How do you get rid of bees in your sandbox?

BeeeGenerally the only bees you will see swarm are honey bees, and only when they are looking for a new home. If they create a ball in a tree they are simply holing up for the night and the ball is meant to protect the queen.

Honey bees, with the exception of the Africanized version, will not attack people unless provoked or you pose a threat to the queen. The problem is that you cannot tell the difference between the two.

The best thing to do is use the old saying " If you don't bother them they will not bother you"; the swarm will move on in the morning to wherever they were going.

If they pose an immediate threat to you or someone else, first contact a bee keeper, who will capture the queen and relocate the rest. This is most desirable method since honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate all across the country. Secondly many local governments have departments established to deal with this so contact the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for help; the third would be an exterminator.

The second and third choices will definitely end in the bees' demise, so check into humane solutions first. I have only had to destroy 2 swarms myself and they were on Golf courses where they had been annoying golfers. Not a swarm per se, but a hive living in an underground valve box and feeding on rosemary blooms, harmless to everyone but the allergic and the guy who someday needs to access the valve box.

In those cases I used soapy water to soak down the hive/swarm, the soap in the water creates bubbles when they try to fly and they cannot, they fall helplessly to the ground and die, that way I was also able to salvage the honeycomb for some good eats.

If you are in the least bit allergic to bee stings do not mess with them at all. If the bees are Africanized they may attack, the same holds true even if you are not allergic. The only way to tell the bees apart is after they are dead, so side with caution.