How to stop wood bees

8 Simple Ways to Prevent Carpenter Bees from Moving In

The sun is out; the flowers are blooming; the bees are buzzing — spring is finally here! However, sometimes the buzz of bees is not always a welcome sound, especially when you start to notice nickel-sized holes in your house or patio furniture.

These holes are likely caused by carpenter bees, appropriately named for their habit of drilling holes in wood. Unlike mason and leafcutter bees, which use existing holes to lay their eggs and don't cause damage to the structures they live in, carpenter bees are wood-boring insects that can cause moderate damage. It's important to note that carpenter bees do not eat wood like termites or carpenter ants. However, when they drill holes for their nests, problems like water retention, decay, and rot can occur if left unchecked for multiple years.

If carpenter bees have decided to call your home their home, it can be tempting to use insecticides to kill the bees, but we strongly urge you to try less harmful techniques before reaching for the chemicals. Why? First, carpenter bees are incredibly effective buzz pollinators. Second, insecticide use for carpenter bees can also harm other local pollinators—like mason and leafcutter bees (among others)!

Learn how pesticides can move from yard to yard in our The Importance of a Pesticide-Free Yard article.

Many of our bee raisers have asked us what they can do to prevent carpenter bees from moving into their houses, decks, and lawn furniture without harming other resident pollinators. Which we thought was a great (and timely) question to answer in this month's bee blog post!

But, before we jump into how to safely stop carpenter bees from nesting where you'd rather they didn't, we want to take a minute to make sure you know how to identify carpenter bees from the other buzz pollinators in your yard and garden.

Identifying Carpenter Bees and Signs of an Infestation

Carpenter bees are the largest native bee species in the United States. They are typically all black, or black and yellow, and are frequently seen in spring hovering around the eaves of a house or the underside of a deck—the ones around my house routinely bump into our windows each morning to announce their presence.

Carpenter bees are often mistaken for bumble bees, but an easy way to tell the difference is that carpenter bees have shiny black abdomens, whereas bumble bees have hairy abdomens. Don't be afraid of their large size or seemingly aggressive nature! Males, which have white stripes on their faces, do not have stingers, and while females can sting, they are unlikely to do so unless you're handling them or sticking your fingers inside their nests (which we don't recommend).

Remember, just because you have carpenter bees flying around your yard and house doesn't necessarily mean they're drilling holes in your home. A few things to look (and listen) for:

Deep, nickel-sized holes perfectly drilled into wood;

Wood shavings or sawdust in and around the hole;

Carpenter bee poop may appear as yellowish-brown staining on the wood beneath the hole;

If you listen closely, you may be able to hear faint chewing sounds inside the wood;

Males will often hover outside the nesting hole while the female is working inside.

Bee-Friendly Remedies - How to Deter Carpenter Bees?

Prevention is the primary approach to managing carpenter bees! Typical carpenter bee nesting sites include eaves, rafters, fascia boards, siding, wooden shingles, decks, and patio furniture.

Prevention Techniques

Carpenter bees prefer weathered wood, especially softwood such as redwood, cedar, cypress, and pine. If possible, use hardwoods to construct exterior areas susceptible to carpenter bee nests. Carpenter bees typically avoid hardwoods for nest building.

Carpenter bees prefer unpainted wood. Paint, varnish, or pressure-treat exterior wood regularly to reduce weathering and deter bees from nesting.

While carpenter bees are capable of building their nests from scratch, they can be opportunists and use existing cracks and depressions as starter holes. Fill any pits and gaps in wood surfaces so they are less attractive to bees.

Provide homes specifically for carpenter bees. Do this by placing a few scrap blocks of wood around your yard. Some sources recommend providing large nesting holes or pre-drilling wood blocks for the carpenter bees. We're not saying this tactic won't work, but carpenter bees have evolved to be wood-boring bees, so we prefer giving them wood to drill their own nesting holes. This method keeps the bees around to help pollinate your yard and garden!

If you find any unoccupied holes, you can fill them with steel wool and caulk to prevent their reuse. Wait until the new bees have emerged before filling the tunnels. Waiting allows your garden to reap the benefits of these fantastic pollinators—the damage is already done after all. Once filled, paint or varnish the repaired surfaces.

