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Attract/deter bees
trace.3820:
Neighbors complaining about bees ?swarming? their fountain. They don?t like the water I put out for them.
How much lemongrass oil would you recommend for a 5 gallon bucket to attract them to mine and how much peppermint oil in their fountain to repel them?
Or any other suggestions?
TC
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The15thMember:
Lemongrass is an extremely volatile oil, so it wouldn't take much to make the water smell. The question is, how much do you need to make the smell last, and how long do you need the water to smell? It could be that if the bees are retrained to that water source, it won't matter eventually. I don't really know about the peppermint either, but I'd want to be sure that their fountain wouldn't be damaged by putting oil in the water.
In my experience bees prefer dirtier water, so if you are using a 5 gal. bucket, don't change the water frequently, as the grosser it is, the more the bees like it. Also be sure to put something in the water so the bees don't drown in the bucket (packing peanuts, sticks, big rocks, etc.).
Michael Bush:
https://bushfarms.com/beeswater.htm
Bees are attracted to water because of several things:
Smell. They can recruit bees to a source that has odor. Chlorine has odor. So does sewage.
Warmth. Warm water can be taken on even moderately chilly days. Cold water cannot because when the bees get chilled they can?t fly home.
Reliability. Bees prefer a reliable source.
Accessibility. Bees need to be able to get to the water without falling in. A horse tank or bucket with no floats does not work well. A creek bank provides such access as they can land on the bank and walk up to the water. A barrel or bucket does not unless you provide ladders or floats or both. I use a bucket of water full of old sticks. The bees can land on the stick and climb down to the water.
Acebird:
Tell your neighbor to drain the fountain for a week while you provide a water source.
trace.3820:
--- Quote from: The15thMember on August 28, 2022, 06:08:59 pm ---Lemongrass is an extremely volatile oil, so it wouldn't take much to make the water smell. The question is, how much do you need to make the smell last, and how long do you need the water to smell? It could be that if the bees are retrained to that water source, it won't matter eventually. I don't really know about the peppermint either, but I'd want to be sure that their fountain wouldn't be damaged by putting oil in the water.
In my experience bees prefer dirtier water, so if you are using a 5 gal. bucket, don't change the water frequently, as the grosser it is, the more the bees like it. Also be sure to put something in the water so the bees don't drown in the bucket (packing peanuts, sticks, big rocks, etc.).
--- End quote ---
Well you sure are right I had some big old pots with no holes in the bottom full of dirt outside, and they had about a half inch of water on the top. I put some lemongrass oil in these as well as the 5 gallon buckets with floating corks. The bees are flocking to the dirty pots.
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