I was mowing the lawn the other nite and started seeing Bumble bees.I stopped the tractor and watched and it looked like they were burrowing into the ground? Do they burrow or do they build nests? And does anyone know how to kill them and destroy the whole nest?

Bumble Bees ?? Leave them alone...

Not going to hurt anyone at all....

Some bees do burrow underground to build nests. According to this page from Iowa State's integrated pest management, bumble bees nest in pre-existing cavities rather than digging their own.

These bumble bee's are not someplace that I can safely leave them alone or I would.They are in my back yard and I have a 10 yr old and an 8 yr old that play back there and I can't take a chance on them being stung.
Thanks for the link methos.

Depends on your children, but if they don't attack the bee it won't sting.It only stings in desperation as a last resort.Bees usually die after stinging, unlike wasps. We are not talking killer wasps here.Bumble bees are solitary creatures; they are not communal nest builders like honey-bees are, though you may find several individuals in the same area. Country children, and parents, live happily with this imagined threat all the time

quote:

Bees usually die after stinging, unlike wasps.

Honeybees have barbed stingers that lock in place, so the bee dies when it separates from its stinger, trailing bee guts. On the other hand, bumblebees, like wasps, have smooth stingers that retract back into the insect when it's done stinging.

At least, that's the way I learned it in elementary school!

I agree with Professor - bumble bees have smooth stingers and can sting repeatedly. It's also true that they won't sting unless provoked. I would leave them, but you may decide it's better to be safe than sorry - particularly if the children are or may be allergic. Powdered pesticides and filling the holes, as recommended in the link, seem to be the preferred method.

I've just discovered that we can't destroy bumble bees here in Britain anyway; the various species are protected by law.

Whatever next?

Happily we have no real need to .