Carpenter bees (and other social wasps) will avoid nesting in the same area as wasps. Try building a fake wasp nest. Inflate a paper bag, cinch the end closed, and hang the paper bag under the eave of your house. While this technique deters carpenter bees from building new nests, it will not cause them to leave existing nests.

Almond oil and citrus oil are carpenter bee repellents. A good way to deter females from nesting is to spray a layer of almond oil/water mixture on any susceptible areas. Do this a few times throughout the spring to discourage bees from nesting. If bees have already taken up residence, you can apply a bit of oil directly to the nesting holes.

Another strategy to encourage female carpenter bees to relocate is playing music or hanging a wind chime near the nest. The sounds and vibrations are disruptive to the bees and may inspire them to nest elsewhere after a few days of consistent noise.

We hope this post helps give you a few bee-friendly ideas to help prevent carpenter bees from becoming a nuisance! Remember, they are native, beneficial pollinators, and most of the time, we can avoid damage to our homes and furniture by using the preventive measures described above. Trust us, the other pollinators in your yard and garden will thank you for trying these non-chemical options first!

To stay up-to-date on bee-raising tips and reminders, events, pollinator research, and sustainability insights, sign up for our monthly BeeMail newsletter and follow us on social media!

Apr 11th 2022 Kim Stevens

How to Stop Carpenter Bees from Destroying Your Wood Structures

Xylocopa

Ah, springtime!

Don’t you just love the glorious profusion of new life as gardens and landscapes wake up from their long sleep? The days get longer, flowers and trees blossom, and birds, butterflies, and cute critters return from their winter respite.

And, oh yes… so do the pests.

Pests like carpenter bees. With their giveaway, dime-sized holes that they chew in your wooden structures to build nests.

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Now, it’s hard to get mad at these little insects, because they’re important pollinators. They’re docile as can be, and rarely sting, doing so only when forced to. In fact, the males don’t even have stingers – although they put on a good show of buzzing intruders.

But they do like to nest in dead wood. And structural components like beams, eaves, posts, and siding are all fair game.

To be fair, they don’t actually eat the wood and won’t devour a building like carpenter ants or termites do. And damage is usually minor and cosmetic in nature. But if left unchecked, over time the damage can worsen and lead to more serious problems such as decay, moisture retention, and rot.

So, if you think carpenter bees have set up shop in your shop, please read on.

We have everything you need to identify a possible infestation and how to be rid of it – naturally if possible, but we dish on chemical warfare too!

Identification and Biology
Predators
Nesting and Favored Habitats
How to Identify Nesting Sites
Organic and Chemical Control Methods
1. Bee Hotels
2. Citrus Oil
3. Dress Exposed Wood
4. Fill Abandoned Holes
5. Hang a Decoy Wasp Nest
6. Lay a Trap
7. Turn Up the Tunes
8. Use a Tennis Racket
9. Insecticide Spray
10. Carburetor Cleaner and WD40
11. Petroleum

Identification and Biology

Carpenter, or borer bees, are in the genus Xylocopa of the Apidae family, with hundreds of species in several subgenera found around the world.

They’re aptly named for their nesting behavior of burrowing into dead wood to establish tunnels in order to lay eggs.

Featuring short mouthparts, carpenters are important pollinators on open-faced or shallow flowers and those that form lids. And for some species, like the maypop (Passiflora incarnata) and sea rose (Orphium frutescens), they’re the only pollinator.

Naturally docile, males don’t have stingers – although they will hover close to animals and people that approach nest sites. And the females only sting when aggressively provoked or handled.

Xylocopa are most active in the period of mid-late spring to early summer when they’re looking for suitable mates and nesting sites.

Measuring 1/2 to 1 inch in length, there are numerous variations to their colorings, many with black and yellow or black and orange markings. They have shiny, smooth abdomens, black in color with females often displaying metallic tones.

And there are some that have iridescent wings, as well as species with bright blue or chartreuse body hair.

Unlike many species that live in large colonies, carpenters are not social insects.

After mating, males will stick around to protect the nest. But it’s a solitary female that constructs the nest, forming long tunnels into which she lays the eggs.

