Solitary bees that build nests in the ground are known as ground bees or ground nesting bees. Underground nests are about 6″ (15 cm) long, and ground bees tunnel into arid soils to create them. Although ground bees are beneficial to the environment and biodiversity, many gardeners consider them pests. Dirt mounds in lawns caused by ground nesting bees detract from the appearance of lush grass. Others worry that ground bees might sting, which is also a concern.
Yellow jackets or wasps may be mistaken for ground bees, but they are not as aggressive. Honeybees, on the other hand, don’t make honey; instead they are Ground Bees. A nesting burrow is frequently developed by a ground bee, which is tan and black in color.
A guide to identifying burrowing bees may be found in this article. You’ll learn about ground bees’ behaviors and activities. Imagine, though, that ground bees are a problem in your yard. In that scenario, you’ll learn how to manage ground bees without resorting to pesticides.
How to Identify Ground Bees
The black and tan-colored bee Colletes inaequalis has a black abdomen and tan stripes. It is the most common species of ground bee. The fuzzy tan-colored head, pair of transparent wings, heart-shaped face, huge complex eyes, and two segmented antennae distinguish these ground nesting bees.
Honeybees look a lot like ground bees. Between March and July, ground bees are active and range in length from 0.5″ (13 mm) to 1″ (25 mm). Some kinds of ground-nesting bees may have metallic green, blue, copper, or red colors in addition to their black or brown color.
How to Identify Ground Bees Nest
Little mounds of dry earth or sand with a hole in the center are what a ground bee’s nest looks like. A few inches (5 – 8 cm) broad and an inch or two (2.5 – 5 cm) high is the maximum width and height of each ground bee nest. The hole in the center is roughly the size of a large pencil, and it’s located in the middle.
A ground bee’s nest is characterized by the tendency to be in groups. You may find numerous of these little mounds grouped together, despite the fact that ground bees are solitary and have just one female per nest. On barren patches of lawn or near walkways, ground bee nests are usually found on sparsely vegetated land.
Ground bees like to bask in the sun, which is another characteristic. As a result, on sunny parts of your garden or along south- and east-facing slopes, you’ll commonly find ground bee nests. Females frequently sun themselves near the nest’s mouth.
Ground Nesting Bees
The practice of digging nesting tunnels in the soil gives termite bees their name. Ground bees live a solitary existence, as do honey bees that dwell in huge colonies and hives. They start buzzing from flower to flower, feeding on nectar and pollinating flowers, as early as the first warm day of spring.
What Types of Bees Burrow in the Ground?
Mason bees, sweat bees, leafcutter bees, digger bees, and mining bees are among the ground-nesting bee species. 70 percent of more than 20,000 bee species burrow in the ground, according to fact. Ground bees are also known as cellophane or polyester bees because of their activity and behavior. They get this moniker since they coat their subterranean burrows with a plastic-like material using their forked tongue.
What Attracts Ground Bees to Yards?
Gardeners with the proper sort of soil and gorgeous, fragrant blooms are magnets for ground bees. Dry soils or bare patches of ground on turfgrass are ideal soil conditions for ground-nesting bees. Ground bees may also take up residence in tunnels left by rodents.
Since ground bees are beneficial to your garden, many gardeners like to attract them in the spring. To attract ground bees, you can grow flowering shrubs like daisies, lavender, zinnias, borage, and goldenrod. These flowers are also reported to repel fleas, mosquitos, and moths, which is an additional benefit.
Identifying Ground Bees vs. Yellow Jackets
Ground bees and yellow jackets have a few differences at the entrance to their nests. Yellow jackets have smooth black and yellow striped bodies, whereas ground bees have hairy bodies. Unsolicited yellow jackets may sting you, but ground bees will usually pass you by. Yellow jackets and ground bees both construct nests underground, which makes it easy to mistake them. Honey is also created by neither ground bees nor yellow jackets.
Yellow jackets are generally a big problem in gardens because they can sting many times, attack without warning, and be exceedingly territorial. Yellow jackets don’t pollinate flowers the same way ground bees do because their bodies are smooth.
Do Ground Bees Sting?
Ground bees are non-stinging, but they can Sting you on rare occasions. When provoked, ground bees are more likely to sting humans. You may be stung by a bee if you bother their nest or attempt to handle the bees. Ground bees are usually docile and non-aggressive. Male ground bees, like other male bee species, don’t have stingers and thus can’t bite or sting you.
Suffering from an allergic response is a risk of being stung by ground bees, just like any other bee sting. You should get medical care immediately if you experience any side effects following a bee sting, such as throat or tongue swelling, or a fast pulse.
Are Ground Bees Aggressive?
Because ground bees are passive animals, you should have nothing to fear from them. Females are non-territorial and do not protect their nesting locations. Male ground bees, on the other hand, are more energetic and may seem threatening. They can’t do any harm since they can’t sting.
Do Ground Nesting Bees Produce Honey?
Honey production is not the responsibility of ground-nesting bees. Ground bees solely use nectar for themselves and their young, however they feed on nectar from flowers. Bees do not, in general, make honey. Bees from the genus Apis are responsible for producing honey.
Advantages of Ground Bees in Your Yard
Attracting ground bees to your yard has numerous advantages. Bees are most active in the spring and summer, to begin with. As a result, any perceived bee disadvantage is short-lived. Having ground bees in your garden has a few advantages.
Ground bees are beneficial pollinators
Pollinating flowers is the most important benefit of ground bees. Bees are important pollinators for spring flowers since they are active early in the season. Your garden’s ecosystem is enriched, and healthy crop plants and wildflowers are ensured, thanks to this active behavior.
