A bit of a strange one here, Is there anybody in or around 43440 Champagne le Viex who wouldn’t mind driving past a house and taking a couple of photos; An elderly English couple, who have had to return to Blighty for medical reasons, are being harassed because of bees in a chimney.
Personally I wouldn’t touch them but the Mairie wants them destroyed.
If anyone wants a bee colony in the afore-mentioned village, it’s there for free…otherwise it will be destroyed, unless I can convince the mairie that it poses no risk.
I will PM details. Please don’t respond if you live in Timbuktu
No good for your purpose @Rob_le_Pest as we are miles away from there, but surely there must be beekeepers in the area (and I would have thought the Maire would know) who would welcome new bees.
There are at least 2 such within 1 km of here and one at least would jump at the chance, I haven’t had any honey from him for at least 3 months due to Asiatic attack.
Just thinking about it, why on earth would a Marie want to destroy a bees’ nest, especially one in an uninhabited house and so high up out of harm’s way?
I have spoken with the Mairie, they have delayed their destruction until further notice.
I also explained to them that if they insist on the colonie’s unfortunate demise, mid summer is not the right time; the colony and honey will will be at their maximum. It is far better to wail until mid winter.
The Mairie do have a local chap, the English couple contacted me as they weren’t confident in discussing the issue in French.
and I would have expected their local Mairie to have contacts… Bees are a precious commodity these days…
