If someone in your family has a bee allergy, spending time in the great outdoors can bring more stress than relaxation. While you can’t control the insect population everywhere, you can keep these stinging insects from buzzing around your yard with the help of landscaping tricks and professional, humane pest control. As bees become more active in the warm weather, use the tips below to keep your loved ones safe.

3 Ways to Avoid Bee Stings Outside Your Home

1. Avoid Bee-Luring Plants

Depending on what you fill your landscape with, bees might see your property as a pollination hot spot or a place worth passing on. If you’re cultivating a vegetable garden, stay away from tomatoes, beans, peppers, and peas, all of which produce flowers that attract bees. Instead, plant cucumber, mint, and basil plants to repel bees and wasps from your garden. Also, stay away from colorful flowers like roses, dahlias, and sunflowers, which are easy for bees to see and land on.

2. Wear the Right Clothes

Even with a bee-repelling garden, you can protect family members who are allergic to stings by having them wear protective clothing. Since bees may be lurking near the ground, grabbing pollen from dandelions and clover, dress children in long pants and closed-toed shoes. If they step near a bee that gets frightened and stings in their defense, the materials will have a strong chance of protecting them. Bees are also more aggressive when they sense hair or fur (thinking you’re an animal trying to steal honey), so wear a hat to lower the odds of them stinging instinctually.

3. Hire a Pest Control Company

If you spot a nest near your home, back away slowly and steadily and get anyone allergic inside. It’s unlikely the nest was made by bees—paper wasps, yellow jackets, or hornets are more likely and more aggressive—so caution is important. Call a pest control company to remove the nest and apply a treatment to prevent their return. Trying to get rid of a nest on your own could release a swarm of angry insects, severely threatening the safety of an allergic individual.

If you’re looking for a pest control expert to handle your bee problem, turn to Central Tennessee Termite & Pest Control. Based in Cookeville, this team has over 20 years of experience treating pest issues in residential and commercial properties. If you spot a nest on your property, call them immediately at (931) 526-2033 for 24-hour emergency service. To find out what other insects they can protect your family from, visit the website.