# How to repel or eradicate nuisance Honeybees?



## StewRoten (May 22, 2010)

Nuisance and honeybee should not be used in the same sentence!


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## flyin-lowe (May 15, 2014)

I would talk to the neighbors and see if they can put some type of water source closer to the bees, bird bath, kiddy pool, etc. A friend of mine added vinegar to his neighbors pools and that helped his situation, but some people on here add vinegar to the bees food and they like it so not sure what else to do.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

This response is just to tide you over until the experts chime in.

Having just finished "bee school", this is one of the things we were warned about and asked to take responsibility for. Bees need water, and if a beekeeper next door to a swimming pool fails to provide water for his bees, what you are seeing is going to happen and it gives beekeeping a black eye. We were told to be sure we have an appropriate water supply close to our hives to discourage them from visiting the pool.

It may be that one of your beekeeping neighbors is not doing this. Contact them in a friendly manner and explain your problem. If they need to supply water, the fix is simple. But this is also "swarm season." Overcrowded hives make a new queen, then half the colony leaves looking for a new home. If one of their hive swarmed, it may have settled in close to you, and does not have water. Any good beekeeper hates seeing bees go to waste like this. If there is a swarm established near you, there are usually beekeepers expert at and eager to capture them. Your beekeeping neighbors either do this or likely know someone who does. Some local beekeeping organizations have response networks set up for just this purpose. So have a friendly chat with both beekeepers and see if they won't point you in the right direction.

If you can manage to follow these bees back to their source, it would be useful, but that's harder to do than spotting a "Golden Snitch." Bees are smaller and harder to see.

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Golden_Snitch


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## StewRoten (May 22, 2010)

Still, I am sorry for your difficulty.


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## colby (Jan 12, 2013)

bees like salt and various other minerals and they love water. You have set up the ideal bee watering system. as the neighbors had their bees before you got the pool i would suggest switching to a chlorine based sanitizer. a properly balanced chlorine based system is off-putting to bees.


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Contact the people you know keep bees they will probably work hard to help you.

You should know that it will be hard to prove that the bees they keep are the bees that are visiting your pool. "Allowing" bees to visit a neighbors is not a crime. Poisoning their bees intentionally ( which is a crime) and it will be fairly easy for them to prove, easier with this post.

If you decide to play hardball, good luck it could get far uglier than you can imagine .


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## Saltybee (Feb 9, 2012)

There not just after the water, it is the salt as well. If it is not one of your neighbors bees, one of them will be happy to track them down.
If you think the bees are making your outdoors unpleasant, start a battle with the neighbors. Talk to them or show them what you are facing.


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## JakeDatc (Apr 19, 2010)

S_Gibosn said:


> First, I have no ill will towards honeybees and have lived in harmony with them for years (except ones that moved into our house). I have 2 neighbors that keep bees and they probably have 30 to 40 boxes between them. They live about 200 yards down the road.
> 
> My problem started over 3 weeks ago when I setup a pool for our kids. It is a small above ground pool with a saltwater system, but I think my neighbor bees think I set it up just for them. At first it was only a handful and we tried to coexist. Every morning we would find a half dozen or so in the pool an skimmer, but none of the deaths were on our hands.
> 
> ...


Hmm... pretty sure that putting poison on other peoples hives is going to be illegal and hopefully you get whatever punishment is warranted for that.


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## S_Gibosn (Jun 20, 2014)

Thanks for the responses. As I have mentioned I have already talked to one and haven't seen the other yet. Hoping to see him this weekend. I'll even thank those of you for the somewhat ugly sounding replies. BTW, setting out poison is not a crime. I'm not aware of any laws in NC against killing honey bees.

Lol, did someone seriously say I can't have a pool and enjoy it because someone else had bees. Is that the mindset of this site? If so have the admin delete my account. I'm sure my neighbors are not as irresponsible or ugly to think like that.

My wife is the only one that got stung so far, but my kids are too afraid to go near it. Changing it to chemicals is not in the cards. I'm not looking for added expenses of constant chemicals, testing and fighting algae. I've already invested in the saltwater system.

Thanks again for the constructive replies.


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## PaBill (Apr 4, 2014)

I understand your problem. I have bees and a pool they are about 25 yards from each other. The bees were using the top of the winter cover for their water source until this past weekend when I took it off. I also have a birdbath 5 yards from the hive that they ignored. What I am doing is as soon as I took the winter cover off I put about a 2ft dia. shallow container filled with gravel and water on the side of the pool where they mostly congregated to drink and very slowly about 2ft every 2 hrs or when I think about it, move it towards the hives and birdbath.. I'm halfway there and have no bees at my pool and they are using that container exclusively. You may have to put a winter type cover over your pool for a few days to get this done but it is doable. You also may have to add salt to that water in the container. on a side not my pool is a chlorine pool. I'm sure any decent neighbor/beekeeper for that matter would be willing to help out and understand your situation.. Hope this helps.


