Relaxing in the backyard with family and friends can be fun. However, it will be a nightmare if some bugs come and join you. Fear no more! Keep on reading to learn how to keep bees away from deck.
1. How to Keep Bees away from Deck with Cucumber Peels
Cucumbers are such a refreshing vegetable. They also pack a lot of benefits for your body and skin. Apparently, they can deter pesky bees well because they contain an acid that wards off some insects.
Here is how to keep bees away from deck using cucumber. What you must do is place the peels nearby your deck. This way, you can keep the bugs away instantly.
If you are planning to repel bees off for a longer period, you can try growing cucumbers in your garden or a pot, instead.
2. How to Make Bees Go away with Garlic
Many insects loathe the pungent smell of garlic, including bees. Therefore, you can use it to drive away from them.
Besides, it is something that you can easily find at your local grocer. More importantly, this method saves both your budget and time.
How to keep bees away from deck using garlic is easy. You can smash some garlic, blend it with water, and spill the liquid using a small sprayer. After that, you just need to spritz it around your home.
Another simple way of how to keep bees away from deck is by crushing the garlic and simply place the pieces around the edges of your outdoor living area.
3. How to Keep Bees away from Wooden Deck by Growing Herbs
Some herbs can deter bees naturally due to their strong scents. It is absolutely an effective and safe way to expel these disturbing bugs.
The herbs that have strong scents and can repel bees are basil, lemongrass, peppermint, eucalyptus, pennyroyal, cinnamon, vanilla, and citronella.
To get the benefits of these plants, you can just grow them near your outdoor living area. Even better, you can them in pots and place them along your deck.
This way, you can ward bees off while having various kinds of herbs that add flavor to your meal.
You can also try to get some cinnamon sticks and place them around your deck. Their strong scents will prevent bees from coming any closer.
4. Avoid Growing Strong-Scented Plants near the Deck
Herbs and flowers produce strong scents. However, the smells are different. And bees recognize it well.
You can use herbs as a way of how to keep bees away from deck. However, you cannot grow certain flowers around your outdoor living area since they do otherwise. They can attract these insects.
Here are some popular flowers that can attract bees:
- Aster
- Black-eyed Susan
- Lavender
- Sunflower
- Coneflower
- Solidago
- Milkweed
- Beebalm
- Zinnia
- Cosmos
- Dahlia
- Phlox
- Lilac
- Daisy
- Stonecrop
- Anise hyssop
- Nasturtium
- Sumac
- Peony
- Pansy
- Goldenrod
- California poppy
- Borage
- Lupine
Besides the aforementioned flowers, these herbs can also attract bees:
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Mint
- Chives
- Oregano
For this reason, you should not grow these plants near your deck.
5. Try Planting Marigolds near Your Deck
Marigolds are such beautiful flowers. In addition to being attractive with their orange, red, or yellow petals, they can ward off many kinds of pests, including some types of bees.
How to keep bees away from deck using Marigolds is simple. You just need to grow these flowers in one or two pots and place them around your living area.
However, you need to know that Marigolds can only deter some types of bees, not all of them. The vivid colors of this flower may attract honeybees. Therefore, you have to stay alert because they can sting you.
6. Avoid Bright-Colored Floral Patterns
Bees love flowers and their vibrant colors. Surprisingly, they might mistake any colorful appearance like clothes and tablecloths for a flower.
Thus, another way of how to keep bees away from deck is by not wearing any clothes with bright-colored floral patterns. You can opt for the ones with muted or dark tones so that you will not attract them.
The same thing goes with your tablecloth. You need to avoid setting down the one with bold, bright colors like red, purple, green, and yellow along with a floral pattern because bees will think it is a flower.
7. Do not Use Flowers as the Centerpiece in Your Dining Area
Having lunch or dinner outdoors is such a terrific idea. You may want to use a flower bouquet as decoration for your table. It would be marvelous. Unfortunately, you may need to rethink your plan.
As you know that bright flowers can easily attract bees as they are natural pollinators. Therefore, using flowers as the centerpiece on your dining table is such a bad idea.
Instead of a flower bouquet, you can set down some candles or a lantern as the centerpiece. They will not attract bees. Besides, they can add a nuance of romantic vibes.
8. Never Wear Perfume when hanging out in Deck
All parts of flowers, such as the vibrant colors and the strong scents, can be appealing to bees. Thus, besides avoiding wearing bright-colored clothes, you need to forgo scented cosmetics.
If you plan to spend your time in your backyard, skip perfume, sunscreen lotion, cologne, hair spray, or aftershave that produces pleasing flower-like scents.
You can still wear sunscreen and hair products, though, as long as they are unscented. It is an effective way on how to keep bees away from deck while protecting your skin from UV.
9. Yard Spray to Keep Bees Away
You may see a lot of insect repellents at the store. The producers claim that they can ward off loads of bugs, also bees. Unfortunately, few of them may be toxic to your health.
