Pool Time! But....bees....

[Desertmouse]

so thanks to a diy solar water heater (kinda) and pool cover our pool hit 82 Monday and yesterday we got up to 85 woohoo! I love the pool! However...I am irrationally afraid of bees and wasps. They are biggest thing that keeps me out of the pool.i swear the neighbors think I’m insane since I tend to yip in fear when I see one and run to safety. I don’t have a good reason for being afraid, I’m not allergic or anything, but I just can’t help it.

Has anyone had any luck keeping them away? I would really prefer to not kill any bees, they are so important (besides I’m a honey addict). Or perhaps someone has found a way to get over such silly fears?

I tried the dryer sheet thing and it didn’t help much.

 

[Kieka]

When I was a kid we had a pool. I never knew a good way to keep them away and got stung and bit quiet a few times. Maybe if you set up a bee drinking dish slightly higher and to the side the bees will head that way instead?

 

[Desertmouse]

When I was a kid we had a pool. I never knew a good way to keep them away and got stung and bit quiet a few times. Maybe if you set up a bee drinking dish slightly higher and to the side the bees will head that way instead?

That is actually one of the suggestions I found online, unfortunately they say you need to do it before you open/uncover your pool for the season I should have thought ahead more.

 

[miagi's_mommy]

Bees won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. wasps are another story....

 

[Winchester]

Fortunately we have bees that like to hang out in the flower beds around the house and they tend to stay away from the pool. I don't know how well this works, but I was told to not wear anything with a fragrance when I'm around the pool area. That includes heavy scents in sunscreens. Don't know if it works.

I am allergic to bee stings; my mother was, too. I always have an Epi-Pen close by.

 

[denice]

I don't know where you live but there are psychologists who specialize in phobias, they often also specialize in PTSD the technique used is the same for both. It is a technique involving gradual sensory exposure to desensitize.

 

[Desertmouse]

Thank you guys so much!

 

[Candybee]

I'd get me a bunch of citronella tiki torches to put around the pool. Those smoke a lot so even if the citronella smell doesn't drive them away the smoke should.

 

[Desertmouse]

I'd get me a bunch of citronella tiki torches to put around the pool. Those smoke a lot so even if the citronella smell doesn't drive them away the smoke should.

Oh! That’s perfect! Thank you, I am so trying this this weekend!

 

[tabbysia]

so thanks to a diy solar water heater (kinda) and pool cover our pool hit 82 Monday and yesterday we got up to 85 woohoo! I love the pool! However...I am irrationally afraid of bees and wasps. They are biggest thing that keeps me out of the pool.i swear the neighbors think I’m insane since I tend to yip in fear when I see one and run to safety. I don’t have a good reason for being afraid, I’m not allergic or anything, but I just can’t help it.

Has anyone had any luck keeping them away? I would really prefer to not kill any bees, they are so important (besides I’m a honey addict). Or perhaps someone has found a way to get over such silly fears?

I tried the dryer sheet thing and it didn’t help much.

I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions for getting rid of the bees other than spraying them and killing them. I can empathize with your fear of bees and wasps though. I have always been deathly afraid of them too, even though I am not allergic (as far as I know) and have never been stung. I will run and scream like a fool if one comes near me. Unfortunately, the red wasps and yellow jackets seem to be especially attracted to my house like a magnet. I get a short reprieve from them in the winter, but now that spring has sprung and the weather has warmed up, they are back with a vengeance. I can't even open my front door at the moment because there is a wasp nest above the door, and I really need to retrieve a package that is on my front porch!

I had a huge problem with bumblebees a few years ago (which are really scary) because they were attracted to some kind of bush I had that had flowers on it--don't know what it was called, but it was right near my carport, so opening my car door was always scary. After I removed the bush, the problem was solved. Maybe you have some kind of plants or bushes in your yard that the bees are attracted to?

 

[Desertmouse]

I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions for getting rid of the bees other than spraying them and killing them. I can empathize with your fear of bees and wasps though. I have always been deathly afraid of them too, even though I am not allergic (as far as I know) and have never been stung. I will run and scream like a fool if one comes near me. Unfortunately, the red wasps and yellow jackets seem to be especially attracted to my house like a magnet. I get a short reprieve from them in the winter, but now that spring has sprung and the weather has warmed up, they are back with a vengeance. I can't even open my front door at the moment because there is a wasp nest above the door, and I really need to retrieve a package that is on my front porch!

I had a huge problem with bumblebees a few years ago (which are really scary) because they were attracted to some kind of bush I had that had flowers on it--don't know what it was called, but it was right near my carport, so opening my car door was always scary. After I removed the bush, the problem was solved. Maybe you have some kind of plants or bushes in your yard that the bees are attracted to?

Oh wow I feel for you. I’m even more afraid of wasps then I am bees! Have you tried calling pest control? I know once they (and their nest) is gone there are fake wasp nests that you can try hanging that supposedly will keep them away. If the tiki torches work this weekend then maybe that means that citronella will work (which is a cheap essential oil you can buy). If it is I know I’m going to put a bottle in my handbag to put on every time I see them out and about, maybe you can do the same?