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## JakeDatc (Apr 19, 2010)

removed.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Jake, I'm betting it's 100% the neighbors bees going after water that close, he needs to talk to them and make sure they've set up water for their bees, if they haven't, they're out of compliance and need too. Gibson, you may have to cover up the pool for a few days to get the bees to seek water elsewhere. It will be a constant struggle though, but keeping it covered when not in use is your best option.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

As your pool has become somewhat unusable, how about this? Drain it for a few days and let the bees find some other source (they must, & will). 

This spring my bees found an over turned grass catcher, from my John Deere mower, was collecting rain water. They were using it by the dozens at a time - more and more every day.

I didn't mind until the location became a bit too much "in the way", so I drained it and moved it about 20' closer to the hives. I set up a jug of water to keep the basin wet. That was 2 weeks ago, and they are still refusing to use the same catcher in the new location. They obviously found another source. I'll admit, I'm a bit disappointed that they don't like my "moved" offering, but they are a bit unpredictable in that way. They appear to have begun using my wife's flower pot drain trays, way out front, though in far fewer numbers.

*Bottom line - if you can drain your new pool, and leave it dry for a few days, they MIGHT (most likely) just find another source. * 

'Sorry for the inconvenience - 'just trying to help in a simple constructive way.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Colobee, I don't know the size of S Gibosn's pool, but I doubt it is a kiddy pool. The cost of refilling a pool is not trivial, even a modest above-ground pool. If his is salt water, where to dump it?

If a cover is available, that's almost certainly preferable.

At the distance to the hives, I still suspect a feral colony closer to the pool. Bees may fly 200 yards to find water, but I'm not convinced they'd be aggressive defending a water supply so far away. A feral hive located closer might be agresssive. If so, finding and collecting it will be needed, and that sounds like a job for a friendly beekeeper.


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## S_Gibosn (Jun 20, 2014)

Jake, first I think you are misrepresenting much of what I have said. Secondly I don't think you understand the severity of the problem by your rude "lazy...." comment. If it were as simple as skimming our a couple bees flying around it would be no issue. I would use poison only as a last resort, I thought I was clear on that (and no I wouldn't do anything as devious as some would imply like putting on camo going into someone yard and destroying their work). I tried to prequalified my statements by saying I have no problem or ill will towards bees. Perhaps I came of as callous or rude given this is a beekeeper site. If I did, my apologies, my frustration level is high. Heck with my 2 neighbors keeping and talking about them I have often thought of keeping them myself, but the wife isn't into it. Have a friend in Colfax that keeps them also.

You are correct in that these may not be my neighbors bees. Given the close proximity and direction they come and go I could make a great assumption. I have no issues with my neighbors, and have no problem with them keeping bees. I've been to both their homes. Had numerous dinners and outings with one set of them, and worked with the other. One is a good friend and the other I have always had a good associations with, so the impression that their would be some major neighborhood squabble or war is ridiculous. Although whenever I can get up with him, perhaps he will come by hang out and we can do some shooting. Target shooting! He was quite interested in some of the guns we were shooting one day and has yet to come down a shoot with us.

Again maybe I was less than clear in my original post. If so I apologize as my intentions were to get advice on what I might be able to do to deter them. I was hoping to get input from other beekeepers before bothering either neighbor. I don't think either have water out for their hives, so perhaps it is as simple as them just putting out water.

Thanks to those so far with some of the advice. Maybe there is no magic solution that will keep them away. We have tried the vinegar in a bucket, but they like the pool better. Soap seems to kill them and doesn't run them off. I can cover it at night, but the kids are up at 9 or 10 and ready to swim.

One quick question if I'm still welcome here. I assume bees go in at night, what time do they go in? I'd say the wife and I killed over 100 bees over 30 minutes this evening just to get it clear enough for the kids. We had to maintain the killing and probably killed an additional 30 or so until about 7:15 then there were only a few around and they were less aggressive. The bats come out about 7:30 and lightening bugs shortly thereafter.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Soapy water absolutely kills bees. Millions were dispatched that way in that New Jersey truck wreck a few weeks back. Hopefully a better solution can be found.

Bees go home about sunset, and usually start sending out a few scouts around sunrise, with the foragers getting frisky around when the sun hits the hive entrance. They use the sun to navigate. You may occasionally find one hanging out overnight if their planning was bad, but probably not flying.

Somebody here mentioned using a sprinkler to quiet their bees during a backyard picnic. A fine water spray is harmless to them but may get them out of the area temporarily, and may even be fun for the kids.

