How to Stop Mailbox Bees
Stinging insects flying around your mailbox can result in your postal carrier refusing to drop off your mail until you resolve the problem. Bees, yellow jackets, hornets and wasps can be attracted to mailboxes and sometimes nest in and around them. Fortunately, you can take certain precautions to stop bees and other stinging insects from hanging around your mailbox--and to get rid of them if they do appear.
Keep your lawn cut short near the mailbox. This will remove dandelions, clover and any other flowering plants that might attract bees for the pollen.
Avoid planting flowers or flowering trees near the mailbox. If you live in a rural area, keep weeds trimmed back from the box, as these might produce flowers, too.
Keep garbage cans covered. Also, cover recycling containers that hold empty soda and juice bottles. Hornets and yellow jackets, which look like bees, are attracted to sweet substances and to protein.
Keep water sources away from your mailbox. Bees are attracted to water, so don't run a sprinkler near the mailbox. Additionally, don't locate the mailbox in an area where standing water tends to accumulate.
Place a mothball in the box. Mothballs repel bees and stop them from building nests or hives in the mailbox. Be aware that your mail will smell like mothballs if you go this route.
Swap out your wood mailbox post for a metal one. Carpenter bees like to drill holes in wood and build nests there.
Writer Bio
Shelley Moore is a journalist and award-winning short-story writer. She specializes in writing about personal development, health, careers and personal finance. Moore has been published in "Family Circle" magazine and the "Milwaukee Sentinel" newspaper, along with numerous other national and regional magazines, daily and weekly newspapers and corporate publications. She has a Bachelor of Science in psychology.