Bees on my new Allotment! 30 June 2007 at 7:41AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Greenfingered MoneySaving 12 replies 886 views

kippers

I started clearing a 2nd plot next door but one to my original plot yesterday. Armed with my wilkinsons shears and rake i was dead excited.

I started cutting the nettles, grass and other weeds which were high as my head. I found frogs, two new born mice and loads of slugs hiding......but under a large piece of corugated iron there was a hole that looked like maybe a rat had made a nest, but it has bees flying in and out of it. This is obviously a bees nest and i don't know what to do. I have children and this is in the middle of my lottie so i can't leave it there, but what do i do ? Does anybody know?

Flymouse

The best thing to do kippers is to leave them alone. BumbleBees are not in the least bit aggressive. The only time they will sting you is if they feel they are under attack eg if you dig out their nest or sit on one by mistake! It's not in their interests to sting you as they die immediately afterwards. We have had several nests in the garden and they dont take any notice of us even if we are weeding right next to the nest hole. If you are worried about the kids "investigating" the nest you could put a temporary barrier around eg a line of stakes or something but really as long as they dont interfere with the nest there shouldnt be any problem. Be pleased you have bees! they are delightful creatures and many species are declining across the UK. As they are essential for crop pollination your plants (and the human race!) depend on them. By mid autumn the nest will have served its purpose and you can dig the ground over. Hope this helps

ixwood

Bees aren't dangerous. They're cute!!

And they'll pollinate the allotments. keep them.

The kids will probably find them fascinating.

Was it einsteien that calculated that once bees go extinct, we'd also be extinct within 5 years?

nickj_2

if they are a problem see if you can find a beekeeper , they may be able to remove the queen .and the rest of the hive

adouglasmhor

nickj wrote: »

if they are a problem see if you can find a beekeeper , they may be able to remove the queen .and the rest of the hive

If they are living in a hole in the ground they are bumblebees not honey bees so a beekeeper 1 wont be interested and 2 wont remove the queen because there isn 't one.

PabloNeruda

Erm, bumblebees have a Queen.

V_Chic_Chick

I don't know an awful lot about bees, but when we had a swarm of bees land in our garden, I let the neighbours, who are beekeepers, have them. They were happy to take them away.

If they are bumblebees, it might be a good idea to put a little fence around the nest and leave them be - bumblebees don't sting and will improve your crops, and that of other allotmenteers.

Jayar

Bees are lovely creatures. My son, when he realised that his daughter was scared of them, let her see him gently stroke one to show her that they will not sting unless they have a very good reason.

kippers

Hi. Do bumble bees all die in autumn after the queens fly the nest then? I 've been on the internet and it appears numbers of bumble bees are very low so i don't really want to kill them. Does this mean I can remove the nest in winter as it will be empty?

Very confusing! Does anyone know?

Flymouse

Yes, in the autumn when the cold weather arrives the bees in the colony (including the old queen) all die apart from the young fertilised queens born that year which fly off and hibernate until the spring when they emerge to start new colonies. On sunny days in spring you will see the queens actively searching for new nest sites, often an old mouse or vole burrow. So yes you can dig out the old nest as it will be empty but to be on the safe side I would wait until the end of autumn after we've had cold weather to ensure the queens have left and the colony has finished. By the way, nice to see someone making an effort to do the right thing kippers, hope you have a bumper crop with the help of your bumblebees!

fishy1ta

Are you 100% they are bumble bees?

If not, I don't think that's quite right. It could probably be a nest of european bees. With these, Most of the workers die off, so you might have a few hundered left in the nest in winter along with the queen. The honey bees store is for energy for winter. It may look empty, as they won't fly out the nest, but they'll still be there. If you destroy their nest in winter, they'll most likely all die. Summer could be better or ideally late spring when their is alot of food for them to fly off and create a new nest with. At least that's what I remember from keeping bees.