# ** What Smells Do Bees Stay Away From? **



## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

*Neither a stinker nor a smeller bee!!*



Blossom said:


> [DO]...bees try to stay away from...certain smells ...I guess once I get my...bees I won't be using deoderent, colonge and such in my yard any more...I was thinking if they don't like, say teatree oil or moth balls I would splash some teatree on myself or put a couple mothballs in my pocket. I'm sure you long time keepers have stories. Thanks.


Too Blossom:
I would not call myself a long time bee keeper only a beekeeper a long long time ago. I think you would bee better served with no foreign (to your bees) scents or smells to either excite, attract, aggravate, or repel your six footed charges.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Bee Quick (smells like benzaldehyde) Bee go (smells like vomit which is butyric acid), smoke...


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## charmd2 (May 25, 2008)

I wear deodorant to the hives.. I've been known to use perfume around them. Not frequently, but I have. 

Some people have problems with the carbon dioxide from sodas or beer on their breath. I haven't noticed any problems with it.. but then again, I don't go out to the hives with a soda in hand and start messing with the bees. 

I find it far more important to be gentle to the bees/frames/cover/hive than to worry about my scent.


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## Blossom (Nov 29, 2008)

*Maybe I didn't make myself clear but I wouldn't wear any scent to keep bees away when I am at the hive just when I want to be out in my yard or pasture/woods etc I'm sure there will be a lot of bees flying around and don't want to draw them to me when I am busy doing work outside.*


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## charmd2 (May 25, 2008)

Lemon pledge, 

Lemon grass essential oil.. 

I would not wear these in the yard. Other than that.  I havent' noticed anything being and attractant to them.


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## John Gesner (Dec 17, 2005)

Blossom said:


> *Maybe I didn't make myself clear but I wouldn't wear any scent to keep bees away when I am at the hive just when I want to be out in my yard or pasture/woods etc I'm sure there will be a lot of bees flying around and don't want to draw them to me when I am busy doing work outside.*


You'll be surprised to find that you don't have bees flying all over the place just cause you have a hive. You'll be able to be out in the yard and not be bothered, unless of course you've been really rough with your bees or have a mean hive. Then, nothing will help you. 

Mosquitos are more of a problem...


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## Sherpa1 (Dec 10, 2005)

I think that bees hate the smell of money, especially the paper kind, because my bees make sure that I don't have much in my wallet.


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## Brent Bean (Jun 30, 2005)

Blossom:

You ask what kind of smell you can put in you pocket to keep your bees away from you. 
I will ask why would you want too? 

I have anywhere for 6 to 10 hive in my 2.5 acre lot, we keep two garden patches within a hundred feet. I have four dogs all black that run outside whenever we are out which is a lot. The only time they had trouble is when they got to close to the entrance (which only happened once for each one) no harm done only lesson learned. I have been in the garden right after church with my old spice on without problems, an I have been in the garden after a long hot day at the power plant I’m sure smelling like a bucket of old wash water, no problem.
You can stand behind the hives and watch the sun shine off their bodies as they fly in and out from foraging and realize that when you walk threw the yard thousands of honeybees were flying within feet of you No Problem. 
As you get to know your honeybees you will look forward to being around them, sometimes I think they also get use to you. And once you take that first sting you will realize it wasn’t so bad and will move around them differently which will result in less stings. I am an Electrician by trade but beekeeping is my passion I find the sound of thousands of honeybees buzzing there bee song soothing, I hope you will to.

Honeybees only sting for two reasons 

1)	You offend them.
2)	You frighten them.


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## Flint (Jun 2, 2008)

Brent Bean said:


> Honeybees only sting for two reasons
> 
> 1)	You offend them.
> 2)	You frighten them.



Or
3) They're pissed at the world.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Blossom said:


> *Maybe I didn't make myself clear but I wouldn't wear any scent to keep bees away when I am at the hive just when I want to be out in my yard or pasture/woods etc I'm sure there will be a lot of bees flying around and don't want to draw them to me when I am busy doing work outside.*


Learn to enjoy their company and don't wear anything to try to get them to stay away from you. Unless you are a flower child you won't draw bees to yourself. Not many anyway. Unless you are working around the hives and they fly out to defend themselves.


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## LtlWilli (Mar 11, 2008)

I know for a fact that socks I have worn for three days in a row will drive them away. I have seen them cause buzzards that they attract to faint and fall to their deaths on the ground. I never thought a beaked creature could smile, but I swear there is an ecstatic grin on them all. My County Agent says that I should refrain from using them until my Haz-Mat suit arrives. He cites the danger of brain and liver damage....Until then, I hang them on bamboo poles to dip them in ba big pot of bleach. This is causing problems in that all of my socks are now snow white.


