27/08/2026
🐝 “We have loads of bees digging holes all over the garden. What should we do?”
This was an enquiry we received today, along with this video and close-up photo.
At first glance, seeing this many bees flying close to the ground and disappearing into little holes can make you think you’ve got a serious pest problem.
But this is a great example of why identification matters before any pest-control treatment is carried out.
These appear to be solitary ground-nesting bees, potentially ivy bees. Rather than living together in one conventional hive, individual females create their own small nesting burrows. Suitable patches of dry soil can attract lots of them to the same area, which is why the activity can look quite dramatic.
🐝 Do they need pest control treatment?
In this situation, our advice is no.
They’re beneficial pollinators and generally pose very little risk when left undisturbed. Spraying the area simply because there are lots of them would be unnecessary.
If these are ivy bees, their season typically runs from late August through September and October. Activity should gradually decline and normally finish naturally around late October or early November.
So our advice to the customer was simple:
Leave them alone, enjoy watching them, and let nature take its course.
Good pest management isn’t about killing everything that crawls or flies. Sometimes the professional answer is knowing when NOT to treat. 🌿🐝
Bugwise Pest Control
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