An estimated 80% of crops rely on bees for pollination, making them ecologically and agriculturally important. Bee pest control in Toronto should therefore be approached with caution, relocating the bees if possible and only killing them if necessary. If bees seem to get close to you often, it may be that you are attracting them without realizing it. Learning how to avoid inadvertently attracting bees may help you avoid the need for residential pest control. Here are some things that attract bees.

1. Floral Prints

Bees are herbivores with a strict diet; they only eat pollen and nectar that they collect from flowers. Their vision is therefore adapted to help them find flowers as they fly around. If you wear clothing with floral prints, bees may get confused and land on you, looking for food.

This can be unsettling. Bee stings can be painful and, for people who are allergic, potentially fatal. However, bees are not aggressive and only sting when threatened. Some bee species, such as honeybees, have a barbed stinger that gets stuck in the skin. Attempting to pull the stinger out does irreparable damage to the abdomen, and the bee dies soon after. Therefore, it is in both your interest and the insect’s to stay calm and avoid any sudden or threatening movements if a bee lands on you. Before long, it should realize that you are not a flower and fly away.

2. Bright Colours and Patterns

Certain colours attract bees because of their similarity to flowers. Bees can see ultraviolet light, as well as purple, blue, green, and yellow. They cannot perceive the colour red. Wearing bright colours that fall within the bees’ visual range may attract them to you. Beekeepers wear all white to avoid attracting or exciting the bees.

Many flowers have bilateral or radial symmetry. Bees may be attracted to patterns that mimic the appearance of flowers even if they do not look floral to your eyes.

3. Certain Smells

In addition to sight, bees also use smells to find food. If you wear personal hygiene products, such as perfume, shampoo, aftershave, or sunscreen, with floral scents, bees may be attracted to you because their sense of smell tells them that those fragrances mean possible food. Bees are also attracted to sweet smells, such as fruit or soda because nectar has high sugar content. The salty smell of your sweat can also attract certain kinds of bees.

4. Shiny Accessories

Because bees can see ultraviolet light, the petals of certain flowers look shiny to them. Therefore, they are instinctively drawn to shiny objects, such as belt buckles or jewelry. To avoid attracting bees, try not to wear shiny accessories outside, especially in areas where you have seen bees in the past.

5. Territorialism

It may be that the bees aren’t actually attracted to you at all. Rather, you may be close to their nest, and they may be checking you out to see if you are a threat. Bees aren’t naturally aggressive, though they may sting you if they perceive you as a danger to their nest.

Wasps, which look like bees but are only distantly related, are more aggressive. If these stinging insects are on your property, you may require wasp pest control in Toronto to regain peace of mind when going outside as they may have a much lower tolerance for your presence and could start stinging you when you don’t even think you are close to the nest. Wasps have smooth stingers, meaning that they can attack more than once without dying.

Call Truly Nolen for Bee Pest Control in Toronto

Truly Nolen provides residential pest control for both bees and wasps, as well as many other unwanted creatures. Contact us for an assessment of your property, after which we will recommend a customized plan of action.