Table of Contents
- 1 How to Keep Bees Away from Your Summer Picnic
- 1.1 1. Play keep-away.
- 1.2 2. Practice the art of disguise.
- 1.3 3. Cover up.
- 1.4 4. Bait and switch.
- 1.5 5. Set a simply dressed table.
- 1.6 6. Do a little housekeeping.
- 2 Fun Bee Facts
The summer picnic most often comprises a lovely day spent lounging on the grass, soaking up the sun, and enjoying a well-packed meal and the company of your friends and family (and those six-legged flying moochers ready to prey on your feast!). This time of year, bees are busy seeking out sweet smells and potent flowers. All too often they find their way not to a delectable blossom, but to your al fresco fruit salad. Here are a few suggestions to safely keep the Apidae out of your summer salad.
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How to Keep Bees Away from Your Summer Picnic
- Play keep-away
- Practice the art of disguise
- Cover up
- Bait and switch
- Set a simply dressed table
- Do a little housekeeping
1. Play keep-away.
Unlike mosquitoes, bees are not attracted to the smell of humans but rather to the sweet scents of their perfume, hair products, lotion, and deodorant.
- Avoid bee attention by wearing unscented products.
- Use an insect repellent to mask the scents. Natural repellents use citrus, mint, and eucalyptus oils.
- Dryer sheets also make effective insect repellents: tuck one in your pocket if you’re hiking or place a few under your picnic blanket.
2. Practice the art of disguise.
You can mask not only the scent of your perfumes, but also that of your food with a little clever camouflage.
- Scatter cloves or mint across your table or blanket.
- Another idea is to set a pot or two of marigolds on the table. They look like pretty centerpieces, but their scent repels bees as well.
3. Cover up.
Use lids for your food containers and your beverages. Keep trash bags or cans tightly closed as well. This will help reduce the wafting aromas that might entice these pesky insects. The scent of barbecue not only brings people to your party, it is especially compelling for bees and wasps as well, so keep that under wraps as much as possible.
4. Bait and switch.
Set out a bowl or cup with some flat soda, fruit juice, maple syrup, or sugar water a few yards away from your picnic. Bees are attracted to the sugary scent and will pursue this instead of your lunch. If possible, set out the bee bait 20 minutes or so before you begin your picnic because the bees will communicate the location of the sugary food to one another. If you are using a soda bottle, remove the label so that no one but the bees tries to drink from it.
5. Set a simply dressed table.
Avoid bright colors and floral prints for your tablecloth, picnic blanket, and even your clothing. Bees notice bright hues as well as sweet smells. If something looks like a tropical flower, you can bet that curious bees will come to investigate.
6. Do a little housekeeping.
If you are entertaining at home and have unwanted bees on your property, eradicate their hiding places. Bees like tall grass for ground nests and quiet places such as unused play structures and sheds for hives. If you find a hive, call a professional instead of trying to tackle it on your own. A professional will be able to determine the species and create an action plan from there. The honey bee population is decreasing rapidly, which is bad news for humanity as they pollinate the plants we love and depend on. A pest professional or local beekeeper might be able to remove your bee problem without destroying a colony that potentially could be of natural use somewhere else.
Fun Bee Facts
Bees are a vital link in the food chain, and life as we know and enjoy it would not exist without them.
- In addition to their services as pollinators for innumerable food crops, bees provide us with honey, propolis, and wax for a number of uses from industrial to cosmetic.
- They are a symbol of industry (“busy bees”) and represented the lower half of the ancient Egyptian empire: one of the names for a Pharaoh was “He of Sedge and Bee.”
- Bees have even been featured in the mythology of classical Greece and the literature of Virgil, Aristotle, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, and Marx.
So, enjoy your picnic and outdoor activities this summer, but in light of their importance and their fragile hold on the ecosystem these days, prepare accordingly so that you and the bees maintain distance. If you ever notice a bee hive on or near your property, call a professional right away.
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FAQs
Scatter cloves or mint across your table or blanket. Another idea is to set a pot or two of marigolds on the table. They look like pretty centerpieces, but their scent repels bees as well.
What keeps bees away from a picnic? ›
Moth balls are an effective bee repellent. Although these are designed to deter moths, their strong odor also repels wasps and bees. Scatter a few around your area to deter bees. Avoid using bright colors or bold colors for your picnic cloth.
