There’s nothing as refreshing as a dip in the pool on a hot summer day. But your relaxing swim can quickly turn hectic when wasps, bees and other pests swarm around your pool. This guide has all the information you need to keep bugs out of your pool this summer.
Nothing ruins a relaxing day at the pool like unwanted guests repeatedly buzzing by. Honey bees are attracted to the chemicals and scent of pool water much to the chagrin of pool owners. Getting stung takes the fun out of swimming, and fishing dead bees out of the water is unpleasant.
While bees provide invaluable pollination services, their presence around pools becomes a nuisance. Thankfully, there are several effective yet bee-friendly ways to divert them away and preserve your peace and safety in the pool area. This article outlines 14 tactics to humanely prevent honey bees from congregating around your swimming pool.
Remove Bee-Attracting Plants
Flowers, trees, and shrubs with appealing fragrances, blooms, and colors entice foraging honey bees to come investigate Avoid planting bee-enticing varieties like lavender, clover, jasmine, snapdragons, and daisies right next to the pool Relocate these plants as far away from the swimming area as possible. Their rich scents and eye-catching blossoms are invitations for bees to visit.
Add Bee-Repelling Plants
Certain plants naturally repel bees with their strong scents, making them ideal barriers around pools. Herb choices like mint, lemon thyme, catnip, and oregano are superb bee repellents. Their pungent smells deter bees. For trees, eucalyptus is an excellent option, providing shade while repelling bees with its menthol-like fragrance.
Don’t Leave Out Food or Drinks
Bees feed on pollen and nectar from flowers but will eagerly take advantage of other sugary food sources. Never leave soda, juice drinks, candy, ripe fruit, or condiments sitting out around the pool. Securely cover food, clean up spills, and keep trash cans sealed. Removing these bee temptations discourages them from lingering.
Provide an Alternate Water Source
Rather than fighting bees, provide them with a safer water supply away from the pool. Fill shallow containers with pebbles or sand, then add water just deep enough to saturate the substrate. The pebbles allow bees to land and drink without drowning. Move these containers incrementally farther away each day. With persistence, the bees should transition to using your designated water station.
Use Dryer Sheets
The subtle fragrance released by dryer sheets drives bees away. Simply hang sheets on the pool fence, chairs, or umbrella poles to create a perimeter of bee repellency around the entire swimming area. Replacing them monthly sustains the anti-bee scent. This inexpensive solution harnesses that fresh-from-the-dryer smell to naturally deter bees.
Deploy Mothballs
Mothballs’ pungent odor repels a variety of insects, including bees. Place mothballs inside old socks or pantyhose and hang them around the pool enclosure. Position them out of reach of kids and pets, as mothballs are toxic. While effective, frequent reapplication is required as the smell fades. This traditional deterrent dissuades bees from congregating poolside.
Install a Pool Cover
Covering your pool when not in use eliminates access to the water, forcing bees to look elsewhere to meet their needs. Manual or automated pool covers form a physical barrier against entry. Solar covers also float on the surface, preventing tired bees from landing for a drink and drowning. Deploy covers whenever the pool is not occupied.
Maintain Water Circulation
Moving water frightens bees and deters them from attempting to land. Keep your pool’s pump and filtration system running properly to agitate the surface. The ripples and waves created by jets, fountains, waterfalls, or aerators impede bees from touching down to get a sip. Constant water flow makes pools inhospitable for bees.
Avoid Brightly Colored Gear
Bees see bright colors as floral advertisements. Skip the vivid pink and yellow swimsuits and beach towels in favor of darker, muted options. Vibrant beach balls, pool toys, and gear also need to be kept subtle. Controlling this visual allure helps bees overlook your pool area when foraging.
Apply Essential Oils
Certain essential oils naturally repulse bees, including peppermint, tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, and lemongrass. Mix these oils with water in a spray bottle and mist deck surfaces, furniture, umbrellas, and other areas around your pool. Reapplying weekly sustains the anti-bee aroma perimeter. This all-natural repellent discourages bees from occupying the pool environment.
Install Fake Nests
Decoy wasp or bee nests can fool real bees into avoiding the area. They perceive the artificial nest as a territorial threat from competing hives. Whether you purchase fake nests online or create makeshift ones from bags or paper, positioning several deters bees from congregating nearby. It mimics established colonies guarding the locale.
