Bumble bee nest

pollypenny

We have the same problem. We called the council out to what thought were wasps, only to learn that they were bumble bees, protected and would be gone by August.

Unfortunately, we live in a bungalow and they bomb around just where we get out of the car. Still, I suppose we have to sit it out.

Biggles

Tropez wrote: »

Once I realised it was bumblebees I had no intention of killing them.

Yes, there's no need to kill them.

But it's a myth that bumble bees are protected, in fact no species of bee in Britain is protected by law. Whether some ought to be is another matter but, unlike wasps, they do more good than harm so can be left alone.

Emm-in-a-pickle

OP, I have a very wild garden, with apple trees and plum trees gone `feral`. And a deliberate selection of weeds, to encourage bees. I have bee `hotels` for the mason bees, leaf-cutters, etc, and we also have a bumblebee nest in a corner by the shed. Next door have a bumblebee nest in an old birdbox on their garage wall.
I`m not a fanatic, nor unduly brave, but I do love bees. I love dogs too, and understand your concern for your dog who chases flies!
How about taking advice from your vet about this?
I don`t think you`re going to successfully divert the bees, so why not look at the problem from the other end?
Humans who are allergic to bee stings (BBC prog `The Wonder of Bees` mentioned this recently) can still be successful bee-keepers, and carry with them anti-anaphylaxis injection just in case. I was just thinking maybe your vet could advise on whether your dog is likely to be allergic and whether he could provide something similar in case it was needed.

Tropez

Emm-in-a-pickle wrote: »

OP, I have a very wild garden, with apple trees and plum trees gone `feral`. And a deliberate selection of weeds, to encourage bees. I have bee `hotels` for the mason bees, leaf-cutters, etc, and we also have a bumblebee nest in a corner by the shed. Next door have a bumblebee nest in an old birdbox on their garage wall.
I`m not a fanatic, nor unduly brave, but I do love bees. I love dogs too, and understand your concern for your dog who chases flies!
How about taking advice from your vet about this?
I don`t think you`re going to successfully divert the bees, so why not look at the problem from the other end?
Humans who are allergic to bee stings (BBC prog `The Wonder of Bees` mentioned this recently) can still be successful bee-keepers, and carry with them anti-anaphylaxis injection just in case. I was just thinking maybe your vet could advise on whether your dog is likely to be allergic and whether he could provide something similar in case it was needed.

I've enquired about this with vets before and their response at the time was they can't be sure about which dogs would be allergic but a substantial number of dogs are and while I can use anti-allergens, it would still be a medical emergency if an allergic dog was stung.

peter_the_piper

I have bee's in an old nest box, next to a hole in the roof where the very big bumbles go in which is a couple of feet from a nest of small type bumbles. as long as the wasps stay away I'm happy to leave them.

lardlikesdogs

could be red mason bees , they will be gone in a few weeks best to leave them bee (pardon the pun)

Twopints

I had a swarm of bees (honeybees) that decided to make their nest in the roof space of our utility room. I used this site: British Bee Keepers Association to find someone who came out and tried to remove them by taking out the queen - the rest of the bees should have followed and then he would have taken them away to form a new hive.

ETA: The people on this website are bee keepers who do this for free as they get to keep the bees! They came out within half an hour on a Sunday - but the one that came lived less than a mile away.

Tropez

Well everyone I contacted has basically responded with leave them alone, not the most helpful response but fair enough.

Two of them, who were either fighting or engaged in some extremely flamboyant mid-air sexual aerobics that had me diving for cover on more than one occasion earlier today did attract the attention of one of the dogs, fortunately she was easily swayed with the offer of a Pedigree Jumbone.

Oh well, at least summer will be interesting.

RAS

Are these your lodgers http://bumblebeeconservation.org/images/uploads/Bee_Craft_May_2013,_Bombus_hypnorum.pdf

They tend to be rather more defensive than other bumbles I have seen several nests in eaves (well seen lots of them flying in and out of house at eave level)

Tropez

RAS wrote: »

Are these your lodgers http://bumblebeeconservation.org/images/uploads/Bee_Craft_May_2013,_Bombus_hypnorum.pdf

They tend to be rather more defensive than other bumbles I have seen several nests in eaves (well seen lots of them flying in and out of house at eave level)

Oh dear, yes, that looks like them.