What repels bees instantly? ›
One thing bees hate is vinegar, which makes it a good, safe alternative to store-bought or professional-grade chemical deterrents. Consider filling an empty spray bottle with a homemade vinegar solution of equal parts water and vinegar for an instant bee deterrent.
What smell do bees hate? ›
Bees also have a distaste for lavender oil, citronella oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, lemon, and lime. These are all topical defenses you can add to your skin to keep bees away. Unlike other flying insects, bees are not attracted to the scent of humans; they are just curious by nature.
Do dryer sheets keep bees away? ›
Bees and wasps hate the smell of a dryer sheet and will stay far away from it. Spread a few sheets around your back patio or wherever you're having a get-together to keep the area pest-free.
What is a natural way to repel bees? ›
Neem, Mint, Citronella, Eucalyptus, and Cloves are some of the most common and effective ways to repel bees. They are easy to grow in pots and don't require a lot of maintenance. Bee repellents such as marigold and germanium can also be a very effective way to keep them at bay.
How do you keep bees and wasps away when eating outside? ›
Cloves – Place 4-5 cloves on the food table. Bees hate the smell and should steer clear while you're eating. Mint Leaves – Sprinkle mint leaves around your eating area.
Does vinegar really repel bees? ›
Vinegar is a great solution for deterring bees. Unlike chemical deterrents, vinegar doesn't contain any harsh substances, and it doesn't harm most plants. To make a homemade vinegar solution, mix together equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle.
What household item keeps bees away? ›
Peppermint, eucalyptus, citronella, and lemongrass may have certain properties that repel bees. Essential oils can be used in a variety of formats when mixed with water and witch hazel. Some people like to mix a few drops with water and apply their natural perfume with a spray bottle, while others prefer a rollerball.
How to deter bees from a patio? ›
To keep bees away, plant peppermint in an herb garden or along outdoor patios or decks. Citronella plants have a lemony scent that repels bees. Plant citronella in containers or well-draining soil near doorways, patios, or decks to ward off bees.
Scatter cloves or mint across your table or blanket. Another idea is to set a pot or two of marigolds on the table. They look like pretty centerpieces, but their scent repels bees as well.
How to keep bees away from the barbecue? ›
Sprinkle some cloves.
Cloves are also another excellent deterrent for those black and yellow insects. Bees hate the warm and spicy smell of cloves, so putting a few of them around your eating location can be very beneficial.
What colors do bees hate? ›
Because bugs see colors on the UV spectrum, they cannot register hues of green or blue. Painters even use blue paint to repel bees and wasps. Painting your porch ceiling in a blue tone could repel wasps, leading to fewer wasp-eating spiders around your home!
Does anything keep bees away? ›
Citronella plants and oils can be used to deter bees so it makes sense that burning citronella candles would also work. These candles are easy to use and can be found at most grocery or hardware stores. They are effective against bees, wasps, and mosquitoes and work up to a certain range.
Why do you put a dryer sheet in your mailbox before breakfast? ›
Postal workers use it to prevent getting stung by wasps while delivering mail. This is because wasps often build nests in mailboxes, and opening the box can disturb them, resulting in painful stings. By placing a dryer sheet inside the mailbox, the scent deters the wasps from building their nest there.
What can you put outside to keep the bees away? ›
What can you put outside to keep the bees away? To keep bees away, add bee-deterring plants and decor with strong smells that bees find unpleasant. Some of these off-putting scents include mint, eucalyptus, thyme, and vinegar. You can also hang mothballs outside to keep the bees away.
What makes bees stay away? ›
Peppermint, eucalyptus, citronella, and lemongrass may have certain properties that repel bees. Essential oils can be used in a variety of formats when mixed with water and witch hazel. Some people like to mix a few drops with water and apply their natural perfume with a spray bottle, while others prefer a rollerball.
How to keep bees away from a food table? ›
Sprinkle some cloves.
Cloves are also another excellent deterrent for those black and yellow insects. Bees hate the warm and spicy smell of cloves, so putting a few of them around your eating location can be very beneficial.
How to keep bugs away from a picnic table? ›
Smoke is a great temporary solution for backyard bug control. Whether you choose to use outdoor citronella candles or torches or a small campfire (if it's allowed!), the smoke will help deter bugs from spoiling the fun.