Seal Possible Nest Sites
Check for gaps and crevices on your home, fence, roof, and yard structures that could shelter bee nests. If bees have shelter and a massive water source nearby, they’ll readily move in. Use caulk, foam, mesh, wood, or other materials to plug potential entry points. Eliminating inviting shelter deters bees from settling near your pool.
Minimize Floral Scents
Bees detect floral fragrances easily and will inspect anything that smells similar to flowers. Avoid potent perfumes, scented lotions, perfumey sunscreens, and strong hair products when spending time poolside. Even though synthetic, bees still react to these fragrances. Light, natural scents are less likely to pique their olfactory interest.
Contact a Beekeeper
If significant bee activity persists around your pool, there may be a hive nearby. Rather than using poisons, contact a local professional beekeeper to humanely remove and relocate the bees. Eliminating nearby colonies prevents continual bee interference at the pool. This bee-friendly solution preserves the hive while protecting your recreation space.
Deterring honey bees from pools without harming them simply requires tapping into their instincts and traits. Steer clear of bright colors, enticing fragrances, and exposed food around the pool. Provide water elsewhere, maintain surface movement, and leverage scents naturally avoided by bees. Observe their activity patterns to pinpoint and remove hives. With some creativity, your pool can remain a bee-free oasis.
Why Do Bees and Wasps Appear in Pools?
When it gets hot, bees and wasps have to go farther away to find water. They may need more water in the summer than in the spring and fall, when it is cooler, so they must have lots of water sources.
For instance, bees not only drink water, but they also collect it to bring back to the hive and use it as a kind of air conditioner. It’s kind of like running a fan over cool water. Bees will flap their wings to make a breeze that blows over droplets they’ve collected. When that cooler air comes into the hive, it can work like a swamp cooler in a house, lowering the temperature inside.
It’s less clear what wasps are doing besides drinking, if they’re doing anything at all. But drinking is reason enough to find them poolside. If you find wasps in the pool when there hasn’t been a party with lots of food and drinks out, it could be because there is a wasp nest nearby. Advertisement THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT AND NOT EDITORIAL CONTENT. Please keep in mind that we do get paid when you buy something or sign up for something through this ad. This payment affects how the offers listed here are ranked and where they appear. We do not present information about every offer available. The information and savings numbers depicted above are for demonstration purposes only, and your results may vary.
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Use Your Pool Jets
As mentioned above, bees prefer still water that’s easy to sit near without getting wet. Pool jets move the water around and can make small waves on top of the water that bees don’t want to come in for a drink.
How To Keep BEES and WASPS Away From Your POOL | Swim University
FAQ
How do I keep honey bees away from my swimming pool?
Why are honey bees attracted to my pool?
What smell keeps honey bees away?
Why are bees hanging around my pool?
How do you get rid of bees in a pool?
Bees can be stubborn creatures; once they find a water supply, changing their habits is challenging. If you notice bees showing up, act swiftly to coax them away before they get too comfortable at the side of the pool. Create an alternative source of water. 5. Enlist the help of dryer sheets
How do you keep bees away from a kiddie pool?
Bees don’t like deep moving water, so switch on the jets. If you’re trying to get bees away from a kiddie pool, toss in a pool toy that moves and agitates the surface. This can deter the bees since they prefer to land on still water. If you’ve got an automatic pool cleaner, you can also switch this on to agitate the surface.
Do honey bees eat your pool?
Summer is the perfect time to enjoy your backyard pool, but uninvited guests like honey bees can ruin your relaxation. Knowing how to keep bees away from a pool is essential to maximize your swimming enjoyment. Honey bees and other insects are naturally attracted to your pool as a water source.
Are honey bees attracted to your pool?
Honey bees and other insects are naturally attracted to your pool as a water source. In this guide, I will share some tips and techniques to help keep bees away or at least reduce the problems they may cause. Even the most ardent bee lover may not want to share their swimming pool with honey bees, wasps or hornets.
Does a pool patio keep bees away?
It may sound obvious, but removing the temptation of a delicious looking feast on your pool patio will help keep bees away. ‘Bees love using the pool as a water source and to cool off a bit during the hot summer months,’ says Alicia Toedter, Education and Content Leader at Leslie’s.
Do bees go away if you see them in your pool?
If bees are nearby and you see them in your pool, they’re unlikely to go away on their own. Bees are very attracted to pools, so they’re likely to be around. Focus on providing them with alternative water sources to try and deter them from using your pool to cool off.