Once laid, eggs go through another two stages of development, larva and pupa, before they emerge as adults approximately seven weeks later.

In several species, females may live near their own daughters or sisters, creating a small family social group.

Many species are similar in size and shape to bumblebees, and the two are often confused. And they’re often misidentified as ground-burrowing species as well.

Predators

Natural predators include badgers, mantises, predatory flies, and some birds such as bee-eaters, shrikes, and woodpeckers.

Unfortunately, woodpeckers will cause more damage by drilling into the wood beside nests to get at the grubs.

Nesting and Favored Habitats

Carpenter bees don’t actually eat wood. The females bore holes by using their mandibles as a rasp against the wood while vigorously vibrating their bodies.

Each nest features a single entrance that usually spreads to connecting tunnels, called cells – these are the nurseries where eggs are deposited. A new gallery measures around 4-6 inches in length, but those reused over several years can be 10 feet long!

Their favorite building material is soft, unpainted, and aged wood, although there are species that prefer hard woods.

And any wooden structure is suitable. Arbors, decks, eaves, fascia boards, gates, patio furniture, pergolas, porch ceilings, posts, siding, and window trim are all suitable sites.

Once the cell is ready, the mother provisions each one with a platform of pollen and nectar, called a pollen loaf, upon which a single egg is laid. She then partitions the cell with a wall of chewed wood pulp. Larvae will feed on the pollen loaf until they emerge from the nest.

Adult carpenters will often overwinter in their original tunnels or find abandoned ones, which they stock with pollen to survive the cold. The ones that survive the winter will emerge in spring to mate, with both the males and females dying after mating and laying eggs.

How to Identify Nesting Sites

The most obvious signs of an infestation are the round, half-inch holes that carpenters bore into wood as an entry point.

And if you spot several males hovering in one spot, it’s a good indication that a female, and her nest, are usually nearby.

In addition to the entry holes, there may also be a small pile of fresh sawdust outside the hole, scraping sounds from within the wood, or a fan-shaped stain below the opening.

Organic and Chemical Control Methods

Here are a few natural methods to make your home less attractive as a nesting site:

1. Bee Hotels

Hotels are constructed of removable bamboo, paper, or wood tubes housed in a small frame.

Typically used to provide nesting sites for garden-friendly pollinators like mason bees, hotels may provide an alternate site for females looking to nest.

JCs Wildlife Small Poly Lumber Bee House

This well-designed hotel that’s available on Amazon is a popular one, with a tough poly frame and charred pine burrows.

2. Citrus Oil

Citrus oil is a safe, natural repellent that carpenter bees dislike, and you can easily make your own at home.

Cut up a selection of peels from a variety of citrus fruits, place in a pan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool, then strain and pour the water into a spray bottle.

Douse the nest with your spray and reapply until all the females have relocated, then repair and paint the wood as described in the next tip.

I haven’t tried citrus oil for insects, but it is my personal favorite to prevent deer from grazing in the garden. And it repels rodents as well.

Pure Cold Pressed Orange Oil Concentrate, 32 oz. (D-Limonene)

If you’re not inclined to make your own spray, you can pick some up online. Like this one-quart bottle of orange oil available on Amazon – it has 80-95 percent D-limonene, the active ingredient in citrus oils.

3. Dress Exposed Wood

It’s easier to be proactive in discouraging carpenters than it is to react to their destructive burrowing.

To dissuade them from starting nests, paint all exposed surfaces with a primer and two coats of exterior paint. Stains and varnishes also offer some protection but are less effective than paint.

Before you paint, fill all cracks, nail holes, and splinters with caulk, putty, or wood filler as any existing damage provides an appealing point to start a nest.

4. Fill Abandoned Holes

As overwintering adults emerge in spring and new ones come out in late summer, stuff the entrances with caulk, a dowel, wadded aluminum foil, spray foam insulation, or steel wool.

Smooth the surface and paint as outlined above.

5. Hang a Decoy Wasp Nest

Carpenter bees will avoid nesting in the same area as wasps.

To mimic the shape and size of a wasp nest, stuff a brown paper bag with lightweight material such as moss, paper, or plastic bags. Tie off the open end with a length of string and hang it in the area you want to protect.

