Bees/Wasps how to get rid! (merged threads)

DSmiffy

Emmzi wrote: »

http://batchgeo.com/map/994f4d7ca8991711988b36f8c9dc62f7

This is brilliant, thank you very much Emmzi, just contacted a guy from here, who amazingly lives just around the corner. Just had a chat with him, he was very helpful, they can't be recovered but he thinks it will ok to "dispose" of them should they become a problem. he thinks that once the cavity wall insulation is installed that the bees will leave, however the queen will probably die off.
Just thought I'd pass on the info. Thanks to everyone for all your help.

Hazel1980

Husband went in loft earlier and while shifting things around has found a wasp nest about the size of a small football and four golf ball sized nests near it.

Any advice on removing it or is he going to get stung to death? The larger one is on insulation so can just cut the section out without having to break the nest. The smaller ones might be the queen hibernating and will need breaking as on the joists.

Any advice appreciated thanks.

greyteam1959

Only advice I can give is .........be careful.

skivenov

It'll probably already be empty, give it a few weeks til it's properly cold then take it out and dispose of it.

shelly

In our time we have had a nest in the loft and in the shed. Both times husband made sure they were empty (by jabbing with a very long stick!) then putting a bag over them so the nest is now enclosed in the bag then breaking them off of whatever they were stuck to.

If you can have a look at them they are amazing pieces of nature. Beautiful and intricate to look at up close.

jonnyb1978

Most councils are against treatment of bees as they are not classed as a pest. This is under normal circumstances. What circumstances would they be treated if there was persistent nesting and swarm around the roof/guttering.

Would them getting inside the house with small kids present make a difference or are they likely to leave them bee

keystone

Don't involve the council. Get a proper beekeeper to come and collect/remove/rescue the swarm. Bees in this country have been decimated over the last couple of years and although not protected are in serious danger of being (excuse the pun) wiped out.

If it were wasps however - you can cheerfully murder the lot AFAIAC.

Cheers

Cheers

jonnyb1978

Looking at the beekeeper association it says they re house honey bees and do nothing with the rest. I think these are solitary. Small and slightly hairy. A mini less hairy bumble bee. I would like them gone as the kids nearly stand on them then scream the house down. Not to mention the wifes reaction when she got into bed with one. I dont want to kill them for reasons you mention. Was thinking of filling in any holes once autumn comes that they may be getting in but that will kill any eggs will it not?

keystone

Bumblebees are relatively solitary - don't swarm AFAIK. Find a local beekeeper and ask him to take a look and advise

Oh and take that ridiculous fancy dress outfit off when you get into bed. Its obviously doing nothing for your gymnastics practice.

Cheers

Tiffany_Aching

We have a wasp nest in our loft, I've been suspicious of this for a while as I have been watching more and more insects flying under our eaves. We have a very cluttered loft and neither of us has been brave enough to investigate until yesterday. My husband went up and shone a torch round, and then got out pretty sharpish! He says there is quite a big nest and it is tucked up high and beyond tons of crap

Obviously we are not going to go in with the wasp spray(!), I am not going to tackle them in a confined space and we are not going to even chance disturbing them by clearing some of the clutter. The nest is big, but they aren't really causing us any problems so my thinking was that if we leave the nest until winter they should all be dead - if we then clear a space so we can get to the nest we can then give it a quick squirt of wasp killer to be sure and then work on clearing out the loft so we won't get in this position again! My husband is quite sure this won't work and we will be stung a gazillion times and so wants to get a pest control guy out to sort it now. We can't really afford this and so I would rather wait.

Has anyone had any experience of dealing with a wasp nest? They are definitely wasps and not bees. Is my plan just foolish and stupid? My husband seems to think so but having a little Google around, most sites say that the wasps should be long gone by mid winter. Any thoughts?