bees attracted to lights

[Gretchen Rieck]

hello. I friend of mine, and brand new beekeeper, is having problems with her bees. she tells me that she can not go into her backyard at night because when she turns her porch light on, the bees from her one hive just flock to her light. she also has floodlights in her backyard, and she said that if she turns on the floodlights, the bees go to it and catch on fire....  has anyone dealt with this??

I have 3 hives in my backyard, have 2 porch lights and also floodlights but have never had this problem at all. I have not witnessed what my friend says is happening, but wondered if any of you folk have experienced this, and know what to do about it..

I did suggest she try the bug light bulbs that discourage insects, but she says they made it worse..  

thank you.

GR

[Buckner Creel]

Has this been happening to her for a while?  We had this experience for an odd week or two this summer with a hive that was queenless.  The bees got a bit defensive in the yard, and one or two would go after us every few minutes.  At night, we had some bees, presumably from that hive, hitting a screen on the window in our kitchen when we had the lights on.  It was unusually weird.  You might check the hive to see if it is queenright.  The issue went away for us once the hive accepted a queen.

[Gretchen Rieck]

I don't know how long she has had this problem, I didn't ask..  but she has not said anything about her bees hitting her windows at night due to inside lights. I will suggest she check on her queen. one thing I have tried to get her to change, is that she has her bees water source right next to her backyard patio (in ground, permanent little pond thing) the hive is near the other side of her yard.. I don't know if this could have any bearing on her situation. thank you for your reply Buckner.

[Gretchen Rieck]

spoke to my friend. she says that it has going on for months. she also said she checked into her hive a month ago.. I don't get it,.. I have 3 hives and do not have this problem with my flood lights and porch light..  

[Christianne Hinks]

She might want to check out this website: https://www.zombeewatch.org/theproject#about_ZomBee_watch_  The Zombie Fly, Apocephalus borealis, has been found in Grant County, NM, but has not been reported to have infected any hives. The odd behavior you describe is well worth investigating. 

[Gretchen Rieck]

oh my gosh. this sure sounds like what might be happening with my friend..

[Elizabeth Lake]

I have this problem too!
My hive is directly outside my bedroom window, and late at one night one bee will break into my window, get inside my bedroom, and bang against the ceiling light!  It scares my poor puppy to death! (They've stung her a few times so she is anti-bee).

It's always just one bee, but it's EVERY night.

My only solutions are to turn the light off - but then I'm in the same predicament as your friend and can not do what I want to do at night - or turn on the fan in that window. They stay away when the fan is going.

[Buckner Creel]

Elizabeth, Are your screens on the window tight?  Making new screens is a pretty cheap/easy fix, if so.

[Elizabeth Lake]

Don't have screens.