Bees are highly valuable pollinators, but sometimes minimizing their presence in specific areas is desirable. Creating a bee-free zone, such as a patio or outdoor dining space, can be achieved using non-toxic, plant-based methods. This strategy involves incorporating plants that bees find unappealing into the landscape. By understanding the sensory cues bees use for navigation, it is possible to deter them while respecting local bee populations.
How Bees Perceive and Avoid Certain Plants
Bees rely on a complex interplay of visual signals, chemical odors, and resource availability to choose which flowers to visit. Their avoidance of certain plants is a direct consequence of how their sensory systems interpret these signals. For instance, a bee’s vision is tuned to ultraviolet (UV) light, which allows them to see patterns on flower petals that are invisible to the human eye, acting as “nectar guides.”
Bees lack the photoreceptor to see the color red, perceiving it instead as a dark or black color, making red flowers difficult to locate visually compared to their preferred blue, violet, and yellow blooms. The strongest repellent is scent, which is governed by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by the plant. Bees are intensely focused on the pleasant, sweet VOCs associated with nectar and pollen, and they are actively repelled by strong, non-floral, or pungent aromas that mask attractant scents.
Plants that offer a low reward or that have already been visited are also quickly ignored by foraging bees. They are highly efficient foragers, and if a flower’s nectar or pollen content is low, they will move on instantly to conserve energy. Some research suggests that bees can detect a flower’s electrical charge, which changes after a visit, helping them to avoid empty blossoms.
Highly Scented Herbs and Foliage That Deter Bees
The most effective natural deterrents are plants that produce strong, aromatic oils in their foliage that interfere with a bee’s ability to “smell” their preferred food sources. Placing these plants strategically around sitting areas or walkways can create a sensory barrier. The mint family is particularly effective due to the high concentration of menthol and similar compounds.
Peppermint and spearmint contain pungent oils that bees find overwhelming, and their strong aroma can mask the subtle, sweet scents of other nearby flowers. Basil is another common kitchen herb whose robust, savory fragrance is generally unappealing to foraging insects. To achieve maximum deterrence, these herbs should be planted in containers directly around the area you wish to protect, or the leaves can be lightly crushed to release the essential oils into the air.
Effective Aromatic Deterrents
Other strongly scented foliage plants include:
- Citronella, which emits a familiar lemony aroma that is a well-known insect repellent.
- Eucalyptus leaves, which contain oils with a camphorous scent that acts as a natural deterrent to bees.
- Wormwood, which has a distinct, bitter aroma that makes it a powerful natural insect repellent.
- Pennyroyal, a type of mint recognized for its intensely strong, mint-like fragrance that bees actively avoid.
Ornamental Flowers and Plants Bees Tend to Ignore
Beyond the strong-smelling herbs, there are many common ornamental plants that bees tend to ignore due to their physical characteristics or lack of nutritional value. Geraniums are frequently avoided because many varieties produce minimal pollen and possess a musky scent that is not attractive to bees. Red-colored geraniums are particularly effective deterrents since the color red appears dark to the bee’s visual spectrum, making the flower hard to spot.
Marigolds are another popular garden plant whose strong foliage scent and low nectar yield make them undesirable to foraging bees. Many highly cultivated, modern hybrid flowers, such as certain complex roses or double-flowered varieties of petunias and chrysanthemums, have been bred for appearance rather than for nectar or pollen production. These breeding efforts have often inadvertently resulted in flowers with diminished fragrance or complicated structures that make the nectar inaccessible to the bee’s mouthparts.
Plants with long, tubular flower shapes, such as trumpet lilies or impatiens, also present a structural challenge for the short tongues of many common bee species. The reward is often too difficult to reach, causing bees to skip these flowers in favor of more accessible resources.