Im having a problem with bees!

while i have all the respect in the world for these little critters, i cant figure out why theyre hanging out in my entryway- i built a wooden archway at the front of my house by the main sidewalk- i stained it and its been there for years (6 or 7?) ive noticed these bees the last couple days and they want nothing to do with all the flowers in my garden, but they appear to be scratching or eating the stain off my archway! they are what weve always called sweat bees? small and mostly yellow and quick- theyre acting like druggies after their next fix! id take a pic of this but i dont take kindly to being stung... has anyone heard of this or have any idea whats going on? weve tried our best to watch them to see if theres a nest being built but just cant see one- any help would be most appreciated =)

My only thought is that the bees (if they are sweat bees) are finding your old stain salty enough to eat. Maybe a fresh coat of paint is in order.

Most photos of sweat bees show green colouration (iridescence), rather than yellow... ?
Sweat bee photos:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=sweat+bee&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIiNvA0-GJxwIVzVqICh0_HABa&biw=1439&bih=1232

Are you sure they're not yellow jacket wasps, rasping away wood fibre for their nests, as they can commonly be seen doing?
Yellow jackets:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=yellow+jacket+wasp&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIl7urs-KJxwIV0JeICh3HmQFB&biw=1439&bih=1232

From various references, it doesn't sound like sweat bees would have a reason to rasp away at wood, since they don't seem to use wood fibre in their nests (nesting in soil or rotten wood, with cells, if present, made from waxy secretions):
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/halictid_bees.htm

This message was edited Aug 1, 2015 11:37 PM

thank you so much for all the info and the links were a great help! these are not sweat bees and not yellow jackets- im gonna take a look at some bee species and figure out what kind they are- will let you know as soon as i figure it out- again thank you for answering so quickly! =)

ok- the images thing i usually use was of no help- next to nothing on there- i will try to get a pic of one of them tomorrow and post it here- till then im in the dark- (mostly cause its dark outside- lol)

Try looking at wasp species, rather than at bee species. Bees wouldn't have any particular reason to rasp away at wood, since they don't make use wood fibre for nests.

ok folks- today i got brave and took a couple pics-the nail at the top of the post is a regular roofing nail so you can see about what size the bee is- you can also see what theyre doing to my post- i dont like the thought of killing them but how do i get them to go away!? hope the pics are helpful and thank you for any info you can give me =)

That looks like a yellow jacket to me. They did that to the wood handle of a grille scraper I had. I could never figure out what they were doing. Now I know from what has been posted above. Why not just let them go at it until the end of the season and then restain it? They might not come back to it next year.

Yes, it's a yellow jacket. Just let them be. They aren't necessarily aggressive, if you leave them alone.

i wonder if theres anything i can spray on the entryway to put a bad taste in their mouth- id leave them be but its the main walk up to our house and at least one of our friends i know is allergic- i guess we can just go around thru our neighbors yard and let our friend know about them- the worst of it is i was going to plant 2 of my azaleas on either side of the archway- i guess i can wait till dusk when theyve gone off to bed for the night =)

Google "yellow jacket trap diy"
I recently saw this and it came to mind when your bees were ID'd as yellow jackets

go out at night, cover the post with foil.

Yellow jackets in force can kill. Kill them. Just as bad as ground hornets and just as mean.

If you actually plan on doing this, you'd be best to get an exterminator in... don't just go all cowboy and try to do it yourself.
When you kill one yellow jacket, it releases some sort of signal (pheromone?- I don't know) that will bring the rest of the colony after you... and you REALLY don't want that.
Each sting feels like fire, and wasps can sting as many times as they wish (unlike bees, which die after stinging, when the stinger is torn from their bodies).

Edit: Returning to this, successful extermination means finding the nest or nests, not killing individuals... with the attendant risk I mentioned. You could buy some poison and kill the colony at the nest, with some chance of being stung yourself, but it means actually finding the nest, which may not even be in your yard.

Have these wasps actually shown any sign of aggression? They typically don't, unless you harm them, or pose a threat to their nest.

This message was edited Aug 3, 2015 8:09 PM

In the south, they dont need an excuse, just motion. They have killed small children who simply went outside. There are enough in the woods that exterminating one hive that wont die away will be missed. Yes I know the difference tween yellow jackets, ground hornets, paper wasps...I learned when a cuz got bit so many times she almost died as a child.

i lost my post! wrote you all last evening and somehow its not on here- musta hit a wrong button or something =) anyways, here it is again near as i can remember-
thanks val- i looked up the diy traps and actually made one- i hung it on the nail thats in the pic i posted- no takers yet, but i swear i heard one of them laugh as it flew by =) maybe instead of pepsi in a bottle, i should pour some beer in a shallow dish, and when they drink it theyll get drunk, lose their way back to the nest, and wind up in the next county with a hangover tomorrow morning and no memory of how to get back! ok, i got my giggle for the day =)
kitt- ive taken to heart all the great info youve given me- i thank you for that-
alta- i know the nest isnt in my yard cause when they do fly off its straight accross the street and then i lose track of them- theyre so tiny and lots of trees in the way- they arent aggressive, they just seem to be on a mission (tho i havent stood close enough to them for any length of time) i told my hubby last night that i was just gonna suck it up and go about my business getting things done- well see how that works... there is one thing i thought of im gonna try but im not saying anything unless it works- =)

I have made hornet traps. You have to figure out what they like most. I've used bacon and Orange Juice. Poke a hole through both sides of a zip lock bag near the top and thread a stick through it (hang it from a string). Pour O.J. in the bag with a couple drops of soap. If O.J. doesn't work, try bacon floating in water with a couple drops of soap. The hornets fly in, eat until they're stuffed, fall in the water and drown.

The only safe way to go after them on your own is at night but you would have to find the nest. Don't wear red or use the hornet spray in the red can.

Daisy

I forgot a step. Hang the bacon over the stick so it touches the soapy water.

This message was edited Aug 4, 2015 10:38 AM