Sadly it’s not a bush or plant that is drawing them, but the pool itself. After looking into it a bit, it seems that bees are attracted to “scented” water and seem to like the smell of the chemicals used in the pool. In fact I read this on a forum for beekeepers who were having trouble getting their bees to drink the water they set out and would rather travel like 30 acres (I think that was the number) to a pool to drink. What drives me nuts is that in my area I would say that 7 out of 10 houses have a pool in their backyard (not that it’s a rich area, it’s just that it’s Arizona and pools can be used a lot longer and can be a good way to cool off, even if you have to swim at night). And it feels like they all seem to find me ‍. I swear they know I’m afraid.

 

[tabbysia]

Maybe they can smell your fear?
I swear they are evil. I have spent so much money on vet bills lately that I'm afraid pest control is out of the question. I might ask my brother to come and knock the nests down--there are several. He seems to have no fear of anything and would probably enjoy it. He does set ant beds on fire after all. I might try the citronella in the meantime, but I'm thinking I might also just have to go buy a big can of wasp spray--if I can only find the courage to walk up to them to use it! I had never heard of bees being attracted to pool water--that's interesting. It makes me glad I don't have a pool!

 

[Desertmouse]

Maybe they can smell your fear?
I swear they are evil. I have spent so much money on vet bills lately that I'm afraid pest control is out of the question. I might ask my brother to come and knock the nests down--there are several. He seems to have no fear of anything and would probably enjoy it. He does set ant beds on fire after all. I might try the citronella in the meantime, but I'm thinking I might also just have to go buy a big can of wasp spray--if I can only find the courage to walk up to them to use it! I had never heard of bees being attracted to pool water--that's interesting. It makes me glad I don't have a pool!

Funny, I have s brother like that to! When he was just ten he took a baseball bat to a wasp nest, brothers are insane.

 

[Candybee]

I once had a huge wasp's nest bigger than a football hanging over my backyard lawn from my oak tree. I didn't even know it was there until fall after the leaves all came off. Then I saw this huge wasp nest and wondered how on earth was I able to mow the lawn under the tree without getting stung?!!

Luckily I live in an area where it gets cold temps in the winter in the 20-30's so the wasps left or died or something. The nest was blown down one windy winters day and I found it, empty, on the ground one day.

When I first saw the nest though I tried calling around for estimates at pest control places. The cost would have been around $400 to get rid of it. But the pest control guy told me I could just wait to winter that they would either leave or hybernate and I could get rid of it then.

Now yellow jackets are another story. I get them in my yard about every other year. I "find" them when I do my mowing in the summer. Can't tell you how many times I've been stung by yellow jackets. They are the ones that burrow in the ground. They are almost impossible to get rid of unless you pour gasoline down their hole and that is a no no here. Pesticides, powders, sprays, foamers, etc. don't do jack. Fortunately, they also disappear in the winter too. Then I can plug up the hole so they won't come back next summer.

Bees I will take anyday over yellow jackets or hornets and wasps.

What I am really scared about are those humongous Japanese killer hornets making there way to the US. Its possible with all the ways we transport cargo and people that the hornets could find a way to hitch a ride. I just pray that never happens!

 

[Desertmouse]

I once had a huge wasp's nest bigger than a football hanging over my backyard lawn from my oak tree. I didn't even know it was there until fall after the leaves all came off. Then I saw this huge wasp nest and wondered how on earth was I able to mow the lawn under the tree without getting stung?!!

Luckily I live in an area where it gets cold temps in the winter in the 20-30's so the wasps left or died or something. The nest was blown down one windy winters day and I found it, empty, on the ground one day.

When I first saw the nest though I tried calling around for estimates at pest control places. The cost would have been around $400 to get rid of it. But the pest control guy told me I could just wait to winter that they would either leave or hybernate and I could get rid of it then.

Now yellow jackets are another story. I get them in my yard about every other year. I "find" them when I do my mowing in the summer. Can't tell you how many times I've been stung by yellow jackets. They are the ones that burrow in the ground. They are almost impossible to get rid of unless you pour gasoline down their hole and that is a no no here. Pesticides, powders, sprays, foamers, etc. don't do jack. Fortunately, they also disappear in the winter too. Then I can plug up the hole so they won't come back next summer.

Bees I will take anyday over yellow jackets or hornets and wasps.

What I am really scared about are those humongous Japanese killer hornets making there way to the US. Its possible with all the ways we transport cargo and people that the hornets could find a way to hitch a ride. I just pray that never happens!

That is just terror inducing! I never thought about the killer hornets coming here....that’s....that’s....just wrong! We already have our share of scary things! It shouldn’t be allowed!

I’m so sorry about all the wasps but at least your winters get rid of them. They make these Wasp Repellent - Fake Wasp Nest - Natural Wasp Deterrent that might help if you can put it up before any other wasps set up shop.