Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
  • Bee problem, any experts?
  • mtbmaff
    Free Member

    We have a bird box which some bees decided to squat in, at first the buzzing from inside made you smile as you walked by, but now there seems to be a bit of a frenzy going on. There are quite a few flying around now trying to get in the box, what I need to know is how long will this increased activity carry on and will it get worse? It’s started yesterday, up til then it had very relaxed with odd bees in and out the box.
    The bird box is only 6x4x4 inches but is close to our front door.
    Any advice would be appreciated thanks.

    bearnecessities
    Full Member

    Set a honeytrap.

    IGMC

    bearnecessities
    Full Member

    Stupid fingers.

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    crankboy
    Free Member

    fair chance a cloud of two to 30 is males hanging around waiting for the queen to turn up should calm down in a couple of weeks , don’t mess with them now young males not getting any can be quite volatile .

    dlr
    Full Member

    My neighbour has this issue as of about a week ago. I had a look online for him and the solution seemed to be

    1: Leave them alone, they will naturally go in a few months (not ideal as he has grandkids running around)
    2: Landlord/Council who would probably just send round pest control and kill them, not ideal for the bees…
    3: Local bee swarm collector and I pointed him to a couple of people

    http://www.bbka.org.uk/help/find_a_swarm_coordinator.php

    On one link I read that it’s best to move them at night, wait till dark, use a red light as they apparently can’t see them (I’m thinking rear bike led on solid mode), block up the nesting box then move it somewhere but I would try the swarm collector option first

    ratcatcher
    Full Member

    If you can remove the box without it being opened gaffer tape over the hole (cool evenings best) then remove box from wall and relocate elsewhere

    globalti
    Free Member

    ….and remember, winegar for wasp stings, bicarbonate for bees.

    dashed
    Free Member

    Ring one of those swarm collectors on the link above. Other half’s old man does it and the phone doesn’t stop ringing at the minute with various swarms. He’s always happy to help out though, as I believe others on the list are – it’s a voluntary thing so they’d not put their names down unless they wanted to.

    jon1973
    Free Member

    [stw] Have you actually tried talking to them? [/stw]

    phead
    Free Member

    What kind of bee? Some can be collected, others like bumblebees cannot. Bird boxes tend to be tree bumblebees (orange-black-white), they are harmless even in a drone swarm and can be ignored.

    mtbmaff
    Free Member

    Thanks for all the replies, I should have mentioned they were bumblebees! As what phead says above is what local bee guy suggested.

    kjcc25
    Free Member

    They are probably tree bees. It seems they arrived in this country about 12 years ago and have been spreading across the country since then.
    I had them in a bird box, in my garden, last year. They proved to be harmless and from what I have read are not dangerous. Best just to leave them alone. You should find they will have gone by the end of June. A friend of mine has some in a bird box at the moment.

    CaptainSlow
    Full Member

    Contact bbka to find a local keeper who will gladly help you out.

    We had a swarm in the garden a couple of years back, fantastic sight but they could not be left where they were so they were rehomed by the local bee keeper.

    peteimpreza
    Full Member

    Just leave them alone and let them bee.

    Bees are good mmmkay?

Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

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