Best Natural Bee Deterrent

These days, we are hearing more and more about the benefit of bees. Why? Because most of these flying insects are beneficial pollinators who play an incredibly important role in our ecosystem. They also help to keep our lawns and gardens lush and healthy.

Still, as much as we love and appreciate bees, we don’t always want them building their hives and nests in or around our homes. If only there were some way to deter bees naturally and safely so we could all enjoy them from a distance!

Well, you’re in luck. Today, we are going to learn about natural bee deterrents, why they work, how they compare to insecticides, and how you can make your own natural bee repellents at home. 

Let’s get started. 

What Is Natural Bee Deterrent And How Does It Work?

Pic 1 a honey bee on a white flower
Natural insect deterrents use chemical free ingredients to help repel bees and other pests.

Natural insect deterrents are a safe and humane alternative to bee traps and insecticides. They use natural ingredients like essential oils and other plant based products to help deter bees safely without causing harm to humans, pets, or the environment.

Some of the natural bee deterrents on this list do kill bees if sprayed directly on them, but one of the main points of using these natural bee repellents is not to kill them, but to instead prevent them from creating hives around your home or in undesired places in your garden.

Wondering how these natural repellents work? 

Natural insect repellents work by using ingredients that bees (and oftentimes other pests) are repulsed by, thus deterring them from coming around in the first place. Since these are deterrents and not insecticides, they are generally meant for those taking proactive measures in keeping bees at bay as opposed to trying to move or relocate bees from a certain area. 

But are natural bee deterrent products as effective as insecticides? Let’s find out. 

Natural Bee Deterrent Vs. Insecticides – What Is Most Effective?

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Insecticides may be effective, but they use harsh chemicals that can be harmful to people and pets. 

Insecticides are traditionally a go to remedy to rid our homes and yards of unwanted pests. However, the problem with insecticides is that they use highly toxic chemicals that can be harmful to our children, pets, and even the environment.

Furthermore, insecticides can also kill beneficial insects like ladybugs, honeybees and butterflies. Still, we all know that quality insecticides are effective when it comes to insect deterrent remedies, which is why they are still used so often today. 

Can natural insect deterrent products stand up to the competition?

Actually, yes. Natural bee repellents can be just as effective as insecticides when used properly and along with preventative measures to help deter bees and other pests hanging around your home and property. 

Of course, like anything else, there are pros and cons to using natural deterrents over insecticides to keep bees at bay.

Keep reading to find out what those pros and cons are. 

Natural Bee Deterrent Vs. Insecticides – Pros And Cons

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Natural bee repellents may not be as effective in the long term as insecticides. 

For many people with pets and children, staying safe means using natural products as opposed to chemicals. This is true with cleaning products, sanitary products, and even insect repellent. 

But do natural insect repellents and bee repellent products really work as well as insecticides? What if you have a very large hive of bees you need to get rid of or have a bee allergy? What is your best bet?

Let’s take a look at some pros and cons of using natural insect deterrent vs. insecticides. 

Natural Bee Deterrent Pros

  • Natural deterrents use plant based ingredients that are people, pet, and eco friendly
  • They leave behind pleasant scents as opposed to chemical odors
  • They can be applied in areas where food is prepared 
  • Natural deterrents can be safely reapplied as many times as needed 
  • Most are safe to use on plants and in the garden 
  • Natural insect repellents can often be applied to furniture, bedding, and carpeting

Natural Bee Repellent Cons

  • Natural deterrents may be more expensive than insecticides
  • They man be more difficult to find
  • They may require repeated applications in order to work effectively 

Insecticide Pros

  • Insecticides work effectively to kill a number of different pests
  • They may require less applications than natural sprays
  • They are usually inexpensive and easy to find

Insecticide Cons

  • Insecticides use harsh chemicals that can be harmful to people, pets, and the environment
  • Insecticides must be applied only in areas as directed
  • They may not be safe to use in areas where food is prepared
  • Some insecticides can be flammable 
  • They may harm other beneficial insects 
  • Not all insecticides are suitable to be used on plants and in gardens

Best Natural Bee Deterrent For Yards, Gardens And Patios

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While bees are beneficial, you don’t necessarily want them buzzing around your backyard patio.

While there are clear pros and cons to using a natural bee deterrent, the truth is that they are effective when used correctly and can help keep your home, yard, porch and garden clear of stinging bees and wasps

Are you curious about some of the best natural bee deterrent products for your garden, yard, and porch? Great! We’ve listed five of our favorites below. 

