Bees, as useful as they are, can become annoying at times. Though passive in behaviour, they are drawn to anything that has a sweet smell. Fruit, cake, and in general anything with sugar in it will act as a magnet, attracting bees. And with this information you can start thinking about a bee trap.
If you notice an abnormal number of bees near your home, then a colony may be near and you should contact a bee removal company in order to help you get rid of them.
In the meantime, there is something that you can do in order to keep your home and family a bit safer. You can build bee traps and place them near the places where you generally spend time and see that bees tend to gather in order to divert them from their normal path.
Building a bee trap
Building a bee trap is extremely easy and cheap.
While there are more ways of doing this, the easiest and most effective one is using a plastic bottle, sugar and a bit of water.
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- With a knife, cut the plastic bottle one third from the neck and take off the cap.
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- Place the cut section neck-first into the body and tape the seam; This way, the bees will not be able to get out.
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- Dissolve some sugar in water and then power the resulting solution into the bottle. This will act as bait. You can also add a tbsp. of liquid laundry soap. This way, even if the bees escape, they will die from having been poisoned with soap. For bait, you can also use meat, soda and lemonade.
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- Drill two holes through the trap and put a cord through them in order to be able hang it in different places. It is usually to leave the trap hanging somewhere than to simply place it on the ground because the sweet smell of the sugary water will travel better this way, thus drawing more bees. This will also prevent ants from getting into the trap. Though bees will get stuck, ants will eventually find a way out.
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- Hang it in the sun. The heat will slowly evaporate the water and spread the sweet smell and will also slowly kill any bee caught inside.
Make a Bee Trap with plastic jug
You may also build a bee trap by using a plastic jug. Simply pour a bit of honey in it, then put the cap back on and punch a small, bee-sized hole in the side of the jug. The bees will be drawn into the trap by the smell of the honey, but they won’t be able to get out. The jug should be hung somewhere just like the bottle trap. The only downside of using a jug is that it will be harder to empty.
Remember to check these traps once every two weeks or so, in order to empty them of dead bees and, if needed, replace the bait. Also, remember the fact that other insects might also be attracted to them, such as ants and butterflies.