If you are right and the bees don't have water at their apiaries, that's the simple fix. We use a small poultry waterer for ours, but there are a lot simple and affordable options. Like someone said above, ours has rocks in it for the bees to land on so they don't drown. Some minerals in the water are probably to their liking ... bees like "dirty water." They will fly 200 yards and more to find water but, being sensible little insects, will usually prefer a source close to home. 

I don't know the NC beekeeping regulations. In WV where our hives are, providing water, and specifically providing water to keep bees from using neighborhood swimming pools, is a responsibility of beekeepers. I would not be surprised to find guidelines or rules to this effect in NC. In any case, this is standard "bee stewardship." If they give you an argument, tell 'em I said so. But there is no reason for much argument ... bees should be provided water near their hives if you want healthy bees.


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## S_Gibosn (Jun 20, 2014)

Colobee, I wish I could, covering as was suggested it is a better option, but with the 90+ degree days, the pool will get uncovered and used. It took over 24 hours to fill off our well (with a few breaks for our pump and well to recover). Draining it is not really an option. I was surprised I got enough out of my well the first time. To have water delivered is several hundred dollars. I did 1 1/2 week of digging, filling, building walls and back filling to make a level enough spot for the pool so the spot is large and permanent. I spent more money on material to prepare the location for the pool, than for the pool saltwater system and supplies.

Thanks for the input.


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## Saltybee (Feb 9, 2012)

You are welcome here, much prefer people who are willing to talk, even if I do not like all of what they say. If the keepers do not have instant success please realize that bees do not obey. 

Bees start and stop their days at different times in different hives. Roughly dusk.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

S_Gibosn said:


> ...My problem started over 3 weeks ago when I setup a pool for our kids. * It is a small above ground pool* with a saltwater system, but I think my neighbor bees think I set it up just for them.


Like I said - 'Just trying to be helpful. 

As draining isn't an option, cover it. That will most likely work better (and simpler) than constant poisoning, trying to get ahold of the other beekeepers, finding the (possibly wild) culprit bees & removing them, or trying to set up another water source. 

"The kids won't go near it.." says enough to me. 'Just trying to be helpful, based on decades of living peacefully WITH bees  Mine never would go near our kiddy pool.


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## JakeDatc (Apr 19, 2010)

removed.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

JakeDatc, you and I know that soapy water equals poison for bees. How many members of the general public know that? 

This situation calls for neighbors talking and working things out, and is a good opportunity for a little bee education. 

My neighborhood just got done with the lawyers after a dispute over a log splitter got escalated to a small civil war, short of actual shooting but with ruinous legal expenses. Cool heads, working things out, and developing understanding and friendship beat the heck out of what our neighborhood went thru.


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## JakeDatc (Apr 19, 2010)

removed.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

It was suggested that you switch to chlorinated water based on the premise that bees are repelled by it. My experience and everything I've read says just the opposite, that bees love chlorinated water.

I suggest an easy experiment. Find a wide shallow container that you can place flat rocks or thin floating material in and fill with lightly chlorinated water, just enough that there is a place for the bees to stand and take water. (Bees hate wet feet.) If you wish, add some salt to this mix and perhaps they will have an attractive alternative to your salt water pool. (As Pooh said: you never can tell with bees.)

Best of luck in resolving the situation. 

Wayne


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## S_Gibosn (Jun 20, 2014)

Lol, doh, I see said the blind man! I guess small is a relative term 

I have planned to get a large in-ground and opted for an above ground that holds a few thousand gallons of water. The horror stories in the area about algae blooms and $100's of dollars a year in chemicals is why we opted for a saltwater setup. Initial cost is several hundred more, but future cost savings more than make up for it. While saltwater pools have been around for decades, more and more people are now starting to use them, not only for the cost savings and ease of use. I guess if salt water attracts bees, more and more on this forum will start hearing about issues. I have 3 other friends that have switched their pools over to salt in the last 2 weeks. I'll have to see if they have more bees than usual. We are all in rural areas with mostly pasture and agriculture.


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## GOHoney (Jun 19, 2013)

Think about that third mouth full of food your family eats every time they set down at the table. It is Honey bees that make that possible. Honey bees have enough enemies with chemicals commonly used and parasites with out people taking out a vendetta against them. And Honey bees need all the help we can give them. Talk with your neighbors and get them to put out watering holes, maybe even add some salt. Then use bee-quick around your pool for a few days. I'm sure they will loose interest.


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## ginkgo (Apr 26, 2013)

Just brainstorming: Might an inexpensive misting system or two http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cool-Patio-20-Professional-Grade-Misting-System/10794198 provide a refreshing cover of heavy mist, under which kiddies could enjoy pool time, while dissuading bees from flying in the "rain zone"?