Fischer’s Bee-Quick Bee Deterrent

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First on our list is an organic bee deterrent that is specifically designed for honey bees. Fischer’s Bee-Quick bee deterrent is even used by professional beekeepers who need to relocate bee hives on their property. 

It is made with organic ingredients that are safe and non-toxic. It won’t harm the bees and is an excellent deterrent for not only relocating honey bees, but also keeping bees from nesting in unwanted areas. 

Mighty Mint Peppermint Oil Spray

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Lots of insects are repelled by peppermint oil, not just bees, and that’s just one of the reasons we love this bee deterrent for your home. You can use it both indoors and outdoors and use it in gardens, along the perimeter of your home, and anywhere else you want to keep bees from nesting. 

Best of all, this product is safe for kids, pets, and the environment. 

Peppermint Oil

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Since we now know that bees are deterred by ingredients like peppermint oil, it’s clear that pure essential peppermint oil would do the trick as a bee deterrent. You can add some drops of peppermint oil to a spray bottle with water and spray it around your home or drop pure peppermint oil drops near areas you see bee activity to help repel or deter them. 

What we like best about using natural peppermint oil for bee removal is that it’s safe, kid and pet friendly, easy on the environment, and it smells great. 

Natural Oust Peppermint Oil Bug Repellent

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Another peppermint oil bee deterrent we like is made by Natural Oust. This is an effective and natural spray you can use to repel not only bees but also mice, roaches, spiders and more. While this product is safe to use around humans and pets, it is an insect killer and will kill insects on contact.

Be careful when using this product around honey bees, especially if you are looking for a bee deterrent and not bee killer. To simply deter bees, just spray anywhere you notice bee activity or anywhere you want to keep bees from coming around. 

Wooden Bee House

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Since bees are so beneficial, we love the idea of providing bees a place to go to help deter them from nesting in unwanted areas. This wooden bee house by Niteangel is specifically designed to encourage bees to build their nest here as opposed to near your home or garden.

This bee house also works well for carpenter bees, ladybugs, and other types of insects that may be beneficial to gardens but pests when near the home. 

Best Natural Bee Deterrents For Homes

Pic 5 a bee inside a house on a window
Some types of bees may try to nest in your house.  

Unfortunately, some bee species like carpenter bees have been known to use the wood in our homes to make their nests. Other bees may find that building hives on our home’s siding or in trees near our property to be ideal, leading to stray bees flying into our homes.

This can be problematic, especially if you or your pets have a sensitivity or allergies to bee stings. For that reason, we like using natural bee repellent products for inside the home as well as outside and have listed some of our favorites below.

Best of all, these bee repellents for indoors also work to repel other pests like roaches, bed bugs, mosquitoes, wasps and flies safely. Take a look!

TBI Pro Ultrasonic Pest Repeller 

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Ultrasonic wall plug-ins are a great, hands-free bee repellent option you can use to protect your home from not only bees and wasps, but also from other pests like roaches, rats, mice, mosquitoes, bed bugs, and more. 

This particular insect deterrent plug in reaches up to 2,000 square feet and the order includes two plug-ins for different rooms. This product or an ultrasonic plug in like it is great for those with bee or wasp allergies or for those looking for a safe, humane, and hands-free option to deter all kinds of pests from inside their home. 

Wondercide Indoor Pest Control

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One of our favorite indoor bee deterrents is wondercide. It works on a number of different insects including flies, spiders, roaches, ants, and more. Like many of the natural bee repellents on this list, this bee repellent is made with peppermint oil and other natural ingredients.

However, if peppermint isn’t your favorite scent, you can order this bee repellent in different oil scents like rosemary, cedar, and lemongrass.

Colton’s Naturals Organic Home Insect Spray

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We love organic ingredients when it comes to insect deterrents, which is why we are including this organic mint insect spray by Colton’s Naturals. It is kid and pet safe, but effective against protecting your home from bees, wasps, spiders, flies, ants, and roaches.

It uses completely natural and safe ingredients and is safe to use as a preventative or during an infestation. Plus, it’s an effective insect deterrent because it uses peppermint oil as one of its active ingredients. 

Cravegreens Dual Microchip Ultrasonic Insect Deterrent

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Another plug-in ultrasonic wasp and bee repellent we like is Cravegreens insect repellent plug in. It is effective against a number of different pests that come inside, like bed bugs, mosquitoes, flies, spiders, roaches, and even mice and rats. 

