Bees and my hot tub

[Alyson]

I wonder if anyone can help please? My neighbour keeps honey bees and since April we find the bees take a great interest in out hot tub, crawling under the cover and sitting on the edge of the tub apparantly drinking when we open it up for use. They fall in and have to be rescued/fished out and I'm concerned that my 10yr old and her friends will sit or put their hand on one and get stung.
Any ideas for discouraging them please?

Alyson

[Geoff]

It sounds like a classic case of bees being a nuisance when they go searching for water.
Have you had a quiet word with the neighbour so he knows what his bees are doing? Sounds like the bees need a water source nearer to the hive(s). I provide a bowl of gravel that I keep damp. Means the bees can drink, but not drown. I also have a pond so they can use that as well. Bird bath would help them as well.
If you don't get on with your neighbour (it does happen sometimes!) then you could try providing the distraction for them ie bird bath, bowl of gravel.

[Adamd]

Geoff is correct. More water sources will mean that you will have less bees around the tub. It will take a few days possibly for them to find the new water source as for the numbers to reduce around yours.

[G4WIL]

I agree with both previous posts,
another idea maybe to add something to the water to dicourage the bees ?
If you keep your hot tub filled ,then it would have the double effect of keeping the water in good condition.
Maybe worth searching a trade magazine ,I'm sure insects of varying species can present a problem for hot tub users, therefore it follows that someone will market the answer ??
John Wilkinson

[Chris]

"Excuse me Mr Friendly Beekeeper. You might not have noticed our hot tub in the garden, but it is, at times, attracting quite large numbers of bees which come and fill up with water. Only lots are falling in and drowning, and sooner or later one of the kiddies is going to sit on one and get stung. Is there any chance you could put out an alternative source of water for them? The problem is only likely to get worse when we get some really warm weather." .... type of thing.

You can't really discourage them from coming. It is for the bees to find a more suitable and a closer source of water, and it is for the owner of the bees to provide one.