How to keep bees away from my balcony

Striper Club · 04-25-2006, 09:43 AM

I am on a top floor apt and have no flowers or any attractants...I don't see any nests or swarms, but a few of the buggers always seem to be about... I hate bees! Is there a good method to keep them away? It gets pretty windy so having a spray around will just wind up blowing back on me...

They are yellowjackets and wasps... I swear they home in on me because they know I hate them.

OceanBlue · 04-25-2006, 10:09 AM

Yellow jacket trap. Amuse yourself by watching them in the little tube, knowing they can't get back out again. :grin:

Snakebite · 04-25-2006, 10:15 AM

A lot of wasps hunt spiders. They're after them on my deck regularly. I don't know which is worse...well a spider never bit me that I know of. But bees are a different story.

traks44 · 04-25-2006, 10:19 AM

I dont know how this would help you, but.......

while workin on a thinning project for the State around Meacham this past summer we had huge problems. While we were workin if we found a nest we would put a raw hot-dog on a stick and put it over a bucket of water. The bees would eat so much they couldnt fly and fell in drowning themselves....we could then come back the next day and fall those trees around the nest.

I guess you could try something like that and see if it would help at all????

Striper Club · 04-25-2006, 10:34 AM

I thought about that, but wouldn't that just attract more bees? I suppose if they all get trapped, that is cool. I swear, there can be one single bee in the entire state and it would find me. For spiders, I plan on giving the balcony railings and sliding door frame a good coating of insect killer.

OceanBlue · 04-25-2006, 11:20 AM

Locate the trap about 20' away from the balcony if you can. It will attract more, but they'll be making a bee-line for the trap (pun intended)

Keep the trap baited with stinky old meat. smoked turkey, bologna work well. Scraps from raw tuna drives them crazy. They line up trying to get at it!

slabhunter · 04-25-2006, 07:11 PM

Just add a couple of drops of dishwashing soap to the water below the bait. The wet water will not allow them to set on the surface film; down they go.

DucterJim · 04-26-2006, 04:02 PM

Tie some dryer sheets of "Bounce" around area you want to protect. It works good for mosquitoes as well.

Jennie@ifish · 04-26-2006, 04:05 PM

Striper Club? It's you and me against the bees, OK?
Ready, set... let's kill 'em all!

I'm kidding, of course... but I am so allergic to bees! And panicked, because of it! Once I was stung under a toe on each foot, and my legs swelled so badly, I couldn't get my pants off! :depressed:

PapaHog · 04-27-2006, 08:53 AM

Shotgun I tell you. Just sit on the balcony with a shotgun and blast the little suckers out of this world.

A few thousand of them and the rest might get the idea they are not welcome.

Striper Club · 04-27-2006, 09:06 AM

See Jennie? Papahog just gave us our solution.

That may violate my lease though...dang.

DucterJim - What kind of Bounce sheet coverage is needed? I like that idea!

StickFish · 04-27-2006, 09:11 AM

Gumout, WD40, favorite hair spray, etc. and a bic lighter is what I used in School - also good for going under dorm room doors to surprise your "buddies"

DucterJim · 04-27-2006, 02:40 PM

Striper Club

Not sure how many would be needed depends on if area is open to wind and overall shape. For mosquitos I use one sheet tied to my back and one pinned to hat. In a tent with yellow jackets out and about I used one sheet. The Bounce sheets have lots of uses, I have a write up somewhere ane will try to find it.

DucterJim · 04-27-2006, 02:45 PM

I found the Bounce info I have tried a number of the suggestions for uses and all seem to work. DucterJim

Bounce This Along. . .My mail carrier told me that the US Postal service sent out a message to all letter carriers to put a sheet of Bounce in their uniform pockets to keep yellow-jackets away. I use them all the time when playing baseball and soccer. I use it when I am working outside. It really works. The yellow jackets just veer around you. 1. All this time you've just been putting Bounce in the dryer! It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them. It also repels mice.2. Spread sheets around foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.3. It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don't get opened too often.4. It repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.5. Eliminate static electricity from your television (or computer) screen.6. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling.7. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.8. To freshen the air in your home - Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.9. Put Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.10. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.11. Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.12. To freshen the air in your car - Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.13. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan.14. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.15. Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.16. Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.17. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.18. Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.19. Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight.20. Golfers put a Bounce sheet! in their back pocket to keep the bees away.21. Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them. It will keep them smelling fresh.

Striper Club · 04-27-2006, 03:05 PM

Cool! I had no idea. :smile:

Striper Club · 04-27-2006, 09:18 PM

I put a dryer sheet between the support and canvas of my patio umbrella. My patio area now smells like fresh laundry, which is pretty nice. If it keeps the bugs away, then all the better. =D

Striper Club · 05-01-2006, 10:56 AM

So far, so good. Will see when it gets hot again. I did find a dead yellowjacket, but that was most likely due to all the poison I sprayed on the doorframe.

Patio still smells like clean clothes.