Keep in mind that this only works to deter them from building new nests – it won’t keep insects away from an existing nest in the area.

Waspinator, Set of 3

You can pick up a 3-pack of decoy wasp nests now on Amazon.

6. Lay a Trap

An easy method to get rid of your infestation is to place a trap near the nest.

A trap consists of a wooden top with angled holes drilled into it and a plastic container or jar attached to the bottom.

Because of the angle of the holes, the only light source comes from the bottom. The bees enter the hole, head for the light in the jar, then can’t get back out.

Traps should be located directly above an active nest. It may take a while for the trap to work, but once one or two have entered and released pheromones, others will be attracted to the site as well.

Original B Brothers-Carpenter Bee Trap

If you’re handy with woodworking, you can make your own. Or you can pick them up at pest control and garden shops or online – like these from Original B Brothers, available on Amazon.

7. Turn Up the Tunes

It turns out that bees communicate through vibroacoustics, and they can “hear” low frequency sounds of up to 500 Hz.

This makes them sensitive to vibrations, and they can be encouraged to vacate nests by playing loud music close by.

Choose music with a deep, reverberating bass line (a bass guitar has low frequencies) and place the speaker right against the wall beside their location – then crank up the volume!

Once the females have vacated, plug the hole and paint.

8. Use a Tennis Racket

In the spring when bees are most actively seeking nesting sites, you can dispatch flying critters with a good backhand.

Use an old badminton, tennis, or squash racket and patrol on a sunny day, giving a smack to those eyeing up your wood.

9. Insecticide Spray

Deterring carpenters with natural solutions is the preferred method, but if you must pull out the big guns, here’s our first suggestion:

Products like flying insect sprays will kill the queen and her eggs.

Use a liquid or aerosol product with an extension tube and apply directly into the hole. Application should be done at night while they’re resting, or in early spring before they emerge from hibernation.

If you choose this method, always read and follow label instructions and wear protective gear as needed.

10. Carburetor Cleaner and WD40

An alternative to insecticides is to use an aerosol such as carburetor cleaner or WD40.

These petroleum-based products will effectively kill any insects. Use a spray with an extension tube to get into the tunnels.

11. Petroleum

A little gasoline in a spray bottle can be an effective homemade insecticide as well.

Spray the entrance regularly until there’s no more activity.

This is a technique likely used by your grandparents in the past. We don’t recommend it and would choose another method. It may not even be (bee?) legal with the stricter environmental laws that are in place today in many areas.

Of course, petroleum and petroleum-based products are highly flammable and should never be used near an open flame or an ignition source. When finished, be sure to label your spray bottle to avoid accidental misuse, and don’t store in the house or in high temperature environments such as outbuildings without air conditions.

We are not responsible for accidents or Darwin Award winners. Use at your own risk!

With all chemical applications, avoid getting the products on your skin or inhaling the fumes. Wear eye protection, a respirator, and gloves when applying chemical products.

Buzz Off!

With a little seasonal maintenance of your wooden structures, you can do a lot to prevent carpenter bee infestations.

Keep up a regime of repairing any damaged wooden surfaces, repair holes on a regular basis, and paint surfaces.

If you do have an existing infestation, try one of the solutions above or hire a pest control expert to do it for you.

But please remember that these are gentle little creatures performing a vital service for our well-being! If possible, lure them out and tell them to buzz off before resorting to killing them.

Do you folks have any favorite solutions for getting rid of these flying insects? Shoot us a line in the comments below. And be sure to check our guides on garden diseases and insects for other pest solutions, or buzz on over to these articles to increase your knowledge:

Integrated Pest Management: What Is It, and How to Use It?
23 Beneficial Insects and Other Creepy Crawlies That Your Garden Will Love
Extend the Season and Keep Pests Out with Floating Row Covers

folk remedies and chemicals to bring out wild bees

We live in a private house and one day we noticed that someone was buzzing above the ceiling. The sound was heard both on the first floor and from the attic.

The husband dismantled part of the cladding of the house from the outside and found a bee nest under it. We did not do anything ourselves and called a beekeeper from the village. He came in a special suit and pulled out the nest. The bees didn't show up anymore.

