View Full Version : I think I have a bee problem
I have seen bees going in and out a small hole in the ground outside my shed do i have a nest? What should i do to get rid of them before it becomes a nuisance?
celtic 302
23-Apr-07, 13:25
well if the news is true, just sit beside the hole, and use your mobile phone.
I have seen bees going in and out a small hole in the ground outside my shed do i have a nest? What should i do to get rid of them before it becomes a nuisance?
Contact the Council and they will pass you on to someone who can deal with the problem.
Bill Fernie
23-Apr-07, 13:56
I think it might be worthwhile to try and identify the type of bee under your shed. If you can get photo then that would be a great help.
Bumble Bees are currently being studeid in a nationwide campaign as they are in danger in some areas. Bumble Bees do not make huge nests like honey bees and usually cause few problems to people. The colonies may be small with only 20 or so bees unlike the huge swarms of honey bees.
If it is honey bees that have moved in it might be worth contacting opne of the local bee keepers to see if they can be removed. Is there space to reach them from your hut?
If they are bumble bees they are very much to be guarded as they provide much of the pollination for plants in the countryside and many crops depend on them.
See this item from the Telegraph last year
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article601321.ece
BBC 2004
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3733197.stm
Check out the Bumble Bee Survey for Scotland
http://www.brisc.org.uk/bbsurvey.php
A couple of years ago I went along to a talk/outing on Bumble Bees in Caithness and it was real eye-opener to teir importance to all of us. I set up the following pages shortly after http://www.caithness.org/nature/bees/index.htm
You might try ther Rangers to see if they can help with contacts etc although I do not think they will remove them. I am no expert but unless they are causing a problem the best advice is likely to be to leave them alone.
j4bberw0ck
23-Apr-07, 13:57
If it's a nest, will it actually become a nuisance? Bees are pretty inoffensive if they're left alone, but I can see that dogs or children might be at risk.
j4bberw0ck
23-Apr-07, 13:59
Woops. Collided :lol:
Mmm didnt realise there was so many types of bees mime seem to be the yellow and black ones with white on the bottom! I really want rid of them as i have a 10mth old daughter and a dog that use the garden and i dont want either of them to get stung its b*!*%y sore (speaking from experience) when it gets near to autumn and they seem to cruise round looking for trouble getting angry before they die/hibernate??
It is more than likely it is Bumble Bees, they are out in force just now. It is much to early for wasps, and the dear honey bee should not be ready for swarming in April, and do not live underground.
If you send me a pm, and its near where I live, I will come and have a look.
i saw 2 honey bees today in my garden, i would rather bees to wasps anyday. bees only sting if they really have to. we tend to be over run with wasps in the garden and end up in the conservatory but cant find their nest.
Bill's right, we had a nest in our attic last summer, got in via a small hole in the vents in the eves. Called various people including the council who were very helpful and understanding but alas.... if they were honey bee's then they could be moved ( if i remember right ) as it was the good old bumbler !! we could not move them !!! unless it causes problems , like young kids in house and they are getting stung ! or other folk ! It was a pain as such that in the mornings we would have three or four buzzing in the window ( open over night ) and they would fly in early morning and my dogs and cats then thought it was a great game playing with them :~(
So we lived with it until summer was over, blocked the hole, so far they not come back !!
r.rackstraw
23-Apr-07, 21:58
Dadie
From your description they are White Tailed Bumblebees, the commonest species of bumblebee in Scotland.
Bumblebees don't usually sting unless they are tormented.
Don't worry about them, just let them bee!
Jeemag_USA
23-Apr-07, 22:02
Mmm didnt realise there was so many types of bees mime seem to be the yellow and black ones with white on the bottom! I really want rid of them as i have a 10mth old daughter and a dog that use the garden and i dont want either of them to get stung its b*!*%y sore (speaking from experience) when it gets near to autumn and they seem to cruise round looking for trouble getting angry before they die/hibernate??
If they are bumble bees, they are pretty much harmless and they usually live in pairs only I think, unlike honey bees, wasps an hornets. I think the only way they woudl sting your daughter is if she grabbed one in her hand, they take a lot of tormenting unlike other bees who tend to turn as a group, signalling distress to each other. Bumble bees pretty much dies after stinging so its a last resort for them.
Cinders392
24-Apr-07, 00:00
My son got stung by a wasp last year when he was 8 months old. He cried for an hour. Now when the winter ended and the first flies started coming in the hour he started howling and taking a panic attack. Its weird how he is no 18 months old an still remembers. He was stung by a bee a few days before the wasp while out in the pram so I guess that didnt help matters. Its taking time but he isnt so afraid anymore.
www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk is a link tho i think it is likely on the bbc one posted earlier. handy wee website cos it helps you to identify the type of bee, i didny know there were so many!! and you can report sightings etc.
wasps are just the neds of the insect world!!
A trick I saw in Canada for wasps is to blow up a paper bag and place it inverted in a bush in the garden, so that the neck faces down. The wasps swarm inside and you can then spray some Raid into the bag.
Bill Fernie
25-Apr-07, 01:37
If anyone is taking photos of Bumbelbees in Caithness this year - See http://www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk/news.htm why not also send your digital photo to us at Caithness.org and we can build a small gallery as a survey to show what Bumblebees are being found in the county. email photos as usual to bill@caithness.org after you have identified them. If you cannot identify them the photo can be added and possibly someone will confirm it later. But send them to the Bumble Bee Conservation web site as well as they asked for this to be done and maybe Caithness can appear in their listings.
If anyone is taking photos of Bumbelbees in Caithness this year - See http://www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk/news.htm why not also send your digital photo to us at Caithness.org and we can build a small gallery as a survey to show what Bumblebees are being found in the county. email photos as usual to bill@caithness.org after you have identified them. If you cannot identify them the photo can be added and possibly someone will confirm it later. But send them to the Bumble Bee Conservation web site as well as they asked for this to be done and maybe Caithness can appear in their listings.
here's one I look at the Castle of mey gardens in July 2006 with his friend Mr Butterfly!!!
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/9835/beeiv5.jpg
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/892/1413122643lup3.jpg
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