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Now that the bees have targeted your pool you really only have a couple of options. Two begin with both beekeepers providing a closer attractive water source with salt and lemongrass essential oil or a little honeybee healthy. Once this has been provided, either drain your pool or cover it in a way that's bee tight. Wait until the bees stopping coming before refilling or reopening. After that keep an eye out for any honeybees coming to the pool for water and spray them with soap and water to kill them before they can spread the word. 

The only other solutions are to move the bees (doesn't sound possible) or tolerate it for this summer and have the beekeeper provide an attractive water source early in the spring before the pool is opened. You could try yourself to provide an alternative water source. Put it closer to the bees. They also need to be able to easily access it without drowning.


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## S_Gibosn (Jun 20, 2014)

JakeDatc said:


> he does.. clearly.
> 
> plus
> 
> ...


Yes, we have been killing bees like crazy. You may think I'm interested in simply killing them, but that is not the case and far from the truth. I've always gone out of my way to avoid killing honeybees, and I felt quite guilty killing the colony of bees that took up residence in our hour nearly 14 years ago. I even went to the extent of going over to one of the beekeepers houses in my neighborhood and he and a friend of his came over to see if there was anything they could do to save the bees. After his friend told me what it would cost to remove the bees, my beekeeping neighbor is actually the one that recommended I just kill them. It was end of summer and it was going to cost too much to keep them over the winter. I still haven't torn out the kitchen ceiling to see how much hive and honey is between those 2 floors.

In this instance as well we tried leaving the bees be, but once one stung my wife and they became so thick and heavy around the pool we couldn't deal with it we began looking for alternatives. She was told soapy water would run them off, but we found out quickly it kills them, so kill them we have. I'm not interested in killing them though, I'm interested in my family and I being able to enjoy our summer and swim in a our pool during the 90 degree + days we have had this week. I thought I was "TALK"ing to people, by taking the time to register to post on this forum and ask this beekeeping community for suggestions or help. When you need help you typically go to the those in the know. I've already apologized if you think what I said was rude or callous. I could see how it could be construed as such. Terro is the most effective thing I'm aware of form past experiences, and I would honestly hate using it. I like like honey as much as anyone and buy local honey. My wife loves her flowerbeds and rose garden so the importance of bees is not lost to us.

Away from that I may have to see what I can do to "mist" the pool. I don't care if the bees are on the sides of the pool or in the yard, having them in the pool, on the floats and rafts, and congregating on the ladder is the issue. My niece and nephew were here Wednesday and stayed petrified because of all the bees. Not sure how feasible "misting" is but it peaks my interest. The kids spend enough time splashing water on them and screaming and they don't like that.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Fill a kiddie pool with water and set it in a safe area away from your pool set a cinder block in the center and set a salt block on it. Cover your pool for completely for 3-4 days oor untill the bees find the other water. Once all is well tell your neighbors they owe you a jar of honey for watering their bees


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## biggraham610 (Jun 26, 2013)

Jake no hard feelings bro, I love my bees, but you act as if you dont see Gibsons frustration. If a neighbors bees were ruining my kids opportunity to enjoy their new pool, I would be a little pissed myself. I would swat em and kill em just like him. I just hope Gibson can find a solution. Throwing stones does no good. Think about that poor tick you flush down the toilet after you find him sucking your blood and pull him off. Or for sure dont swat that next mosqiuito. Better yet, why kill the small hive beetle, hes just making a living? As i said, i love Honeybees, everyone doesnt keep them. Gibson has a right to do what he wants to make his yard a pleasant place to be. He already said he wasnt going to go rambo. Its his yard Jack...... G

Good Luck Gibson.


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## mitchgobears (Jan 26, 2014)

I was annoyed by my own bees drinking off my sprinkler heads instead of the waterer I specifically made for them. They completely ignored my waterer. This morning I shut off the outside water presuming my valve was leaking causing a continuous water supply. Before noon they had decided that the waterer I made for them was perfect as their usual option wasn't available. I fixed my valve so their prior source of water is permanently gone, but in less than 12 hours they had switched to the water supply I wanted them to use. With some cooperation from your nearby beekeepers in providing an attractive alternative and one (maybe 2) days of covering the pool and your problem may go away. It's worth a try.


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## Scpossum (May 4, 2014)

biggraham610 said:


> I just hope Gibson can find a solution.
> 
> Good Luck Gibson.


+1 hope you can a way to fix the problem. I lke the mister idea if you can get good coverage. Would be like a water park.


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## GOHoney (Jun 19, 2013)

Please don't find us unsympathetic to your plight. I can understand what you are going through. Especially with children. I am a fairly new Beek, but I have found honey bees are reluctant to use their stingers. Even defending their hives they chew and bite. Not saying they will not. I have caught the attention of a few that are hell bent on stinging me. That is usually when I am ripping the roof off of their house and disturbing them. If you press down on one, yes she is going to sting you. I have them on me all of the time. Unless I give them a reason they do not sting me. They have an agenda, and it usually does not include me or what I am doing.


