In the last couple of weeks we have noticed that mid day our backyard has about 50 - 100 bees or wasps flying around in the grass. I don't know the species, but they are long, skinny, black and yellow with large brown/clear wings. We can't find a nest or hole in the ground anywhere. So far they don't come near the patio and we haven't seen any aggressive behavior but we've also been staying out of the grass when they're around.
Earlier this summer the sprinkler system malfunctioned and the grass died out. It's been growing back slowly now that it's being watered regularly. I don't know if this is the cause or not. Anyone else have this happen? How do I get rid of them?
we have all manner of wasps here (not enough honeybees, wah) and i leave 'em alone unless they're aggressive or ones i know will give me a problem. i've been nailed by ground wasps, so they don't get a free pass from me ay more.
if they're not menacing you, leave 'em alone. we're running out of pollinators.
khairete
S.
They are attracted to water. Water your grass in the evening so it will be dry during the day and you wont have the problem.
Lots of suggestions, but you won't be smarter until you can get them properly identified. There are many, MANY species of ground dwelling bees and wasps, many of which are completely harmless!...and some of which are pests and should be removed.
Because bees and wasps are important pollinators and parts of the ecosystem (food for birds and other insect eaters) I would only exterminate them after finding out what exactly they are and what, if any, danger they pose.
Check the Biology department of your local university or a local beekeper for help - exterminators tend to want to sell you their services so they are often not quite honest.
Good luck!
Do you have clover? They seem to like the little flowers that bloom on clover, especially the little tiny yellow ones. They also may like the water. No easy solution, but you might try bee spray when they are flying around, just spray a fine mist.
At my old house we had weird looking bees every year fly all over the neighborhood around july and August. They were identified as Cicada bees. I'm not sure if this is the type you have, but these bees don't usually hurt anyone so we just worked around them. The community association hired a bee exterminator that just chased them around the neighborhood. He would squirt stuff into their nest and they they would find another place to go nearby. Our regular exterminator said that there was nothing you could really do for this particular type of bee and to leave them alone. They are usually gone every september. We have regular bees here that are driving us nuts so if you find a good way to get rid of them let me know.
They are after the water. We find them dead in the pool all the time.
If you are watering every day you may want to try every other day or perhaps early morning so the water sucks into the soil before they wake up.
some resources for you if these are the right kind of insect.
http://www.bugspray.com/articles99/diggerwasps.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Ground-Digger-Wasps-%28...
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg...
After reading about these I have to admit that I will keep my much regular, build their hive under my eaves wasps.
We had this happen to us last summer. We stopped watering our backyard, they found some place else to go. We had to take our dog to the vet she was getting stung multiple times a day.
