When hanging laundry outdoors, especially on sunny days, it’s not unusual to find bees investigating freshly washed clothes—even underwear.
Though startling, the behavior has a natural explanation: bees navigate the world through scent and sight, and clean laundry often mimics floral signals.
Detergents and fabric softeners are the main culprits. Many contain floral or fruity fragrances that resemble nectar-rich blossoms.
To a bee, a shirt washed in rose-scented detergent may seem no different from a flower patch. Color also matters.
Bees are naturally drawn to bright or light fabrics, which resemble petals, and sunlight enhances those visual cues.
Together, fragrance, color, and light can trick bees into treating your laundry as potential food.
Fortunately, their interest is rarely dangerous. Bees are unlikely to sting unless threatened. Still, for those wanting fewer visitors,
there are simple steps: hang clothes in shaded spots, avoid strongly scented laundry products, or dry darker fabrics outdoors instead.
In the end, bees on clothes aren’t a threat so much as a reminder of nature’s overlap with daily life. Even the ordinary act of
drying laundry intersects with the environment, showing how sensitive and resourceful these pollinators are in their search for food.