They are attracted to the water and flowery smelling sun screen. Also any flowering plants near the pool. Set out a dish of water as far away from the pool as you can to try to lure them away. Some bees are attracted to certain sodas. We learned on our last camping trip not to leave any open cans of Sprite at the camp site. Empty or not I think they drew every bee within a 50 mile radius!
We had carpenter bees at our old deck. I tried a lot of different things but ultimately never fully got rid of them. Harbor Freight sells an electric fly swatter (looks like a tennis racket) and that really worked the best for us! We mostly had one giant one at a time, hovering over the territory. I'd zap them as they annoyed me...then zap his replacement...then the next...
LOL at the tennis racket swatter. I've seen those and thought they look like fun. We have the carpenter bees also. Their a pain but they don't really bother me too much. They're not really aggressive and they Google says they really hardly ever sting. Same for the dirt/mud daubers. (Yeah long wasp looking things) I've been trying to teach myself to not be so freaked out by them.
My main concern is the regular paper wasp looking ones that hover over the water when I'm in the pool. That's just too close for comfort.
I have asked this question many times myself since i am allergic to bee stings. I have googled looking for answers, i have posted on this site and others looking for answers after 2 trips to the ER. i have had to tolerate them for the last 4 spring and summers but for the past 2 i have been bee free. My deck is pretty big (1500sf) and there are a lot of great places underneath it for wasp to build there paper nests. Carpenter bees also hover around certain areas claiming there territory. Once the first warm up would hit the wasps would wake up and start flying under and crawling between the deck boards. EpiPen ready at this point........last summer i called a local pest service and asked them if my deck, pool surround, back covered patio, etc could be treated for bees. They said sure, with a 100% guarantee for any later sightings and call backs. $250.00 they crawled under and sprayed every floor joist, post and floor boards, they also sprayed around my pool and my entire home including all of my eves and soffits and they also sprayed my bushes. So after a long winded story and from a member who owns 2 electric swatters your local pest company with the correct spray is the way to go. After the applications i do not even see them in my yard anymore they are someplace else, just what i wanted.
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