Instead of investing in chemical-based insect repellents, you had better making the spray yourself. The first spray recipe is the water and garlic solution, just like what you have learned earlier.
Another tip on how to keep bees away from deck is by making a heavy oil spray. You can make it from clove, eucalyptus, cedarwood, or citronella. It will work like a charm since they do not like the scents of these plants.
Besides concocting garlic with water, you can also mix it with vinegar to produce a stronger solution for pesky bees.
In addition, to make this solution, you need to crush some garlic and soak it in white distilled vinegar for a couple of days. After that, spill the mixture into a spraying bottle. Spritz it whenever those insects come any closer.
Fun fact: you can use this solution on a bee’s nest, too.
Did you know that baby oil could repel bees? You just need to mix it with water and spray the solution directly to your skin so that bees will not sting you when you mow the lawn.
10. DIY Bee Bait
When bees uncontrollably to your deck, you can try making a bowl of bee bait.
To make the bait, you need to mix a generous amount of soda, orange and fruit juice, and maple syrup into a bowl. This combination will result in a sweet-smelling liquid that can be likely to draw the bees’ attention.
Once the bait is ready, place it near the deck about 20 minutes before you hang out in it. You will notice a lot of bees trapped in the sweet-smelling liquid that you made.
11. Use Baby Powder to Ward off Bees
Another unique and easy tip on how to keep bees away from deck is by sprinkling baby powder around your outdoor living area.
Not all baby powders will work like a charm, though. If you want to ward off bees, opt for a natural and organic powder. Therefore, read the ingredients on the label thoroughly first.
12. Hold Bees at Bay with Mothballs
Mothballs are renowned for being effective insect repellent. They also work well for deterring bees, thanks to the unpleasant odor that can drive away pests.
So, how to keep bees away from deck? It is easy. All you need to do is just spreading some mothballs around the garden. The pungent odor will defend against the pests.
13. Do not Attract Bees with Food
Just like human beings, bees love the pleasant smell of some food. When they notice the aroma, they will come buzzing immediately and ruin your lunch or dinner.
If it happens, what is the best tip on how to keep bees away from deck? It is easy peasy. Just bear in mind to keep the food covered.
If you want to use airtight containers or plastic wrap to seal serving dishes, go ahead. Anything will do.
The ultimate goal of sealing the food is to prevent the bees from smelling the pleasant smell of the food, which can attract them.
Another way of how to keep bees away from deck is by serving all the food indoors. Your family and friends may have to make a trip to the kitchen before enjoying their meal outdoors, which will be inconvenient.
Therefore, you’ll only find few bees. It is worth trying, right?
14. Keep the Trash Clean
Food smells can be extremely appealing to bees. For this reason, your trash can be something that can attract them immensely.
If you are going to have lunch in your outdoor living area, make sure to throw the trash away as soon as possible. Besides, no one will want to enjoy their meal near the garbage, right?
15. Deter Bees and Wasps with Dryer Sheets
If you are wondering how to keep bees away from deck efficiently, you can try dryer sheets.
Apparently, dryer sheets are not only useful for your laundry but also for your outdoor living area. Some insects hate the smell of these sheets. Therefore, they can also be the best way of how to keep wasps away from deck.
So, the question will be how to keep bees away from deck with dryer sheets. You just need to rub them on your skin or place them on your outdoor furniture. This way, your backyard will smell fresh and be free from those insects.
16. Get Rid of the Nest Safely
The best way of how to keep bees away from deck is by removing their nest. You can make a bait and create sprays that deter them, but they will come repeatedly. Therefore, you should get rid of their home.
First, you have to inspect your home and areas regularly to find any nearby nests. You may find them under a deck, in the old birdhouses, in the shed, along fences, in an unused playground, on trees, in the rock crevices, and among the tall grass.
Once you have spotted their nests, try to remove them as soon as possible. You have to be alert, though, since some of them may stings.
Carpenter bees are not harmful. However, they can wreak havoc in your wooden furniture, porch, deck, and shed. Thus, you should take care of their nests immediately.
If you are planning to get rid of the nests yourself, you should locate them and figure out the species so that you can take precautions.
The ultimate goal of how to keep bees away from deck is to keeping you and your family safe. Therefore, safety is your number one priority.
Always wear protective gear, including long sleeves and pants, goggles, a facemask, and gloves to avoid their stings.
You have learned how to keep bees away from deck by making sprays. Therefore, this is a chance for you to implement this idea. Spritz them whenever they are trying to attack you.
When you try to relocate it, do not forget to block the entrance of the nest using mesh. After that, wrap the fabric around the beehive so that you can remove it safely. Additionally, it would be proper to do it at night.
Verdict
Those are few tips on how to keep bees away from deck. Should you have some trouble with it, do not hesitate to seek the assistance of professionals because these insects can be dangerous.