How To Get Rid of Ground Bees

If you’ve ever walked across your lawn and noticed little volcanoes of soil with a single bee popping in and out, congratulations: you’ve discovered ground bees. They’re busy, helpful pollinators — but when they set up shop right next to your patio, kids’ play area, or dog’s favorite zoomie zone, the situation can feel a lot less adorable.

The good news? Most ground bees are gentle, short-lived visitors. You can usually encourage them to move along without waging chemical war on your yard. This guide walks you through how to get rid of ground bees (or at least move them out of high-traffic spots) in a way that protects your family, your lawn, and the pollinators that keep your garden blooming.

First Step: Make Sure They’re Really Ground Bees

Before you do anything, it’s crucial to figure out what you’re dealing with. People often call any stinging insect a “bee,” but your strategy changes a lot if you’re actually facing yellowjackets or hornets.

What Ground Bees Typically Look Like

“Ground bees” isn’t a single species. It’s a nickname for solitary, ground-nesting bees like mining bees, digger bees, and some sweat bees. Common traits include:

• Small to medium size, usually smaller than bumble bees
• Often brown, black, or striped with pale bands
• Hairy bodies that collect pollen
• Individual holes in dry, bare, or thin turf (not a paper nest)

You’ll see many bees using the same patch of ground, but they usually each have their own tunnel. It looks like a tiny neighborhood of pencil-sized holes surrounded by loose soil.

How They Differ From Wasps and Yellowjackets

Ground-nesting yellowjackets can also use holes in the lawn, and they’re much more aggressive. Watch for these clues:

• Yellowjackets are shiny and smooth with crisp yellow-and-black stripes and a “wasp waist.” They move quickly and may swarm if disturbed.
• Ground bees are fuzzier, less neon in color, and usually ignore you unless you grab or step on them.
• Yellowjacket nests often have heavy, constant traffic in and out of a single hole; ground bees spread out over many small holes.

If you see dozens of very defensive insects darting in and out of one opening, treat it like a wasp or yellowjacket nest and consider calling a professional. Many authorities recommend professional help for large, aggressive nests for safety reasons.

Are Ground Bees Dangerous?

Here’s the twist: most ground bees are actually your garden’s best friends. They pollinate early spring flowers, fruit trees, and veggies. Research suggests that about 70% of wild bee species nest in the ground, and these pollinators are essential for many flowering plants. Eliminating them entirely can hurt your local ecosystem.

Fortunately, they’re usually not dangerous. Female ground bees can sting, but they tend to be shy and sting only if handled or trapped. Males may hover and “buzz” at you but don’t have stingers.

It’s reasonable to manage or move them when:

• Someone in your household has a serious bee-sting allergy.
• The nest is right by a doorway, playground, dog run, or path.
• You simply can’t avoid the area during their active weeks.

In those cases, the goal is to discourage ground bees from nesting in risky spots and guide them to safer areas of your yard, not to wipe them out completely.

Bee-Friendly Ways to Get Ground Bees to Move On

If you’re not dealing with aggressive wasps, start with the least toxic methods. Many university extension services recommend simply making the nesting area less attractive so the bees relocate on their own.

1. Water the Area Regularly

Ground bees prefer dry, loose, sunny soil. If you turn their favorite patch into a damp, less crumbly zone, they’ll look for real estate elsewhere.

• Run a sprinkler over the problem area once or twice a day for several days during their active nesting period (often early to mid-spring).
• Avoid flooding the entire yard; target the bare spots where you see holes.
• Stick to evening or early-morning watering to avoid fungal problems with your grass.

Several cooperative extensions note that regular irrigation is often enough to convince ground bees to move on, especially in lawns that were previously very dry.

2. Thicken Up Your Turf

Ground bees struggle to nest in dense, healthy grass. Over time, a better lawn equals fewer surprise bee burrows.

• Overseed thin spots in early fall or spring with a good-quality grass seed mix.
• Top-dress with compost to improve soil structure and help grass fill in.
• Aerate and fertilize appropriately for your grass type to encourage thicker turf.

As the lawn gets thicker, bare patches shrink, and ground bees lose their favorite nesting habitat. This is one of the best long-term, non-chemical solutions.

