Bees knocked over my bike, seriously

[infini4]

This may not qualify as a CDA moment, however it's a story that needs to be shared.  >

I park my bike in a carport, with a gravel floor, the whole driveway is gravel, that's awful in itself.  This past Monday I came outside in the morning to find my bike laying on the ground.  The kickstand had broken through the COG Rally kickstand puck we got in Johnson City, and sunk into the ground.  For what it's worth, it looked like a gentle landing. I picked it back up, moved it forward a bit, and broke out my green ROK kickstand puck, and then headed off to Cincinnati for the week. 

Today, I put in 250 miles, got home with a wheel bearing noise. I was clearing some rocks to put down some bricks, so that I could pop it up on the center stand and take a look at the front end.  When I slid the rocks away, I found large amounts of dirt that had been left over from mining bees that appear to have been digging their underground hive right under my precious Connie.  So now, the bike is living on the walkway by the driveway, and I'm researching the best way to eliminate "mining bees."  Which is actually hard for me, as bees are very important for our ecosystem, and don't usually harm things.... except when the knock over my motorcycle.

 

[MAN OF BLUES]

bees don't mine... those are yellow jackets. a smal can, like a soup can, half filled with gas, slammed down upon the opening will quell the situation.. then roll the bike back, and get on with it... bees re cool, and non agressive, wasps, hornets and jackets desserve to die... killem all... :rotflmao:

just kidding, the ground ones are a different strain, and have no queen, thus are clearly available fore mutations, as all females are fertile.. I say kill that colony.. and move on.
https://www.terminix.com/pest-control/bees/types/ground/


the true nesting bees we all want, are still viable, they are good... just do what's needed, and don't tell tree huggers... best choice...

 

[dc-concours]

park on a large flat piece of wood. perhaps a roof board or 2.

don't bother the bees. even though I am no tree-hugging hippie, I realize we need those bees more than your bike!  :truce:

 

[infini4]

bees don't mine... those are yellow jackets. a smal can, like a soup can, half filled with gas, slammed down upon the opening will quell the situation.. then roll the bike back, and get on with it... bees re cool, and non agressive, wasps, hornets and jackets desserve to die... killem all... :rotflmao:

They aren't like any wasp or yellow jacket I've ever seen. There are big, fat, bulbous bee looking bees.  I told my wife she's welcome to take the next week while I'm out of town to figure out a solution that doesn't involve me going Rambo on them. 

 

[MAN OF BLUES]

no. go rambo... just do it to the ones effecting you particularily... then done.

 

[dc-concours]

don't listen to MOB. he's old and won't have to deal with the food shortage we will face due to the lack of bees.

 

[Cra-z1000]

Not sure if this is what you have but we have these huge Cicada killer wasps which live underground .

 

[infini4]

Not sure if this is what you have but we have these huge Cicada killer wasps which live underground .

No, I'll take a picture tomorrow, just for the purpose of exposing the bike vandals! They are not narrow like wasp/jackets. They aren't aggressive either, until i kick around their hive by accident.  Even then they just fluttered around.

 

[nosmo]

If you can still find some Malathion, it will get rid of the bees.  It's a broad-spectrum insecticide and is very effective on bees, wasps, etc.  Don't ask me how I know............

 

[bajakirch]

It sounds like what you're describing is what we around here call 'bumble-bees'. They're bigger and fatter than honey bees and live in the ground. I occasionally find a few in my basement, as they tend to burrow near my foundation and find their way inside (it's an old house with a stone-walled basement). They are definitely a species of bees, not wasps, and are not aggressive at all. I once found my very-young-at-the-time son holding one in his hand with no ill effect.

I respect your unwillingness to outright kill them. However I don't know of a way to get them to move on. I try not to kill anything  wantonly, but once they cross the boundary into my domain, I'm not above termination.

 

[Classvino]

...It sounds like what you're describing is what we around here call 'bumble-bees'. They're bigger and fatter than honey bees and live in the ground...

They are definitely a species of bees, not wasps, and are not aggressive at all. I once found my very-young-at-the-time son holding one in his hand with no ill effect...

We had the same experience with my 2 year old, and wrongfully assumed they never used their stingers on humans.  However, when the neighbor girl grabbed one, she apparently wore out that bees' patience, and it responded...  From her reaction, it hurt as much as any other bee sting would...  Needless to say, the kids give them a wide berth now.

Jamie

 

[jettawreck]

bees don't mine... those are yellow jackets. a smal can, like a soup can, half filled with gas, slammed down upon the opening will quell the situation.. then roll the bike back, and get on with it... bees re cool, and non agressive, wasps, hornets and jackets desserve to die... killem all... :rotflmao:

just kidding, the ground ones are a different strain, and have no queen, thus are clearly available fore mutations, as all females are fertile.. I say kill that colony.. and move on.
https://www.terminix.com/pest-control/bees/types/ground/


the true nesting bees we all want, are still viable, they are good... just do what's needed, and don't tell tree huggers... best choice...

Mining bees:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrena
But, do what you have to do to get them to make a home elsewhere.

 

[ddback]

don't listen to MOB. he's old and won't have to deal with the food shortage we will face due to the lack of bees.

There's no lack of bees - it's a misrepresentation of the data by groups with agendas. Go do the research yourself and you'll see.