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Natural Ways to Keep Bees Away from Your Car


Have you ever felt trapped inside your car with a bee flying around? It's not a fun scenario. When I was a teenager, I was picking my younger sister up from school when a bee flew in through an open car window and flew all around me, landing on me several times while I was driving. While I respect bees, and love seeing them buzzing around the flowers in my garden, I don't want them in my car. One of my fears, when I have the kids in the car with me during the summertime, is that one of them will be stung while I'm driving. I've been stung in the hand and leg by a bee (yellow jacket) while in the car, and that awful experience sort of traumatized me. I now have a natural fear of yellow jackets and wasps and will do anything to keep them out of my home and car.

I'm not into exterminating bees. We need them to pollinate our plants- I mean, we wouldn't have fresh foods without them, right? This is why there are many beekeepers in the world as well as why people ask questions like how much do you think beekeepers make a year. Instead of killing bees and wasps, I look for natural ways to deter them from areas I don't want them in- like my car.

Here are a few natural ways to keep bees and wasps away from your car

Ditch the sweets

Let's face it, bees love sweet nectars. One of the easiest ways to keep these buzzy friends away from your car is to keep sweet things out of your vehicle. My kids love fruit snacks and a granola bar, but during the summer, I don't let them eat those things in the car. It really does help cut down on the number of bees we see around the cars when the weather gets warm. We also steer clear of juice and soda in the car.


Hang a decoy hive

You can purchase a decoy hive and hang it near areas you want to keep wasps and yellow jackets away from. They range in price depending on how ornate you want it to be, but they resemble large wasp or hornet nests and can be hung in trees, on hooks, on porches, etc. The flying buggers will spot the decoy nests and will stay away from the area. If you'd rather make your own decoy nest, simply use a brown paper lunch bag. Crumple it up a bit and fill it to shape it to resemble a hornet's nest. Hang it and enjoy a wasp-free zone!

Use essential oils and natural plants to deter bees

There are a lot of scents that bees and wasps love, and there are also scents that they can't stand. One of the most common and most natural ways to keep wasps and yellow jackets away is to use pure peppermint oil in areas you don't want the bees and wasps in. I like to dab peppermint oil onto a cotton ball and rub it along the seals of my car doors and the hatch. The benefits are pretty amazing- the wasps and bees hate the scent of peppermint, so they'll stay far away from your car if you do this. Peppermint smells great to people, so you'll be able to enjoy a lovely and fresh scent while in your car. You can also plant live peppermint plants around your garage or parking area. It makes a lovely ground cover and will also help cut down on other pests like mice. If you have small children, please be sensible and research on how to safely use essential oils around your kids. Just a tip- peppermint extract won't do the trick when it comes to deterring wasps... you need to use the real deal.

Last ditch effort: Set a trap

No one wants to kill bees to keep them away from the property, but if they're super invasive and aggressive, you may have no other option. Wasps are especially aggressive and have really nasty and painful stings. You can make a really easy DIY wasp trap out of a two-liter soda bottle. Just cut the top 1/3 area of the bottle off and invert it, placing the neck down into the bottom half of the bottle. Fill the bottom portion with a simple syrup to attract the wasps and bees. You can also use fruit or even meat scraps, as the bees look for protein sources. The wasps and yellow jackets will get stuck in the liquid as they go for the nectar and will become trapped in the bottle, unable to fly back out.

If all else fails, you might want to call in a professional to help with the removal of wasps or bees. Mr Pest Control can help with the problem and get the unwanted flying insects out of your yard or home for good. No one wants to wind up with an infestation, so do yourself a favor and don't rule out the possibility of having to call for professional help with this common problem.



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