Bees in my double glazed window frames

wiltslass

Just wondering if anybody has had this problem and if so how did they solve it. The problem area is at the back of the house which gets lots of sun most of the day so is nice and warm. The last week or so we have noticed lots of bees around the window sills. It got so bad we could not have the windows open as I do not like things flying around me although they do not seem agressive. When we investigated further we found that the bees were getting in and out of the vents which are there for drainage . We do not want to kill the bees we just do not want them living in our window frames. We have bee houses in other parts of the garden which are lovely to observe and plant lots of things to give them nectar etc. There are four windows affected at the moment and I guesss each one must have a queen in there. Does anybody know how long it would be before all the bees left there of their own accord and how we might prevent them doing the same next year. Any helpful comments or experiences welcomed.

fwor

You're probably going to have to identify what type of bee they are. Mason bees for example seem to have a larval stage and then over-winter in pupal form before emerging.

Having said that, they are solitary, which does not sound like what you have there.

valk_scot

Who looks after the beehives in your garden? They'll be able to identify what type of bees and offer advice.

[Deleted User]

we have mason bees and they are solitary but they can live close to each other. They do not harm at all. I think you need to identify first, I wouldn`t like a queen bee and swarm but love the solitaries

wiltslass

Thanks all. We think they are mortar bees. We have as a temporary measure sealed the drainage holes they have been using with tape so they have only one way out now, and will wait to see what happens next.

shellambie

I have exactly the same problem, I have 3 windows upstairs that they are going into. Would be interested to find out what happened to your bees as we cannot open the upstairs windows at the moment and in this weather it's a nightmare.

rabidbun

If you get some mesh and stick some velcro to the window frame with double sided tape you can rig a cover for the windows and stop the bees coming in in the short term (velcro then mesh then other velcro sticking to it on the other side like a mesh sandwich if that makes sense). We had a small nest in the wall next to the windows last year and this worked well.

wiltslass

Hi. We are still keeping the windows closed! The tape seems to be working well but as soon as we open the windows the bees are back trying to get in. I suspect if we can stick it for another week or so they will have moved on. We are then going to run some water through the vents to flush out anything still in there. Good idea about the mesh, where did you get one fine enough?

rabidbun

If you do a search on ebay (insect mesh, fly screen, that sort of thing) it pulls up a fair few kits. The place I got mine no longer sells it I'm afraid.