3. Cover Bare Ground With Mulch or Groundcovers

If your bees are in a flower bed, slope, or around shrubs rather than in turf, focus on covering exposed soil:

• Apply a 2–3 inch layer of organic mulch (shredded bark, wood chips, or leaf mold) around plants.
• Plant low-growing groundcovers or spreading perennials to shade and stabilize the soil.
• Avoid heavy plastic weed barriers that block air and water; they’re rough on both plants and soil life.

Some pest experts and garden writers also recommend landscape fabric under a layer of mulch in problem areas where ground bees repeatedly nest and where pollination is less critical, such as along driveways or behind sheds.

4. Give Them a Better Place to Live

If you like bees but not in the middle of your lawn, consider creating a “bee zone” somewhere out of the way:

• Leave a sunny, out-of-the-way strip of bare, sandy soil at the back of your property.
• Plant nectar-rich flowers nearby so they have plenty to eat.
• Skip pesticides in that area and let it stay a bit “messy” with stems, leaf litter, and patches of bare ground.

Pollinator organizations such as the Xerces Society encourage homeowners to leave some bare or lightly mulched soil specifically for ground-nesting bees. If you give them a better option, they’re less likely to insist on your front walk.

When You Need Stronger Control

Sometimes habitat tweaks aren’t enough, or you need faster results in a high-traffic area. Before reaching for chemicals, double-check that:

• The insects are truly bees, not yellowjackets or hornets.
• You’ve tried (or at least considered) watering, turf repair, and mulching.
• There’s a genuine safety issue, not just mild annoyance.

1. Spot-Treat Individual Nests Carefully

Consumer pest-control guides and some extensions suggest that if chemical control is absolutely necessary, it should be targeted and limited. General tips include:

• Treat in the evening or at night when bees (or wasps) are less active.
• Use a dust or spray insecticide labeled for bees and wasps, and follow the label exactly — that label is the law.
• Apply directly into the hole or nest entrance, then quickly move away.
• Keep children and pets away from the treated area until the product has dried and as long as the label directs.

Because most ground bees only live a few weeks, many experts advise waiting until the end of the active period and focusing on preventing future nesting rather than heavy chemical use.

2. Avoid Dangerous DIY “Home Remedies”

Pouring gasoline, kerosene, or other flammable liquids into bee holes is not only cruel — it’s illegal in many places, contaminates soil and groundwater, and creates a serious fire risk. Likewise, lighting fires in the yard or trying to vacuum nests can go wrong fast.

If a situation feels dangerous enough to tempt those methods, it’s time to step back and call a pro.

3. Call a Professional for Aggressive Nests

For confirmed yellowjackets, large colonies, or situations near structures (like bees entering a wall void), licensed pest-control professionals have the right equipment and products to handle removal with minimal exposure to you and your neighbors. EPA guidance also emphasizes preventing access to buildings and safely managing stinging insects in sensitive settings like schools, which applies to homes too.

Ask potential companies how they protect pollinators, what products they use, and whether non-chemical options were considered first.

Long-Term Prevention: Make Your Yard Less Appealing to Ground Bees

Once your current bee tenants have moved on, a few simple habits will make repeat invasions less likely.

Keep Soil Moist (But Not Soggy) in Key Areas

Remember, ground bees are fans of dry, loose soil. Regular irrigation in high-traffic zones and around patios makes those spots less attractive. This doesn’t mean turning your yard into a swamp; it just means avoiding bone-dry, bare patches where bees can easily excavate tunnels.

Maintain a Healthy Lawn

A thick, well-managed lawn is one of the best defenses:

• Mow at the recommended height for your grass species so it can develop deep roots.
• Use slow-release fertilizer when needed to avoid stressing the turf.
• Overseed thin areas each year, especially in compacted spots near sidewalks and play areas.

Over time, you’ll see fewer bare spots — and fewer ground bee nests where you don’t want them.

Reduce Attractants Near People Spaces

While ground bees are mostly after nesting sites and flowers, other stinging insects chase food and sugary drinks. Basic good habits reduce overall buzzing traffic near your hangout spots:

• Clean up spills and outdoor food promptly.
• Keep trash cans closed and rinse recycling containers.
• Cover sweet drinks when kids are running around outside.

EPA’s integrated pest management tips for schools — like cleaning up food residue, keeping trash covered, and reducing standing water — work just as well in backyards.