Since you are talking about other insects, where do bees come from in houses? And what if there is no beekeeper neighbor?

Andrey Nenastiev

drove the bees out of his house on his own

Author's profile

Bees and wasps start in the house because they are warm and comfortable there. If there are places where you can fly freely and where people do not go, insects settle in them. If there is an apiary nearby, then the probability of getting such neighbors is higher.

I will tell you how you can fight the bees on your own and prevent them from making nests again.

Why start with humane methods

Bees bring many benefits and are important for the ecosystem, so it is better not to destroy them, but first try to move the hive to another place. It's risky, but if you follow security measures, it's possible.

The bees can still return to their old place. To avoid this, beekeepers advise moving the hive to an existing one. For example, find wild bees in the forest or look for an apiary in the neighborhood. Then the families of bees will mix, and, perhaps, all will remain in one place.

But sometimes the situation is hopeless: bees are dangerous for the inhabitants of the house, especially for children. Then the insects need to be evicted as quickly and efficiently as possible. I will talk about all the methods of dealing with bees, but some of them cannot be called humane. If you know more efficient and gentle ways, tell us in the comments.

How to prepare for the fight against bees

There are wild bees - they fly in from the forest, as well as domestic bees that have flown in from the apiary. It is better to deal with wild bees at the beginning of spring: at this time there are fewer insects in the hive, and the risk that they will bite is lower. It is recommended to expel domestic bees at the end of winter, when the insects are as weak as possible due to the cold.

People come to bee nests late in the evening or early in the morning: at this time all the bees are at home, but the peak of their activity has not yet come or has already passed.

Before the operation to drive out the bees, you need to dress in such a way that there are no exposed parts of the body. Bees can bite through thin fabric, so you need a tight jacket and pants. If available, wear a hat with a mosquito net. If you use chemicals, the activity of the bees may persist for some time. Therefore, it is better to work not in shales, but in rubber boots.

Bees are sensitive to any smell. Before anti-bee activities, it is better not to smoke or drink, even for courage: bees can smell alcohol vapors or the smell of tobacco and attack first.

If the bee nevertheless stings, you need to check if there is a sting left in the place of the bite. If yes, then remove it with tweezers. The bite site should be treated with hydrogen peroxide or a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then apply cold. You can also take an antihistamine, such as Claritin or Tavegil, to relieve swelling.

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How to get rid of bees with folk remedies

Sulfur wick. This is a device that is used by masters of wooden barrels to disinfect them. This is an old and inhumane method of dealing with bees. The wick is set on fire - it starts emitting sulfuric smoke, from which the bees die.

The method will work if the burning fuse can be safely planted in close proximity to the hive. But, as a rule, this is not possible.

Gasoline. Filling the nest with gasoline will kill the insects. It is poured out of a container or sprayed with an airbrush. Method unsafe: gasoline is toxic and flammable. In addition, it is difficult to get close to the hive even with a bucket of gasoline, because the nests are usually located high.

Recordings with birdsong. Bees are afraid of loud sound, and also the singing of birds. These two factors are combined. Speakers are placed next to the hive and recordings of bird voices are turned on as loudly as possible. Perhaps the bees will leave the hive voluntarily. True, it is possible that they will return as soon as the owners turn off the sound.

Smoke from fires. Bees do not like smoke, so the nest can be fumigated with smoke from a fire. To do this, you should set fire to dry branches, garbage or make a barbecue near the beehive when the wind is in its direction.

But if the hive is well hidden in a wall or in an attic, there is little chance that the smoke will penetrate there.

Vinegar, beer or juice traps. You can buy bee traps in stores or make your own from a plastic bottle: it is cut in half, and then the top is turned over and inserted into the bottom part with the neck down. A vinegar solution is poured onto the bottom at the rate of 7-8 ml per 1 liter of water. Instead of vinegar, you can pour beer, juice, compote or any other sweet drink. Drinks are taken by eye.

Drinks are designed to lure insects into a trap through which they can no longer fly back out. Traps are placed in places where bees fly. Bottles can be nailed to carnations or hung on a rope.

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Traps are placed in places where bees fly. Bottles can be nailed to carnations or hung on a rope.