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## jbeshearse (Oct 7, 2009)

Get a couple of cans of "Off" and spray on the sides of the pool where the bees are landing to drink.. You will have to apply it multiple times. but after day or two, hopefully your problem will be gone. 

Please check back in with us and let us know if the problem is solved.

The other thing you can try is to just set up a rain bird type sprinkler and let it run a lot. Sometimes that will discourage them. But it can backfire, giving them more area to drink from.

And please forgive us, sometimes we forget that bees are in fact stinging bugs......


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## JakeDatc (Apr 19, 2010)

removed


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

Bee-Quick or Honey-Bee-Gone sprayed around the corners of the pool works for us. Your neighbors might contribute to the cost if asked. Occasional soapy water sprayed on the bees (and wasps) if and when they are seriously frightening your children. I hope you are able to solve your problem.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

S_Gibosn said:


> I'm not aware of any laws in NC against killing honey bees.


I would suggest you look into this very carefully . very few States do not have laws against killing someones bees. And yes if you set out poison and kill their bees even unintentionally it is still illegal. If you think the sudden death of a couple hundred hives will not be looked into I suspect you are very wrong. If you think the cause of that death cannot be discovered I believe you will be wrong again. With the value of each of those hives alone at around $300 or more you may want to consider the liability you may find yourself at. I do not think your intentional destruction of someones source of income is going to be out weighed by your recreational desires.

Since you know what the bees want it seems obvious enough to me that you would simply provide a place for them to access it without being in your pool to do so.

In all I actually suspect this is just one detail in you coming to the realization that the reality of pool ownership is not exactly in line with how it was imagined. Did you expect owning a pool to be easy. I have never meet a pool owner that would have supported that thinking. Most would say that they are not worth the effort required.


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## Miha (Feb 15, 2014)

S_Gibosn said:


> Killing them one at a time, hundreds a day will never get the job done and is ridiculous. Hoping someone here has a better idea than us just poisoning entire hives with Ant Poison.


Wow, I cannot believe you are actually saying this. And, evidently, you mean it because you are already killing hundreds of bees a day, as you state in a later comment.


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## biggraham610 (Jun 26, 2013)

Miha said:


> Wow, I cannot believe you are actually saying this. And, evidently, you mean it because you are already killing hundreds of bees a day, as you state in a later comment.


You people kill me, sure theres a chance some ferals are visiting his pool. But more than likely, they are someones bees. What if your neighbors goats were eating your flowers or better yet someones dog defecated on your front door mat every night, and as soon as you washed it off he did it again. would you not feel frustration? I love bees as much as anyone, but come on man, are you in such a world of butterflies and daisies you cant feel his annoyance. He is here looking for solutions*.* Read before you post*.* Take off the rose colored glasses and try and help the man find a solution instead of shivering at the thought of a hundred dead bees. He already said he does not *Want* to kill them. That is why he is spending his time trying to find a solution. Of what value was your post Miha?:scratch: G


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## Father Time (Apr 10, 2014)

I think S Gibosn is a troll, he here to get a rise out of you. he knew talking about killing bees would set the masses off. I think he is a bee keeper. He might have a problem with his on pool and he might not....My bees were coming to my salt water pool landing on the steps, and the pool cleaner hose, I cut my steps off so they would sit lower and under water and took my pool cleaner out and my bees went away. my bees will not land on the side of the pool.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Killing hundreds of bees a day ... let's get that in perspective. I've seen an estimate that beekeepers kill, on average, 150 bees per hive inspection. It would break my heart if I were that careless, and I expect that estimate is way off. But I can believe we kill 10 per inspection even being as careful as we know how. Today a group of us worked 20 hives. I'm guessing we killed 200 bees.

Any of you ever do an alcohol wash varroa inspection? 300 bees dead as doornails. (I use powdered sugar).

Where on earth did any of you get this rant about ant poison and killing entire hives? He NEVER said anything of the kind. Did you just jump in and read a post or two with someone else mouthing off and not check?


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## S_Gibosn (Jun 20, 2014)

Jake,

I guess I could have added a few paragraphs about how I'd kill a hive, but I assumed beekeepers would know there are common poisons available that just requires the bees to take the bait back to the hive. I don't have to leave my yard to kill any hive. That is how Terro works with ants and bees. Not sure if anyone here is familiar first hand with how brutal that stuff is. They just take it back to their homes and it eventually kills the whole lot of them. Only a very small portion of one of these ant trap was needed to wipe out the colony in my floor joist in less than 2 weeks. Not a single remaining bee in or out. It seemed like it was overnight. I didn't want to just kill the bees in that instance, but we had no other option and a friend from Kentucky was the one that told me about it. My beekeeper neighbor had suggested just using spray and I'd probably be spraying them to this day. I ruined my roof trying to get them with wasp spray.

