Bees are moving in

katknapp
katknapp Member Posts: 709
edited 22. Apr 2012, 11:17 in Community Chit-chat archive
we have'nt lived here long and have just started to sort our tiny garden out,on the shed there is an old homemade wooden birdbox and we had noticed the odd bee hovering round it,anyway hubby went to take it down and we discovered that the bees are making themselves at home in there, the problem is the garden is tiny and the shed is close to our windows,and they do keep coming in, we also have a 5 year old and im worried about her getting stung,also not actually hundred per cent sure what sort of bees they are,they dont look like wasps anyway :? Dont know how im supposed to get rid of them as i dont want them harmed but also dont particulary want them nesting in my garden :?

Comments

  • skezier
    skezier Member Posts: 11,333
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Kat,

    Depend on if they are honey bee's or bumble bee's?

    I have had a couple of swarms of honey bee's and a local Bee Keeper was only too pleased to come ad get them so maybe ringing one of them for some advice would help? If they are honey bee's they might move them and if bumble bee's could well be able to advice.

    They don';t normally sting, which ever they are, unless they are threatened. Not much help but a bee keeper might be able to advise better. Cris x
  • katknapp
    katknapp Member Posts: 709
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    i think they are honey bees,they are smaller than bumble bees anyway,i will have to find a bee keeper lol,i dont want them harmed even though i dont like honey,went off it after i found out it was actually bee vomit :shock:
  • mellman01
    mellman01 Member Posts: 5,306
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Can't you tape some mess or kind of see through curtain material over the window or maybe put up some strips of material like the multi-coloured ones you use to get for your door it might keep them out, mind you don't use to bright a colour as they get attracted to it you could end up with a room full of the blighters!.
    I have 3 masonry bee nests up on our back wall and we get a quite a few around but they don't sting, one type are really small but the colour is electric blue totally stunning to look at.
    Ooops there I go again I've gone all buddhist on meself I keep doing that, it's just the older I get the more I admire nature.
  • skezier
    skezier Member Posts: 11,333
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Kat,

    if they are honey bees the chances are they are not living there as they move house in a swarm and you would have a lot there in one bulk but they might be sounding it out ....

    talk to a bee keeper and see if they can help. The one I talked to for my swarms was only too happy to come and take them.

    Hope you can get some help. Cris x
  • katknapp
    katknapp Member Posts: 709
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Apparently they leave the nest around september so we might wait till then and then get rid of the bird box,im not sure what they are mellman,they are small though,might keep em its very amusing watching my eldest daughters bee dance!(shes 23)Buddist thoughts would go out of my head if it was a nest of wasps! hate the things
  • skezier
    skezier Member Posts: 11,333
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Kat,

    both my swarms have been much earlier than September..... Cris x
  • katknapp
    katknapp Member Posts: 709
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I certainly hope so cris,although we have read that you can move them at night time but it has to be a couple of miles away otherwise they come back,I dont think my bees are very bright they think anythings a flower including my washing which gets covered by them then i have to leave it till it either rains and they go or till its dark lol!
  • marrianne
    marrianne Member Posts: 1,161
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Kat I hope you sort the bees out ,I didnt know honey was bees vomit :lol::lol: Marrianne :)
  • katknapp
    katknapp Member Posts: 709
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Kat I hope you sort the bees out ,I didnt know honey was bees vomit Marrianne

    I wonder how many more people have gone off honey since knowing that! :lol: i cant bear the thought of eating it anymore,my little girl wants to keep the bee's, she thinks we will have honey on tap :D
  • marrianne
    marrianne Member Posts: 1,161
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Well as long as she is careful bless her natures way ......well I shall still eat honey and cider vinegar three times a day ....a good friend said it would cure all I know it wont :lol::lol: but her intentions :lol: were so good so I must show willing Marrianne :)
  • applerose
    applerose Member Posts: 3,621
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Honey bees have 2 stomachs, one which digests food and the other which stores the nectar until it can deposit it in the hive.

    Hope you can get them moved ok if you decide not to keep them till they leave.
    Christine
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Gosh Kat

    such a shame they are so close to the house otherwise you could have kept them.

    Like you l would rather they were moved to a new home where they wouldn't scare anyone :(

    Thanks applerose - l am very glad to hear it's not in a sense vomit because l love honey :D

    Love

    Toni xx
  • katknapp
    katknapp Member Posts: 709
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    oh phew applerose glad you cleared that up lol the thought of bee vomit was not nice :D we have been told they cant be honey bees as a bird box would not be big enough for them? so its thought they are bumble bee's,Sorry going to sound ignorant now but is it honey or bumbles that sting? :?
  • applerose
    applerose Member Posts: 3,621
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    You're welcome. Couldn't have you thinking it was actual vomit. Yuk! lol

    Both honey bees and bumble bees can sting. A honey bee has a barb which will stay in your skin and so the bee dies so they won't sting unless they feel threatened. The bumble bee will also only sting when it feels threatened but it can sting over and over.

    You'll find about 50, maybe a few more, bumble bees in a colony but probably 50 thousand or more in a honey bee hive.
    Christine