Bees nest in loft

pinkqueen

Hi all, hoping someone can advise. I have a large bees nest in my loft, they have got in through a missing brick directly under the roof which I hadn't spotted before now. I would be quite happy not to do anything about it but it is directly above my baby daughters bedroom and I don't want them coming in her window and their activities are also causing a lot of squeeking etc when she is trying to sleep.

What's the easiest/cheapest way to get the nest removed without killing them - friends have told me councils will do this for you but I can find nothing on the website (I'm in Berkshire). Looked on the internet but it's a minefield - to ask a stupid question is it even possible to move it as they would need to get it down the loft hatch and through the house, I just envisage a load of angry bees everywhere but really really don't want to go down the extermination route.

Thanks in advance

tanith

If they are bees and not wasps then a local beekeeper may come and take them . They came and took one from our garden very successfully.

pinkqueen

Sorry just to add I read that back and I should have said I WONT go down the extermination route which actually leads me to ask if it can't be removed, will they go away next year or do they stay in the same hive?

Lancastrian

Google "Berkshire Beekeepers". Scroll down to "swarms" and see who is nearest. Ask them for help or advice.

Quite often a house nest is found to be wasps not bees. Wasps die off at the end of the year and the queen usually goes off to hibernate elsewhere. Then block up the hole.

Unless there is food in the bedroom you are unlikly to see any visitors.

Good luck and don't worrry.

ilikewatch

pinkqueen wrote: »

their activities are also causing a lot of squeeking etc when she is trying to sleep.

Are you sure that it's only bees living in your loft?

Lancastrian

Oops. I did mean to add to my answer.
You might have bats. We had them once. We were the annual nursery for some pipistrel bats. They all left then we blocked up the entrance.
If they are bats watch out at dusk as they go off to do some serious bug hunting. In the morning you will find small, dry, harmless droppings below the entrance.
Endangered so look after them.
If bats - enjoy.

onomatopoeia99

Bees are active after dark (wasps aren't) so you can hear them if they are above you in the loft - I learned this after I had a nest of some kind in my loft a couple of years ago and called out someone to remove. He found it was bees and took the nest away live for rehoming. Cost me about sixty pounds.

maninthestreet

ilikewatch wrote: »

Are you sure that it's only bees living in your loft?

I had a bumble bee nest in my loft last summer - at night, you could hear what sounded just like squeaks when standing in the bathroom directly below the location of the nest.

WLM21

Last year the going rate for a small colony of bees (termed a nuc) was in the region of £300, so most beekeepers are on the look out for a free swarm. Assuming they are bees, there will be a queen bee together with her colony.

A beekeeper should remove them free of charge, after all they are getting a free swarm, but of course some might see it as a way of making a bit of dosh. (the 2nd option seems a bit cheeky to me)

As said, look up details of your local beekeeping association, there should be contact details for swarm collection.