Help Bees nest !

[IceBoy]

Hi All,

I think I just did a stupid thing.

I blocked up the little hole the large bees were going in and out of, in my wall.

The wall is, my side wall of the house and now there are hundreds of bees there. the kids cannot play out as they are scared as am I.

What should I do?

Help
IceBoy

[TimCrighton]

Honey Bees presumably?

[Moominho]

Did you block it up whilst the bees were there?

[m0ssy]

why would you do such a thing?

If it was a wasp nest I could understand and there are much easier ways of getting rid.

But a bees nest? in the daytime when they are gathering nectar? and are reluctant to sting unless they cant get in their home......

[Gargamel]

Hi,

Find a local beekeeper they will move it for you.

Please don't kill the bees. We need them.

[pad58]

Gargamel said:

Hi,

Find a local beekeeper they will move it for you.

Please don't kill the bees. We need them.

This ^^

[Timmy35]

I don't think there's much you can do except wait until night fall when they will calm down a bit then you can unblock it.

What do they look like? Honey Bees are about 2.5cm long and banded usually are light brown, Bumble Bees are large and 'hairy', and Boo Bees are all sorts of colours and sizes but you'll know them when you see them.

[TimCrighton]

If they've swarmed presumably they are Honey Bees. They can only move the swarm if they can get the Queen and she is in a cavity wall this may not be possible. Often local bee keepers are reluctant to take them because of infection risks to their own existing colonies (or at least this is what we were told)...

[Timmy35]

TimCrighton said:

If they've swarmed presumably they are Honey Bees. They can only move the swarm if they can get the Queen and she is in a cavity wall this may not be possible. Often local bee keepers are reluctant to take them because of infection risks to their own existing colonies (or at least this is what we were told)...

It sounds more like the OP has blocked the hole up mid morning by which point hundreds of bees have been out foraging and are now returning to find some gits blocked up the front door and they can no longer get into their house. So there flying around outside saying the bee equivalent of "where's the fkung front door gone?"

[IceBoy]

It was getting rather hairy, so I managed to unblock the hole.
They look like bumble bees, big & hairy, but all has calmed down now. It was all rather frightening.

Do I just leave them there in my cavity wall?

Iceboy

[Rick101]

I've got them 2 floors up in a very awkward place.

Best thing to do is just leave them alone. Really won't do any dmage to you or the wall.

They'll be gone in a couple of months.

[m0ssy]

IceBoy said:

It was getting rather hairy, so I managed to unblock the hole.
They look like bumble bees, big & hairy, but all has calmed down now. It was all rather frightening.

Do I just leave them there in my cavity wall?

Iceboy

Well done for unblocking the nest. They will not sting unless provoked and can even be handled without stinging as are non-aggressive. Fascinating for the kids, amazing pollinators and important to our environment. They are not the most aerodynamic of insects and still amazes me how they can fly so well.

You are very lucky to have a bumble bee nest so close.

It will be gone in a couple of months when the new queens fly out.

Although I think you may have exaggerated numbers somewhat as an average bumblebee nest contains about 30 bees you big jessy

IceBoy said:

The wall is, my side wall of the house and now there are hundreds of bees there. the kids cannot play out as they are scared as am I.

What should I do?

Help
IceBoy

[Nimby]

If they are bumblebees (and it sounds like it) the ones constantly buzzing around the entrance are males waiting for virgin queens to emerge, and the males can't sting.

Worker females tend to go straight in and out, and although they can sting they very rarely do.

[otolith]

My folks have a bird nesting box full of bumble bees. I've got them nesting in a wall in the garden. Good pollinators. On the other hand, I've seen hardly any of the solitary mining bees that normally appear in the lawn. I guess the weird spring weather wasn't good for them.

[rat840771]

Thread resurrection....we have the same problem

An old overflow pipe I presume that has been removed from the side of our house is now the Bee's front door.

So I was in the kitchen yesterday and I heard this vibration noise ( it was quite loud) which I thought was coming from outside and I think it is the Bee's in our cavity near the main pipework that run down the cavity from Bathroom.

I wont bloke off, but I don't see the point of calling anyone as they wont be able to get to them without ripping out our internal wall/ceilings!

Do I just leave them alone?

[mrsshpub]

rat840771 said:

Do I just leave them alone?

If they're bumble bees, the nest will naturally die at the end of the summer so block the entrance hole when activity ceases & they won't come back next year. More info here: http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/habita...

[BoRED S2upid]

Another here under a slate in the roof they have been there for 2 months now. They are harmless and our 2 year old can now say bee. As said previously the ones buzzing round are males that can't sting so just leave them. They will die pretty soon we now have the odd one from a max of about 20. The roofer will be called pretty soon so they don't come back next year.

[Zelda Pinwheel]

We've a big swarm of honey bees in a brick & flint cavity wall on the farm - when they first arrived it was really alarming, but they've settled in, and aren't doing anyone any harm, so I'm pleased to see that they've been left well alone. I had feared that some asshat would come in and kill them or block it up but it seems common sense has prevailed (for a change).

They're right by our workshop and it's so interesting to watch them going about their busyness. Beesniss?

Good on anyone who saves them, they need all the help they can get.