Attract Bees To Your DIY Hive With A Fragrant Essential Oil

As the world's most important insect pollinators, bees are an essential species for any ecosystem. This is also the major benefit of having a beehive on your property (although you may want to remove a beehive from your home's exterior). Bees are great for your flowers and other plants, helping your lawn and garden thrive. While there are many ways to make a DIY beehive, getting bees to move in and actually use it poses a different challenge.

Bees are living organisms, and they can be picky about where they set up their nest. Building a beehive may not be enough to attract them. The good news is that there's a fragrant oil that might help: lemongrass oil. This essential oil attracts these pollinating insects because it smells similar to the Nasonov pheromone that bees use to communicate with their fellow hive members.

Specifically, bees use Nasonov pheromone to mark safe nesting locations. By mimicking the smell of this pheromone, lemongrass works like a beacon to draw bees to your homemade hive, increasing the odds that they'll set up their nest there. You don't need a lot. Simply dampen a cotton swab with some lemongrass oil and rub it around the edges of your beehive's entryway. Provided your beehive is suitable and in a good location, this should attract migrating bees and allow you to kickstart your pollinator garden.

Lemongrass oil alone can attract bees, but it's not enough to convince them to build a nest in just any location. You need to ensure that your hive is properly constructed and in a good spot for the beneficial pollinators to stick around. A shoddy beehive treated with lemongrass oil may attract some scout bees, but they will just check out the area and then leave to find a more suitable nesting place. Make sure your beehive is well-covered and has an entrance at the bottom. Allow plenty of space around the hive and make sure there's a source of clean water nearby (bees need water to survive, like any creature).

Secondly, the lemongrass oil scent will naturally diminish over time. You may need to reapply it to the entrance of your hive if it doesn't attract a migrating swarm right away. You can make a longer-lasting bee lure by placing some oil on absorbent paper at the entrance to the hive. Also, don't over-apply the lemongrass oil, as this may have the opposite effect and repel the bees you're trying to attract.