening I went down and crushed and covered all the tunnels I could find. (It is very interesting to watch the dig). I guess we’ll see what it looks like today.


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[NH.Solar]

Not sure if it will work with bees, but a very affective way to get rid of ants is to make a slurry using sugar and Borax and place it in a container with a small hole just large enough for the insects to get through. The workers will take it back into the hive and it kills off the queen and the rest of the critters will leave immediately. Just leave the bait traps out long enough to get rid of them and you won't have to worry about possibly harming the lake water

[Descant]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

I'm not sure how well it will work in your situation, since it's sand, but after having tried sprays, powders, and water, the only thing that ended up working with ground hornets—and I'm totally serious here—was standing at the hole sucking them up with a shop-vac for about ten minutes and then about an hour later for another ten.

They never came back.

I like that better than any of the chemical suggestions. These are pretty much illegal close to shore, and I'm not sure I'd want anybody rolling around in the contaminated sand.

[MeredithMan]

Originally Posted by MeredithMan

I have a problem with ground wasps and read that diatomaceous earth is a natural killer for them. Haven't tried it yet, so I can't confirm, but there were a lot of articles about it online.

So my quarterly service with JP Pest was this past Friday, and their person id'd my "ground wasps" as Eastern Cicada Killers. He then proceeded to educate me about every aspect of them, (way more than I wanted to know). After the graduate course in biology/zoology, I politely asked, "can you please just get rid of them so I can use by patio and yard?"

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by MeredithMan

So my quarterly service with JP Pest was this past Friday, and their person id'd my "ground wasps" as Eastern Cicada Killers. He then proceeded to educate me about every aspect of them, (way more than I wanted to know). After the graduate course in biology/zoology, I politely asked, "can you please just get rid of them so I can use by patio and yard?"

Annnndddd...did he?!

In the time of this thread, by the way, Arcadia had a field of giant wasps as well. One of the owners here who owns a pest control company took care of them but I don't know how. It's just nice to have the field back to let Maple run!

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[JayR]

Originally Posted by MeredithMan

So my quarterly service with JP Pest was this past Friday, and their person id'd my "ground wasps" as Eastern Cicada Killers. He then proceeded to educate me about every aspect of them, (way more than I wanted to know). After the graduate course in biology/zoology, I politely asked, "can you please just get rid of them so I can use by patio and yard?"

The Cicada Killers are the really scary-looking ones that are large, yellow stripes with kinda reddish wings, they look fierce and buzz in little circles near the ground, but they will almost never sting. Most folks, me included, take no solace in that fact, though!!

I second the notion about the boiling water. Do it just before sunrise when they are all in there, no sneak attacks from behind!