How to Get Rid of Leaf Cutter Bees: Easy and Effective Solutions

Leaf cutter bees can be a nuisance for gardeners and homeowners, as they cut circular sections from leaves to construct their nests, resulting in unsightly damage to plants. Although these bees play a vital role in pollination, it’s understandable that you may want to protect your garden from their destructive habits.

There are a few methods to consider in order to deter leaf cutter bees from causing damage to your garden. In the following sections, we will explore some of these strategies and provide helpful tips for managing these pesky pollinators.

Understanding Leaf Cutter Bees

Lifespan and Behavior

Leafcutter bees are solitary insects with a lifespan of one generation per year, usually active in late June and July ¹. Some key characteristics include:

• Overwintering as larvae within cells created by the parent bee
• Nesting in soil, rotten wood, or hollow plant stems
• Using leaf pieces to construct cells within the nest ¹

These solitary bees are unlike honey bees, as they do not make large nests ¹. Their nests often consist of fewer than 12 cells ¹.

Pollination and Ecosystem Benefits

As indigenous pollinators from the Hymenoptera order, leafcutter bees are highly beneficial to the ecosystem ². A comparison of leafcutter bees and honey bees regarding pollination benefits is as follows:

Examples of plants that benefit from leafcutter bee pollination include Eastern redbud, rose, and azalea ³. Moreover, approximately 30% of solitary bees nest above ground, which supports native plants when stems are left standing in gardens ².

Identifying Leaf Cutter Bee Damage

Signs on Plants

Leafcutter bees cause distinctive damage to plants in your garden. They cut precise, semi-circular sections from the edges of leaves, leaving behind a pattern resembling a scalloped edge. Commonly affected plants include roses, trees, and shrubs. Despite this damage, leafcutter bees are beneficial pollinators and their activity typically does not harm the overall health of your plants.

Affected plants may show:

• Semi-circular or circular cut-outs on leaf edges
• Primarily affecting roses, trees, and shrubs
• Scallop-edged pattern on leaves

Evidence of Nests

These bees tend to create nest cells in soft, rotted wood or in the hollow stems of large, pithy plants like roses source. You might notice evidence of their nesting activity by observing small pieces of leaves carried and used to construct cells.

Characteristics of nest sites:

• Soft, rotted wood or hollow stems of plants
• Presence of leaf fragments as nest cell lining
• Sawdust or other debris near nesting sites

Do leaf cutter bees sting or bite?
Leafcutter bees are not aggressive, and their sting is mild, usually only used when they are handled source.

If you need to discourage leafcutter bees from nesting in your garden, consider pruning hollow stems and replacing rotted wood, as these are attractive nest sites for the bees. However, it’s important to remember that these bees are valuable for their pollination abilities, and their damage to plants is usually not severe enough to warrant extermination.

Preventive Measures for Leaf Cutter Bees

To prevent the infestation of leaf cutter bees in your garden, there are specific steps you can take. Focusing on stopping them from nesting and protecting your flowers can be beneficial.

Netting and Cheesecloth

• Netting: Installing fine netting can be an effective way to prevent leaf cutter bees from accessing your flowers for nectar and leaves for building nests. This method excels at protecting large flora like rosa and other flowering shrubs.
• Cheesecloth: For smaller flowers, you can use a cheesecloth to cover them. Its porous design allows sunlight and air to pass through, while keeping leaf cutter bees at bay.

Remember to remove these coverings occasionally to let your flowers breathe and grow freely.

Nesting Site Modification

Leaf cutter bees prefer to nest in wood, rotting boards, and hollow plant stems. By modifying their potential nesting sites, you can deter them from setting up colonies near your flowers or plants.

• Eliminate wood and rotting boards: Regularly inspect and remove any wood or rotting boards in your garden, ensuring that these materials are not being used as nesting sites.
• Sealing wax: Apply sealing wax to small holes in wooden structures, such as fences or furniture, to reduce nesting opportunities.
• Board: Replace hollow plant stems with solid board or material in your garden structures to make them less appealing for nesting.

Doing these modifications can help keep leaf cutter bees away from your garden, and prevent damage to your flowers. Keep a regular watch on your garden to ensure that new nesting sites do not develop, and your preventive measures remain effective.

Natural Repellents and Deterrents

Herbs and Spices

• Vinegar: Mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle and apply to affected areas. It can deter leaf cutter bees but may need frequent reapplication.
• Cinnamon and Garlic Powder: Sprinkle around your garden to create a natural barrier. These spices can deter various insects, including leaf cutter bees.
• Perennial Basil Plants: Planting perennial basil in your garden attracts other bee species (e.g., honeybees and bumblebees) that may help push leaf cutter bees away.
• Mothballs: Adding mothballs near bee nests can repel leaf cutter bees, but use them with caution as they’re toxic to humans and pets.

Herb and Spice Comparison Table:

Smoke and Fire

• Smoke: Lighting a small fire near the ground bee nests, ensuring it stays under control, creates smoke. When the smoke reaches the nests, leaf cutter bees may temporarily relocate.
• Fire: Pouring nectar on the nests and then safely igniting it can destroy the nests and deter the bees. However, this method should be used with extreme caution and only as a last resort.

Smoke and Fire Comparison Table:

Contacting Professional Help

Bee Removal Services

Sometimes, gardeners may feel the need to remove leaf cutter bees from their property. In such cases, it’s essential to contact professional bee removal services. These experts can handle bee colonies safely, without causing harm to the pollinators or the environment. Some advantages and disadvantages of using professional services are:

Pros:

• Safe, eco-friendly removal
• Knowledgeable about bee behavior
• Ensures bees can continue providing ecosystem services elsewhere

Cons:

• Costly compared to do-it-yourself methods
• May not be available in all areas

Coexisting with Leaf Cutter Bees

Alternatively, it’s crucial to consider coexisting with leaf cutter bees, which are essential for the environment. They are generally not aggressive and provide valuable pollination services. Here are some characteristics and reasons to coexist with them:

• Non-aggressive, solitary bees
• Vital pollinators for gardens and crops
• One generation per year, active mainly in late-June and July¹

By considering these factors, most gardeners can peacefully coexist with leaf cutter bees without resorting to insecticides or causing harm to their colonies.

Comparison of Bee Removal Services and Coexisting