Ground bees can improve the health of soil and lawns
Nesting sites are created by ground bees burrowing in the soil. Aerating lawns and soil, as well as improving nutrient and water uptake, are all benefits of this activity. Improved soil and lawn health can be achieved by allowing ground bees to nest in your garden. Once the bees leave the nests in late spring, any aesthetic damage usually goes away.
Ground bees are not aggressive
Attracting ground bees to your garden is usually harmless. Ground bees, unlike aggressive wasps and hornets, are more likely to leave you alone. Moreover, by maintaining a diverse lawn and the neighborhood around you, you help to preserve biodiversity.
Disadvantages of Ground Bees in Your Yard
The arrival of ground bees in a homeowner’s yard does not sit well with everyone. They may look like a yellow jacket or another aggressive flying bug, which homeowners might mistake them for. Ground bees may have a negative impact on a garden’s appearance in some instances. Ground bees, for example, are the most frequent source of annoyance because they leave mounds of dirt on lawns.
In certain circumstances, the number of holes and dirt mounds can resemble a huge bee colony. Ground bees in lawns may need to be destroyed as a consequence of this. Ground bees, on the other hand, typically impact small lawns, so it’s a good idea to keep that in mind.
So if you want to keep the bees at bay, improving your lawn’s health, watering it correctly, and reseeding are all important. Ground bees may then discover new nesting places in flower beds or other locations with bare soil this way.
Should You Kill Ground Bees?
Ground bees in your yard are generally not a problem. Humans are not threatened by burrowing bees, which offer a useful service. Moreover, the docile bees help to promote a healthy and balanced ecosystem by pollinating in the spring. Killing ground bees for another reason is not a good idea.
Pollinator loss threatens ecosystem services, according to a University of Cambridge research published in 2021. Bees, wasps, butterflies, and beetles are responsible for pollination in around 75% of all crops.
How to Get Rid of Ground Nesting Bees
What can you do to keep ground-nesting bees from nesting in your lawn or the earth among your bushes if you have a problem with them? To get rid of ground-nesting bees without damaging the environment, there are a few natural deterrents and control methods.
It’s best to avoid using chemicals or pesticides when trying to eliminate bees that are nesting in the ground. Beneficial insects and people may be harmed by insecticide sprays used to control them. Pesticides can also lose their effectiveness over time if pests develop resistance to them.
Cover nesting holes to get rid of ground bees
Blocking the entrance to the nest is the best way to get rid of ground bees from your garden. To avoid a bee in the nest, try to do this early in the season. After that, just pile soil in the burrow and cover the entrance with a stone. The female will not be able to reproduce and feed her offspring as a result of this.
A DIY spray to eliminate ground bees
To effectively get rid of ground bees, make a non-toxic bee repellent at home. Bees are claimed to dislike the scent of peppermint. Cayenne pepper and cinnamon can also function as natural repellents. Fill a 17 oz. (500 ml.) spray bottle three-quarters full with 3 teaspoons of liquid Castile soap and then add the ground bee repellent to it. Next, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon are added to a few drops of peppermint oil.
To mix the ingredients, thoroughly shake. Next, around the entrance holes of the ground bee nests, spray the bee repellent solution liberally. alternatively, you may force the bees to settle somewhere else by pouring the liquid into their nests.
Water grass to get rid of ground bees from lawns
Dry soil attracts ground bees, who burrow in exposed, bald areas of lawn. They can even keep the nest dry with a cellophane-like lining around their nesting burrows. Watering your lawn thoroughly and making sure the grass stays damp is the most effective way to keep ground bees away. You may mulch the nesting places or fill the holes with soil and grass seeds to restore exposed areas when the ground bees have left their burrows.
Homemade vinegar spray to deter ground bees
Others claim that vinegar can help get rid of ground bees. Combine equal amounts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle to make a vinegar spray if you want to try this technique. Next, spray the nesting hole and the surrounding area with an acidic liquid. This should hopefully discourage the bee from returning. It’s important to understand that vinegar may harm plant roots and grass. As a result, you should only utilize this approach if there is no vegetation to be seen.
Sprinkle cinnamon around the nest as a ground bee deterrent
Cinnamon might possibly be used as a natural bee repellent powder. Cinnamon is said to be unattractive to a variety of bee species. The premise is that by scattering liberal doses of cinnamon throughout the nest every day, the bees are driven away without being harmed.
DIY ground bee trap
Making a sugary water trap is one technique to get rid of bothersome flying insects in your yard, such as ground bees. Because the sugar attracts bees and wasps and prevents them from flying away, this type of trap helps to eliminate them. The liquid drowns the bees after that.
You’ll need a plastic soda bottle and sugar water to make a homemade ground bee trap that will kill them for good. Add 1/4 cup of sugar to a plastic soda bottle and fill it half-way with warm water. Until the sugar has dissolved, SHAKE WELL. Next, make a funnel by slicing the top off a plastic soda bottle and placing it on the bottle’s opening. Place the trap near your bee nests on the ground. Nevertheless, since it kills bees and lowers the number of pollinators, this bee trap has an impact on everyone.
Plants that deter ground bees
Planting shrubs and flowers that repel bees may also help you eliminate ground bees from your yard. You might possibly decrease the number of nesting ground bees in your garden by using bee-repelling plants in conjunction with other control measures. Some gardeners claim that by planting the following plants and crops, they were able to get rid of ground bees despite the lack of scientific proof:
- Cucumbers
- Basil
- Wormwood
- Red geraniums
- Mint
- Marigolds
You will have more variety in your garden and some summer salads to enjoy even if the plants do not operate. Moreover, your garden may be brightened by flowering geranium and marigolds.