It is an effective bee repellent because it uses ultrasonic sounds that confuses and irritates pests, making them leave and build nests and hives elsewhere. It also works as a great preventative for any future bees entering your home. 

Zevo Stinging Insect Killer 

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This is a plant-based bee repellent specifically designed to repel and kill stinging insects like hornets, wasps, bees, and more. You can use it both inside and outside and, because it is an aerosol, it is easy to use and works quickly.

However, do not use this product if you simply want an insect deterrent, as this is a stinging insect killer and is meant to eradicate indoor pests. That said, we do recommend this product for those with bee or wasp allergies as it allows you to repel these insects without getting too close.

Best Natural Bee Deterrent Home Remedies

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Bees and many other insects are repelled by essential oils like peppermint or tea tree oil. 

You don’t have to break the bank to find natural bee repellents. In fact, you can create your own bee deterrent at home using common household ingredients and a bit of ingenuity.

Let’s take a look at some of our favorite home remedy methods for making homemade natural bee repellents below. 

Peppermint Oil And Dish Soap Bee Repellent Spray

Ingredients:

  • 3 tsp Liquid Dish Soap
  • 3 Drops Peppermint Oil
  • ⅛ tsp Cinnamon
  • ⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Spray Bottle filled halfway with water

Directions:

Add the concoction together in a spray bottle with water and shake until mixed. You may use this spray around entryways and exit points, around your porch or outside sitting area, and anywhere outside you want to keep bee-free. NOTE – Do not spray this bee deterrent on plants or furniture. 

Vinegar Bee Deterrent Spray

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp Vinegar
  • 1 quart of water

Directions:

This is a formula that kills bees and wasps and should be used with that in mind. The mixture actually impedes stinging insects from flying while also suffocating them. This is an effective and natural bee repellent for those with allergies who are fearful of bees or wasps entering their home. 

Bees Are Also Naturally Repelled By:

  • Cucumber 
  • Peppermint oil
  • Cinnamon
  • Vanilla extract
  • Baby powder
  • Garlic

Looking for natural bee repellents for your garden? Bees are naturally repelled by the following plants: 

  • Basil
  • Mint
  • Cucumber
  • Geraniums
  • Eucalyptus
  • Wormwood
  • Marigolds
  • Pennyroyal
  • Citronella
  • Pitcher Plants

This video below gives you a few more different methods of natural bee repellents you can use at home.  

The Lifestyle Of Bees – Facts You Should Know

Pic 7 a hive of bees
Many bee species are incredibly beneficial to our gardens, so you may not want to deter them completely. 

As we mentioned briefly above, bees are beneficial insects who truly do play an invaluable role in our environment. 

It’s very important to respect and understand these insects so we can further appreciate the role they play in our lives. Let’s take a look at some interesting facts about bees you may not know. 

  • There are 20,000 species of bees in the world and 4,000 species of native bees in the US

Bees are found all over the world on every continent except Antarctica, and about 80% of these bee species are beneficial pollinators. Bee species are divided into seven families, including Apidae, Andrenidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae, Melittidae, and Stenotritidae.

  • Bees were recently declared “the most important living species on the planet”

According to a study conducted by the Royal Geographical Society of London, bees were listed as the most important living species on earth. Why is this a concern? Because there has been a sudden decline in bee species over the past decade, leading bees to be added to the endangered species list. 

  • Not all bees live in colonies

In fact, some of the most important pollinators live solitary lives. While it’s a common assumption that all bees live in social colonies and hives, the truth is that more bee species than not are solitary insects.

  • Honey is the only insect-made food humans consume  

However, not all bees make honey. In fact, out of the 20,000 bee species in the entire world, only one of the seven “families” known as the Apidae family makes honey. That said, the Apidaea family of bees is the largest, and includes the ever famous Honey Bees. 

So, now that we know a bit about bees and why they are so important, it’s no surprise we would want to use natural deterrents to safely and effectively keep them from invading our personal space without harming them. 

Keep in mind that most of the natural deterrent products listed above are best for preventing bee invasions and are most effective when used in early spring, before bees become most active. 

That said, there are some natural bee deterrent products on the above list that are used by professional beekeepers to help relocate bees. Of course, if you do find you have a beehive on your property that you would like removed or relocated and the deterrents aren’t working, we advise you to contact a professional. 

We hope you have a better understanding of bees and have found a good natural insect deterrent product that will work for you and your home to keep them at bay. Stay safe out there and best of luck! 

Bee Deterrent