Most of the species emerge in mid-spring and as far insects are concerned, sweat bees forage throughout the summer. They are small in size and come in a range of colors, ranging from bronze, green, and black. Just like regular bees, sweat bees are attracted to flowers and are helpful pollinators.
But as gross as it sounds, sweat bees are attracted to sweat as well. Though they are considered pollinators, sweat bees need salt in their diet for which they rely on human sweat. We have covered everything you need on how to get rid of sweat bees if you have been noticing a swarm of sweat bees in your garden or are stuck in an area with them following you.
How To Get Rid Of Sweat Bees And Save Yourself From Them?
When outside on a hot summer day, it is common to see following sweat bees hovering around you for your sweat. They are annoying and can sting you if feel attacked or in danger. It can cause pain, stinging, and swelling around the skin. Here we have listed some ways how to get rid of sweat bees and not let them bother you anymore.
1] Set Up A Bee Trap Outside Your Home
If for some reason you notice a swarm of sweat bees hovering around your yard or garden in the summertime, you can set up a bee trap outside your home or wherever needed. They are easily available on online shopping sites or you can even DIY one.
For a DIY bee trap model set up you need to make bait out of sugar, honey, or fruit nectar with a soap mixture kept inside a bucket or container with a funnel-shaped opening. This will lure the sweat bees inside the container to the sweet aroma of sugar contents inside it, and once trapped they will not be able to exit the container due to its small opening.
2] Bee Spray Can Help
Another easy remedy for how to get rid of sweat bees is to use a bee spray on them from a slight distance. The spray first paralysis them or makes them drowsy and then kills them. If you do not have a bee spray at the moment, you can use a mixture of vinegar and soap water and keep it in a spray bottle to use whenever needed.
Due to the vinegar’s smell, it will repel the bee, and the soap mixture will create a slimy layer on the sweat bee, making it difficult for them to sting. If you do not like using a spray on bees, you can use a bee repellent on your body that will keep bees away from you due to the smell emitted by the repellents.
3] Use Essential Oils On Your Body
In olden times when people did not have access to bee repellents, they used to apply essential oils on their bodies. Citrus oils, Eucalyptus, and Peppermint essential oils are some of the examples that you can apply on your body to get rid of the sweat bees. The pungent smell of citrus essential oils keeps the bees away from you.
Sweat bees also have a distaste for basil, clove, and citronella essential oils. Apply it with a cotton ball on the exposed parts of your body or your whole body to repel the bees away from you. Make sure that you are not allergic to the essential oils that you are using on the body.
4] Selective Plantation In Garden Can Help A Lot
Another natural way how to get rid of sweat bees is to go for a selective plantation in your garden. Limit to fewer flowering plants to avoid a large swarm of bees entering your garden. Less the number of flowering plants in your garden, number of bees hovering will come down. Go for trumpet-shaped flowers which makes it difficult for the bees to collect nectar from it.
Plant Peppermint, Eucalyptus, and Lemongrass in your garden which are natural repellants for sweat bees. If you have a lot of flowering plants in your garden, you can scatter cucumber peels or cloves all around to keep the sweat bees at bay.
5] Take A Bath Before Going Out
One of the most obvious ways to keep away the sweat bees is to maintain personal hygiene. Before stepping out in the sun, take a bath and wear a fresh set of clothes. This will make you smell fresh and you will have less sweat coming out of your body. As sweat bees are attracted to the salts in the sweat, they will not hover around you if you sweat less. Also, wear full sleeves and comfortable clothes to make your body less exposed to heat and the bees.
6] Keep Your Garden Soil Wet And Remove Pile Of Bricks Lying Around In Your Garden
Sweat bees only love perspiration but hate nourished or watered soils. You can set up a sprinkler method set up at your garden that will water your lawn at continuous intervals. This will prevent the bees from nesting in their homes in your garden and will attract them less.
You must also remove a pile of bricks lying around in the garden as they are one of the favorite places of sweat bees to camp. As bees will have nothing to build their nest/home upon, they will visit your garden less frequently and bother you less. It is one of the easiest methods on how to get rid of sweat bees and also keeps your garden looking beautiful and less crowded.
Conclusion
Getting rid of sweat bees is not difficult. One only needs to know appropriate ways how to get rid of sweat bees. You can contact a bee removal company to remove the bees completely from your home if it is bothering you too much. But the above-mentioned methods are sufficient to keep the sweat bees at bay. Some people also suggest gasoline to remove bees from their place but they are not good for the environment and must be avoided if possible.
FAQs
1] Do sweat bees attack?
Sweat bees are generally nonattackers but can sting if they feel threatened. They will not do anything if left alone and if you find them on your body for your sweat, gently brush them off without irritating them.
2] Are sweat bees’ pollinators?
Sweat bees are helpful pollinators and collect nectars from flowers to pollinate, just like regular bees. But they are also attracted to human sweat due to its salt content hence the name.
3] What do sweat bees look like?
Sweat bees are smaller in size than regular bees ranging from 3mm to 10 mm in length. They are shiny and bronze, brownish or greenish.
Get Rid Of Sweat Bees Through These Effective Methods
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Sweat bees can be annoying, especially when in large numbers and coming at you for your sweat. If you are looking to how to get rid of sweat bees, then here is the solution.
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