Mounting foam. If you know exactly the places where the bees enter the hive in the house, you can seal the gaps with mounting foam. Thus, the bees are deprived of the road to the nest.

How to get rid of bees in other ways

You can eliminate the hives with the help of smoke and insecticides.

Smoke-out. Professional beekeepers fumigate hives with smoke to reduce bee activity. When the bees feel the smoke, they tighten their stingers and go into the hive. Beekeepers get smoke with the help of a special installation - a smoker. This is a device similar to a kettle, inside of which burning wood chips are laid. There are smokers with hand bellows - they need to be pumped in order for smoke to come out. And there are electric ones - it's much more convenient.

When the hive is fumigated and the bees have calmed down, the nest is taken with hands in thick gloves and transferred to another place.

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Use of chemicals. This is an extreme measure that we do not recommend. Bees are poisoned with universal insecticides. You can do it yourself or call an exterminator.

5000 Р

on average, the exterminator will take for the destruction of one hive

Get, Medilis-Ziper, Smelnet, Moskitol or ordinary dichlorvos are used against bees. The means are sprayed into the hive, after a day the procedure is repeated. Only after that the nest is removed and burned.

Insecticides can be sprayed with a spray gun or spray gun, or diluted in water and loaded into traps. To do this, a solution of poison and water must be mixed with 150 ml of honey. The mixture is poured into traps, which are placed as close as possible to the hive.

How I drove out the bees

We encountered bees two years after we bought a private house. My wife noticed that insects often flew under the roof. Our roof is covered with ondulin, it is wavy like slate - bees climbed under the edges of the waves. Over time, they became more and more. A month later, I found another place where the bees flew - on the other side of the house.

I started with relatively humane methods: I went to a garden supply store and bought two bee traps for 50 R each. I also took a bottle of beer to pour it into the traps and lure the bees.

100 R

I spent on bee traps

We hung the traps on the way to one of the proposed nesting sites. Three days later, a certain number of bees actually accumulated inside. I shook out the traps on the road. But a lot of bees still flew.

We forgot about this problem until I started building the boiler room. According to my plan, it was supposed to adjoin the house, and I supposed to attach the rafters for the roof of the extension to the upper beam of the log house. When I, climbing onto the goats, took off the lining, I felt a strong pain in my finger - I was bitten by a bee. A six-meter cladding board fell to the ground, and I managed to see a huge bee nest in the mineral wool. The bees attacked me. I had to jump to the ground from a height of two meters and flee in the house.

. I smeared my finger with ointment and decided to defeat the bees immediately, because the rafters had to be put up today, otherwise the matter would be delayed. In addition, I could not allow the angry bees to bite the children, so I took an airbrush, poured White Spirit into it and began to water the nest from the ground. The stench was unbearable. The bees tried to attack me, but my wife prudently gave me a winter jacket. In the heat of +30 °C, I did not feel very good in it, but it protected from bites. In addition, I filled the entire space around me with white spirit in advance.

After chemical preparation, I again climbed onto the goats, knocked down the nest with a shovel, filled it again with a spray gun and carried it out onto the road.

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I destroyed the second nest later, when I needed to climb into the attic. I planned to make a hood in the bathroom - for this it was necessary to lay pipes above the ceiling. When I tore off the lining from the ceiling, I heard a buzzing, and then I saw bees.

The nest was again in mineral wool, but this time we were separated by a vapor barrier film. This made everything easier, since the bees could not fly at me. However, I didn’t have access to the nest to somehow take it out and take it out.

I had to buy dichlorvos at a household chemical store for 90 R and spray it from below directly onto the film. The bees fell on top of her one by one. When I realized that they were no longer able to fly, I found the junction of the film, disconnected it, put my hand with the spray can into the slot and filled the nest directly. The wife screamed that a queen bee the size of a walnut had flown out of somewhere in the next room. We let her out the window.

After that, I was able to pull out the nest with a small spatula. I also took it to the road. We didn't have any more bees.

What to do to prevent bees from reappearing

If there is an apiary near the house, the bees will certainly cause problems. Even if they do not plant a beehive in the house, they will fly around the site and disturb the owners.

