Bee's nest

General Discussion
1

Hi


Does anyone know who to call when there is a troublesome bee's nest? Mine's right next to the kithcen door and although I don't really want to kill an increasingly endangered species, I can't let it develop further.

Thanks
2

Your idea to save this nest are very commendable but this is probably a nest of "wild" bees. In France professional apiculteurs won't have anything to do with it, too risky due to slumbering viruses, bacterias and fungi that are frequently found in those free colonies. Also the species is not very attractive as they don't produce as much honey as the ones these apicultuers use. For the colony to be successfully transferred they need the queen also. If the nest is hidden inside a wall for example this is not possible.

Normally you call a specialized company to get rid of it, the fire brigade stopped doing that a few years ago. I did it myself with some nests over the years. Just wait until the evening cools of and the bees get a bit lethargic. Then spray a can of the appropriate insecticide (preferably the very fast working ones i.e. knock-off effect) into the opening of the nest.

3

Thanks I've found some local ones and I'll call them in the morning

4

look for 'apiculteurs' in your yellow pages, it is very easy to collect bees,

I dont know ANYTHING about bees but....

I had a very busy beehive inside my wall, for some years, I hated the idea of upsetting them or hurting them, but on sunny days when they were all out and about, it was impossible to pass them by, without a head cover.' Passing heads' made convenient stopping off stations - and getting stuck in anyones hair made them very cross, and sting-y.

I resolved the problem initially by fixing a permanently open sunshade just below the hole in the wall, the entrance to the hive, and they landed on that instead of heads.

THEN - sheer magic! One day a young fellow arrived in a nearby field, with about 4 beehives, (the wooden, ordinary sort you see everywhere). He put them in a row, in the field and left them.

This was a mystery to me, I had never seen him before, and he was gone before I could talk to him. The hives were on the other side of the river about 60 metres away from my house.

Perhaps he had heard there were some spare bees, I dont know, but within a few days every one of 'my' bees had moved house,apparently into his, now very busy, hives.

I thought there might be some lost stragglers returning to the wall, but I never saw a single bee come back.

I asked someone who knew a little about bees. He said;

'Of course they left! They soon realized that there was a row of very comfortable bee hives just waiting for them to move in, and they were probably very pleased to find their new homes'.

That's how easy it was to get them to move!

good luck!

5

Thanks Sheila will do :-)

6

Tina, try posting this comment also in the Beehive Group. They are very knowledgeable and may be able to help.