Recently, I traveled to the Augusta, Georgia area to perform residential lawn inspections. I came across one lawn with small dirt piles throughout. After a closer inspection, I discovered small, and metallic looking bees hovering just above these dirt mounds in the lawn…. Digger Bees!

Digger Bees are located in areas of the lawn where the turf is thin from too much shade or other stress factors, such as drought that cause lawn to be sparse. The female bees dig an underground tunnel as a nest where the female bee reproduces. There is one generation of Digger Bees per summer. Once the adults finish producing the eggs of the next generation, there will be no activity until the following spring.

The mounds of soil are unattractive and disruptive to the homeowner. Usually, the homeowner wants the bees eradicated because they can appear to be aggressive. The threat of being stung by Digger Bees is very unlikely since they are typically docile. The bees are important pollinators and eradication is discouraged. Think of your lawn being aerated for free,…let the bees do the work!

If control is needed, then rejuvenate the lawn by leveling the area and establish a thick turf or contact Fairway Lawns to begin a weed control and fertilizer program to help with turf density. Having a thick, healthy lawn makes the burrowing of the bees more difficult. Insecticide dust can be used to treat individual burrows for small problems. For larger problems, the lawn can be sprayed or treated with granular insecticides, a service that Fairway Lawns can provide at an additional cost to your current lawn program.

— provided by Jim Milliman, Training & Development Manager at Fairway Lawns