By law, a beekeeper must build a fence around his hives at least two meters high.

paragraph 4 of the instructions for the maintenance of bee families and the organization of beekeeping in settlements and summer cottages

The owners of the house can drive away the bees if they plant special plants on the site. Bees do not like basil, lemon balm, lavender and mint. They also help calendula, henbane, hellebore, wormwood, rhododendron. You can also plant hot peppers.

If the bees fly to the plot anyway, they can be concentrated in one place. To do this, take a bucket of water and dilute sugar in it. The bees will gather around this bucket. The disadvantage of this method: the bucket must constantly stand on the site.

You can scare away bees with an ultrasonic repeller. This is a device resembling a night light that is plugged into an outlet. The repeller generates ultrasound that frightens insects and rodents. There is no single answer about the effectiveness of such devices.

Ultrasonic repellers are mainly designed to work indoors: they need electricity and plus temperature. Outdoor battery-powered devices are more expensive.

What is the result

How to deal with bees in a private house:

You need to approach the hive without foreign odors and in protective clothing. Instead of a beekeeper's suit, a thick winter jacket and pants, goggles, a respirator, and a winter hat are suitable.
The easiest way to destroy a hive is to douse it with something caustic at a safe distance. Do not do this if you can simply move the hive to another place: bees are important to nature.
After the destruction of the hive, it is desirable to carry it as far as possible.
To prevent bees from reappearing, special plants are planted on the site, and ultrasonic repellers are installed in the house. It is also worth checking all the joints and crevices where bees can fly in and seal them. It will also help against other insects and rodents.

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FAO - News Article: Forests are essential to promote pollination in agriculture and biodiversity, FAO report says

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The impact of habitat degradation and climate change must be urgently halted

9 June 2020, Rome - Forests and trees are essential to facilitate pollination by bees, butterflies and other animals, the degradation of their habitats must be halted as soon as possible and biodiversity protected. This is stated in the new report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Jointly produced by FAO and Bioversity International, this report aims to draw attention to the critical role and benefits of forest-dependent pollinators and is intended for forest industry leaders, landscapers and land use policy makers.

“Forests are home to wild bees, bats, butterflies and other pollinators and are vital for ecosystem conservation, biodiversity and agriculture, and therefore also food security,” said Tiina Vahanen, Head of the Forest Policy Division and FAO resources.

“Pollinator declines will affect forest renewal by reducing the genetic diversity of forest trees and their hardiness and adaptive potential.”

Many pollinators are in dire need of forests, where they breed and find food. But, as the report notes, deforestation or landscape fragmentation, coupled with climate change, has affected their role, and this, in turn, affects ecosystem resilience, food security and livelihoods.

Nearly 88 percent of the world's wild flowering plants are animal pollinated, and more than 70 percent of the world's food crops also need animal pollination, the report notes.

When pollen is carried from one plant to another by bees and other insects, they not only enable the production of fruits, nuts and seeds, but also contribute to greater diversity and higher quality, thereby contributing to nutrition and food security.

Changes in land use and land use management practices can lead to fragmentation and degradation of pollinator habitats. As the report shows, wild pollinators provide important pollination services to agricultural plants that domestic bees cannot replace.

As Damien Bertrand, FAO Forestry Specialist and co-author of the report, noted, forest and landscape management plays a critical role in maintaining the resilience of pollinators.

“Selective logging, thinning and burning designed to increase the diversity of tree communities will benefit pollinators and the rest of the forest's biodiversity,” said Bertrand.

“We must ensure that pollinators continue to be available and thereby increase the resilience and productivity of forestry and agriculture.”

The FAO report cites over 35 case studies, including one showing a strong positive relationship between bee diversity and forest cover in Brazil's coffee sector; in another study, in Costa Rica, some bee species were shown to be found only in wooded habitats.

While urbanization is known to have led to the decline of pollinators, the urban environment also harbors a wide variety of pollinators, sometimes with a higher level of diversity than elsewhere. Forest park management can play an important role in maintaining the necessary abundance of pollinator communities in the suburban environment in synergy with other benefits of urban forestry.

The report notes that habitat diversity and connectivity is essential to maintaining pollinator diversity and abundance, and recommends greater use of indigenous and local knowledge and the involvement of responsible land users and stakeholders in pollinator-friendly management activities.