Extra : Real-Life Experiences With Ground Bees

Advice is one thing; seeing how it plays out in real yards is another. Here are some real-world style scenarios (based on common homeowner stories and extension recommendations) that show different ways people have handled ground bees.

Case 1: The Soccer Family vs. the Spring Bees

Imagine a family with two elementary-school kids and a dog that thinks every small moving object is a personal challenge. One April, a sunny patch near their backyard goal suddenly sprouts dozens of little soil cones with bees hovering above them. Cue parental panic.

After checking with a local extension office, they learn these are solitary ground bees, not yellowjackets, and that they’re most active for just a few weeks. Instead of nuking the whole lawn, they:

• Move soccer practice to the front yard for a couple of weeks.
• Run a sprinkler over the affected area every evening.
• Put up a couple of small flags so kids remember to avoid the “bee corner.”

Within 10–14 days, activity drops sharply. By the time school is near summer break, the bees have finished nesting, the holes collapse, and the grass fills in. The kids get a crash course in pollinators, and nobody gets stung.

Case 2: The Gardener Who Chose Relocation by Design

Another homeowner loves pollinators but isn’t thrilled that bees keep nesting right by the back steps. Every year, the same bare patch develops mini craters, and guests get nervous walking to the deck.

Instead of going straight to insecticide, she thinks like a designer. She wants bees — just not there. So she:

• Builds a small gravel-and-sand “bee bank” on the far side of the vegetable garden in full sun.
• Plants lavender, coneflowers, and bee balm nearby for nectar and color.
• Covers the problem area by the steps with 3 inches of mulch and adds a couple of hardy shrubs.

The next spring, she still sees ground bees, but most of the action has shifted to the bee bank. Guests can use the steps without walking through a buzzing cloud, and she gets to enjoy watching the bees from a comfortable distance.

Case 3: When It Wasn’t Bees at All

Not every “bee problem” is actually bees. Picture a neighbor convinced her lawn is under attack by “killer bees” because she sees a lot of buzzing insects entering a single hole near the shed. She tries to hose them down and gets chased across the yard.

A quick look by a local pest-control pro confirms they’re ground-nesting yellowjackets, not bees. That explains the aggression and the single high-traffic entrance. Because the nest is large and close to where kids play, the pro treats it at night using protective gear and a labeled product. The nest is neutralized, and the family gets advice on sealing gaps and monitoring for future wasp activity.

This kind of story is common: misidentifying wasps as bees can make DIY control both ineffective and dangerous. It also shows why “step one: know what you’re looking at” is more than just a suggestion.

Case 4: Learning to Live With Them (Mostly)

Finally, some homeowners discover that once they understand ground bees, they don’t always need to get rid of them at all. One retiree with a pollinator-friendly yard noticed hundreds of bees working in his front lawn clover and nesting in a sunny, lightly sloped strip near the driveway. He talked to local bee enthusiasts and learned they were native mining bees that appear for only a short window in early spring.

Instead of trying to eliminate them, he:

• Lets that strip of lawn stay a little wild during their active period.
• Posts a small sign explaining that the area is a pollinator nesting site.
• Focuses his “bee-free zone” efforts on the small patio where grandkids play, using container plants and regular sweeping instead of pesticides.

The result? The yard buzzes with life in spring, neighbors learn something new about native bees, and everyone enjoys a healthier garden. Ground bees become a seasonal feature, not a crisis.

These experiences all point to the same idea: when you understand how ground bees live, you gain more options. Sometimes the answer is to move them. Sometimes it’s to steer them to a better spot. And sometimes, the best solution is to give them a little space for a couple of weeks and let them do their pollinating job.

Bottom Line: How to Get Rid of Ground Bees Safely

To recap, here’s a quick roadmap:

• Identify what you’re dealing with (ground bees vs. yellowjackets or other wasps).
• Start gentle: water the area, thicken your turf, and mulch bare soil in high-traffic spots.
• Reserve chemicals for serious safety concerns, and apply them carefully, following labels and treating at night.
• Call a pro for aggressive nests or when insects are entering structures.
• Plan ahead with better lawn care and designated pollinator zones so future ground bees choose spaces that work for everyone.

With a little knowledge and planning, you can protect your family and the pollinators that make your landscape thrive.