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## bejay (Jan 14, 2005)

would probably buy one of those red bull energy drinks and splash some on yourself that should turn you into a flower.


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## Bill Dickerson (Nov 8, 2008)

*Ex-wife*

Honeybees only sting for two reasons

1) You offend them.
2) You frighten them.

Or
3) They're pissed at the world. 

Number 1 and 3 sounds like my Ex-wife and I don't worry about 2 because she scares the crap out of *me*.


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## LtlWilli (Mar 11, 2008)

By Jove, I believe you've got it!!!! You have struck the proverbial nail upon the head Bill.


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## GaSteve (Apr 28, 2004)

My son did a science fair experiment a couple years ago to test not what bees stay away from, but what smells make them more defensive. He used small denim patches attached to a very long paint pole. He put some deodorant, perfume, or body splash on a patch (and a bare patch for a control) and waved it in front of a hive for a couple minutes. Response was measured by counting stingers in the denim patches. Most things they ignored. A couple body splashes definitely got their attention and got significantly more stings.

One interesting thing he found in his research was that a component of the alarm pheromone (isoamyl acetate) is the exact same substance found in artificial flavorings most notably the cheap artificial banana flavor which is found in many common items like some sodas and perfumed items for flavoring and scent.

Three drops of the artificial banana flavor on a patch incited a huge cloud of bees out of the hive in less than 30 seconds. It was alarming enough he laid down the pole and retrieved it that night. That patch obviously had a lot of stingers.

Interestingly enough, an actual piece of banana smeared on a patch was totally ignored by the bees.

So I think the specific odor or even the intensity of the odor isn't near as important as the actual chemical makeup.


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## Blossom (Nov 29, 2008)

That was very interesting Steve and I appreciate the results. Wasn't it interesting that they don't like artifical smells? (the imatation banana flavor). Thanks so much for your input !







.


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## mudlake (Nov 26, 2007)

I have been working hives when banana smell started. I put them back together and ran for my truck still got hammered . Tony


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

> beekeeping is my passion I find the sound of thousands of honeybees buzzing there bee song soothing, I hope you will to.


Exactly!! I love to just sit near the entrance and watch, listen, and smell the bees on a warm spring day! :applause:


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## GaSteve (Apr 28, 2004)

I have never smelled the banana smell while working hives, but I've smelled it many times when doing cutouts.

I have thought about designing a vandal/critter deterrent system around that principle. Disturb the hive too much and the offender gets blasted with the artificial banana flavoring. I'm sure it would be a personal injury lawyer's dream.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

GaSteve said:


> Three drops of the artificial banana flavor on a patch incited a huge cloud of bees out of the hive in less than 30 seconds. It was alarming enough he laid down the pole and retrieved it that night. That patch obviously had a lot of stingers.
> 
> Interestingly enough, an actual piece of banana smeared on a patch was totally ignored by the bees.


Having not much else to do today, I decided to try a little experiment with a hive I have here at the house. Results are obvious!


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## HTC (Mar 17, 2012)

If you want to keep bees away soak your cloths in Bee Go. Worse then skunk, it will keep pesky neighbors away to.

I needed some hand cleaner so I picked up some GOJO at the auto supply. Its the Cherry Gel, kink of differed smell. Well even the bees at the birdbath take offense. It took a few tries but I figured it out .


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

Oil of gloves and artificial almond extract deter them. Don't worry you don't need either one of them. A spray bottle of sugar water and a good smoker will take of it. I rarely use any protection for most jobs. My only gear is a veil I've made myself worn over a wide rim hat and some kitchen gloves.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

My hive is located about 30 feet outside my back door. As you walk outside you notice the hive. IT is the big white box and you will see bees flying at the entrance for maybe 3 feet in front of the hive on a very busy moment. 1 foot on a normal one. If you take the time to watch carefully you can actually catch a glimpse of bees for about 20 feet in front of the hive as they come and go. Otherwise you don't see a bee in my yard anywhere. It's not anything like they are milling about outside looking for something to do and just being curious about anything that moves. That is more how hornets behave. Bee behavior is much different. they may take a quick look at you but for the most part they are pretty much about taking care of business. Just don't stand right in front of their hive. they will run into you as they take off. We have been outside all day working and no one has had a bee fly near them unless we went up to the hive to check on it. we pester the bees it is not the other way around.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

They don't stay away from me at the end of a long day.


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

My entire backyard is my bees flight path, all day long the fly back and forth across it, still rarely an issue, on occasion they take offense at my wife working the garden but it is quite rare. I love to watch them leave very quickly and fly back very slowly...great fun.


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