Sorry you were under the impression I was going "Rambo" (as someone else mentioned), or that I had no intention of talking to my neighbors. It is hard to be precise and concise on an internet forum when you have no idea who people are or what individuals will read in to each post. I was frustrated and I'm sure it came through as well, which may have fed into some of the assumptions made here. I had just gotten off the phone before I registered and typed the first post. My wife was complaining because of the useless tube of water in the yard that the kids were afraid of and no one felt safe to get near. Honestly I'm still laughing and would like to see what that arrest record would look like for the person that considers me a criminal and was going to use my post as evidence. Regardless, I hope it doesn't come to trying to feed a hive Boric Acid.

My wife and I have been researching for over a week, (which is about how long it has been since the situation became unbearable). That is how we found out about soapy water as a deterrent (turned out to be a killer), bucket of vinegar water (that has been sitting in the yard stinking for a week), garlic and this interesting link..... http://www.livescience.com/43103-bees-taste-with-feet.html . But I guess I'm just a "lazy..." pool skimmer.

I'm sure you are probably a good guy Jake and since I am the outsider needing assistance I'll assume it just makes it easier for you to make assumptions about everything I say and insult me. If I had feelings, they would have be hurt by several of your comments, but this is the internet  Regardless, peace bro!

I've talked to my wife about misting, hoping to talk to my other neighbor this weekend, but he spends most of his summer at the coast. Being a good neighbor I am was hoping there was something I could do on my end to simply repel them without bothering my neighbor or killing his bees, but that was just probably just lazy of me. I think my buddy up the street is going to put out water for his hives. While I doubt they are his bees perhaps it will help.

Where do you buy Bee-Quick or Honey-Bee-Gone? Is it at Lowes? How expensive is it?


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## Steve zone 5 WI (Jan 2, 2013)

I cannot believe that beekeepers actually made some of these comments. In my opinion its our job to be the "diplomats" between non beekeepers and the bees!! 

I have a neighbor that has a large pool. Its my biggest fear that my bees find it as a water source for two reasons
1) I will have pissed off the neighbors
2) my visiting bees will surely die.

As to your situation. I am quite certain that if your able to cover your pool for a few days the bees will look for another water source. Our bees were drinking from a small cast iron pot in a flower bed until it dried up. They then found a sleigh that had caught rain water. Even after we refilled the cast iron pot they did not return. However if the sleigh dries up there is no guarantee that they will find the cast iron pot instead of my neighbors pool

I hope your problem is resolved soon

Steve

S Gibosn. I doubt that you will need to resort to poisoning a hive. I truly believe that the beekeepers will help you with this.


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## biggraham610 (Jun 26, 2013)

Steve zone 5 WI said:


> I cannot believe that beekeepers actually made some of these comments. In my opinion its our job to be the "diplomats" between non beekeepers and the bees!!
> 
> Well said Steve. My sentiments exactly. G:thumbsup:


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

This is a link to the web site of bee quick. Be careful which of these products you choose. some of them will repel you long before they do the bees. They can really stink.

http://bee-quick.com/


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

ok. I keep bees and ponds. In Texas where bees need a LOT of water.

Bees like your pool saltwater and they do not like to drown. So a nice wide bowl with some gravel or pebbles or even aquarium gravel in it, and saltwater, a comfortable distance from your pool

And a nice old fashioned oscillating sprinkler on over the pool (but not the bowl) when you want to use the pool. I suspect the bees will find the bowl and all will be well

In our drought I have had bees coming possibly some distance to my ponds, daily. When they quit coming I knew someone had poisoned them. We all learned to hand pollinate our gardens that year (poisoner was a bee removal, probably pesticide company They killed every pollinator for miles by poisoning the honey)


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## S_Gibosn (Jun 20, 2014)

Father Time said:


> I think S Gibosn is a troll, he here to get a rise out of you. he knew talking about killing bees would set the masses off. I think he is a bee keeper. He might have a problem with his on pool and he might not....My bees were coming to my salt water pool landing on the steps, and the pool cleaner hose, I cut my steps off so they would sit lower and under water and took my pool cleaner out and my bees went away. my bees will not land on the side of the pool.


I assure you, they are one the side, the tops, the floats, the noodles, the steps and top of the ladder, the skimmer, the hoses, salt water chlorinizer, and buzzing around over and around the pool. My wife got stung and wasn't doing anything aggressive or trying to harm a bee. They just ended up occupying the same space at the same time and it stung her on her pointer finger. It was there and she was there. It was so thick with bees this afternoon there were bees buzzing everywhere and it was hard to get close enough to begin to swat them down into the water with skimmer or spray them with soapy water.

I would prefer to repel them vs. kill them. I've stated that several times regardless of what anyone insinuates. That is why I appreciate some of the suggestions like misting, Bee-Gone? and covering, vs. some of the posters just trying to insult me or belittle our situation.

If the admins think I'm a troll as you wrongfully claim, I welcome to delete my account. Never have I gone to a forum and ask for assistance and had people react so unfriendly.


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## biggraham610 (Jun 26, 2013)

S_Gibosn said:


> I assure you, they are one the side, the tops, the floats, the noodles, the steps and top of the ladder, the skimmer, the hoses, salt water chlorinizer, and buzzing around over and around the pool. My wife got stung and wasn't doing anything aggressive or trying to harm a bee. They just ended up occupying the same space at the same time and it stung her on her pointer finger. It was there and she was there. It was so thick with bees this afternoon there were bees buzzing everywhere and it was hard to get close enough to begin to swat them down into the water with skimmer or spray them with soapy water.
> 
> I would prefer to repel them vs. kill them. I've stated that several times regardless of what anyone insinuates. That is why I appreciate some of the suggestions like misting, Bee-Gone? and covering, vs. some of the posters just trying to insult me or belittle our situation.
> 
> If the admins think I'm a troll as you wrongfully claim, I welcome to delete my account. Never have I gone to a forum and ask for assistance and had people react so unfriendly.


Gibson, there are alot of good suggestions on here. The vast majority of people on here are trying to help you find the happy medium. Ignore the others, its not worth wasting your breath. Good Luck. G


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

Used BeeQuick tonight to get the bees out of a soffit on a house. smells like almond extract. I like that smell but it's a taste thing. Bees scooted right on out


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## jim81147 (Feb 18, 2013)

S Gibosn , would your missing neighbor mind if you were to go down and place a water source in his yard? All I have for my bees is a rubber bowl used for feeding livestock. It holds about 10 gallons . I set a bunch of twigs in it for the bees to climb on and refill it about once every week or ten days . It has all kinds of algae growing in it along with some misquito larvae and other oddities. The more stagnant and disgusting it gets the better the bees seem to like it . I have it setting in some shade . That might be your simplest , quickest , and easiest solution , trying to bait them right by their own hive .


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## JakeDatc (Apr 19, 2010)

removed. have a good one.


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## PaBill (Apr 4, 2014)

S Gibosn, Please don't judge the masses by the ignorance of a few.. I think covering your pool for a few days and slowly relocating the water source is the easiest and cheapest solution.


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## Saltybee (Feb 9, 2012)

Anyone can poison, it takes a reasonable person to ask how not to poison.

You have not mentioned the bees flight path as being one direction. Makes me think you have multiple directions and sources. You may have another keeper or a feral as well as the two known keepers.


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## shinbone (Jul 5, 2011)

I'd like to see a photo of this:

"_I assure you, they are on the side, the tops, the floats, the noodles, the steps and top of the ladder, the skimmer, the hoses, salt water chlorinizer, and buzzing around over and around the pool."

_

"_ . . . the Terro Ant Poison is coming out in mass and in a few weeks I'm certain colonies will collapse._"

If you choose to stop the bees from using your pool by killing them, the only way this will work is to kill all the hives in the area. You said your neighbors have "30 to 40 boxes between them," so you would have to kill these 30 to 40 hives, plus any and all feral hives. Additionally, you would have to continue each year killing any new hives that moved into the area. That is alot of killing.

IMHO and as others have said, the only practical solution is to divert the bees to another water source. This is very hard to do once they have found and started using a particular water source. You and/or your neighbors will have to set up at least one good alternate water source (good = always has water, bee accessible, close to the hive(s) attractive odor to the bees), and then you will have to cover your pool for a handful of days, or more, so the bees are forced to find the alternate sources. Even then, you will still have some bees coming to your pool, but, hopefully, it will be in small enough numbers that you can still enjoy your pool.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

I know that honey bees need plenty of water, especially during our hot summer days, and it is quite difficult, or impossible to get them to use sources of our choosing. But maybe this idea will help:

I have a friend who's wife is certainly allergic to honey bees. Their must be a strong feral colony or beekeeper near their place. Every spring/early summer swarms target the eaves at the back of their home. The first time this happened, they entered the attic space and set up housekeeping. Knowing I was a beekeeper, they called me for help. Since the first issue was a recently established colony, I was able to do a "trap-out", then seal up all other access points with calk, and bees haven't been able to reenter since, however, swarms still return to his eaves, every season. Most recently I purchased a small bottle of "Fischer's Bee Quick", which is created for use in driving honey bees off of their honeycombs, in order to facilitate the harvesting of honey. For we humans, it is pleasantly scented of cherry and almonds, but the bees hate it. I use it at my friends home, spraying some under his eaves, after capturing any swarms that land there, to chase away any remaining swarm bees, and to help repel future swarms. So far, it has worked quite well. Straggler bees disperse quite quickly and after that first swarm of the season, no other swarms return. (I think traces of the scent, linger, long after we can no longer detect it, that still put the bees off).

Perhaps using a little of this, "Fischer's Bee Quick", periodically, on the edges of the pool, adjacent to where the bees alight, in conjunction with providing them alternate watering, more near their hives, may greatly help to reduce the bee problem at your pool. There are several other products, marketed similarly, but this one is the only one I know of, designed specifically to be pleasant smelling to humans, yet quite effective against honey bees.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

S Gibson, you've already seen that some here live in fantasy land where nothing is more important than their hive of honeybees. I blame our society. We live in a country where many people think that killing an unborn baby is okay, but killing an animal for food is murder. It's as screwed up as a football bat. Some folks here think the world revolves around a honeybee, but it doesn't. In the Bible, Pauls letter to the Romans warns of this. Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

So it is in our society. 

I now have 15 hives and keep the bees on our farm. My family and my parents both live on our farm. My parents have an inground pool, and there is a 2 acre pond on our farm. The bees never visit the pool. They water in the pond. If your beekeeping neighbors can dig a small mudhole and keep it full of water, the bees would water there. 

The downside, and it's been mentioned here several times, is that you're going to have to cut off the access to your pool for the bees for a few days after a new water source is provided or they won't stop using your pool.


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## firefly22 (Jun 6, 2013)

Not sure if suggested but i have a salt lick out near my water source ( bird bath) and my bee's do use it. They may be coming to the pool due to the salt so if provided along with water maybe there stay away. Hope you find a way to work this out you should be able to enjoy your pool.


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## F6Hawk (Mar 31, 2014)

Gibosn (why does everyone insist on calling you Gibson???), there are some good ideas on here. Covering the pool and providing other water sources is in order. Can you dig some ditches on each property line (between you and your bee neighbors) and keep it filled with water? Bees seem to like the minerals in soil. Salt, for sure. Maybe 1 foot deep, two feet wide, and about 5 feet long. Line with plastic, put some rocks in it so they can land to drink. Get some non-iodized salt and sprinkle on the dirt near the water, and water it in. They will suck the salt outta the soil. 

Certainly, I would still talk to your neighbors; they have some responsibility in this. Perhaps they will share the cost and/or labor in coming up with a solution. As a new beekeeper, I appreciate your desire to enjoy your pool without harming the bees. Many wouldn't care, would just kill the "pests".

Bee-Quick and Bee-Gone will help shoo bees away from the pool area itself. Kinda expensive. Might wanna Google Butyric Anhydride and see if you can find it cheaper in bulk.


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## Rusty Hills Farm (Mar 24, 2010)

Mr. Gibson, your problem is not too different from mine. But instead of my kids being harassed, it was my horses. The bees were hanging around the stock tanks in such high numbers that the horses were getting stung. The thermometer was hovering around the 100 degree mark so they NEEDED that water. And the bees...well, they were mine, too, so I HAD to find a solution. This was it:









It's called a boardman feeder. I put one on every hive and filled it with water. The bees had all the water they needed and stopped harassing my horses, who went back to drinking from their stock tanks. End of problem.

Boardman feeders are cheap to buy and easy to build. Heck, most beginner beekeeper kits include one. Filled with water instead of sugar syrup, and the bees have all the water they need right in their own hive with no need to bug the neighbors.

HTH

Rusty


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## Rusty Hills Farm (Mar 24, 2010)

Mr. Gibson, your problem is not too different from mine. But instead of my kids being harassed, it was my horses. The bees were hanging around the stock tanks in such high numbers that the horses were getting stung. The thermometer was hovering around the 100 degree mark so they NEEDED that water. And the bees...well, they were mine, too, so I HAD to find a solution. This was it:

View attachment 11919


It's called a boardman feeder. I put one on every hive and filled it with water. The bees had all the water they needed and stopped harassing my horses, who went back to drinking from their stock tanks. End of problem.

Boardman feeders are cheap to buy and easy to build. Heck, most beginner beekeeper kits include one. Filled with water instead of sugar syrup, and the bees have all the water they need right in their own hive with no need to bug the neighbors.

HTH

Rusty


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## Saltybee (Feb 9, 2012)

Rusty has a winner! If forty feeders and refills are not appealing several rotated around the individual hives would break the pool habit and let them switch to the alternates.


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## scorpionmain (Apr 17, 2012)

Use a pool cover.


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