Bees Nests

[Jono]

Hi,

Can anyone offer some advice on bees nests?

There is a bumble bees nest under my front porch. It appears a mouse has made a little hole there previously and the bumble bees have been attracted to it. Because I am in a mid terrace house, the entrance to the nest, at ground level, is right beside my neighbours front door. This means that throughout the day she has bees hovering around her door and they also get disturbed when she walks past because it is so close to their nest, the bumble bees are trying to defend it. A bit of a problem as she has young children. They seem to be particularly aggravated by the push chair.

I know that bumble bee nests can be relocated but I can't do this without removing my porch first (not really an option!) and it's also illegal to destroy the nests these days, not that I would want to do that anyway.

As the bumble bees really don't bother me, and when I leave for work in the morning, and come home at night, the bees are pretty quiet anyway, I was wondering if it's possible to force the bees to enter/exit their nest through a different route?

I have a long plank of wood which I thought I could lean length ways across the bottom of my porch, leaving a tunnel down the side of the porch, and then place a brick at the end forcing them to come in and out across my front door, not my neighbours.

My concern is that the bees will find their way out but won't find there way back in, and will hover outside the plank of wood in the area they normally enter the nest in, and perhaps also get aggressive.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Jono

[Mark43]

Originally Posted by Jono

Hi,

Can anyone offer some advice?

There is a bumble bee nest under my front porch. It appears a mouse has made a little hole there previously and the bumble bees have been attracted to it. Because I am in a mid terrace house, the entrance to the nest, at ground level, is right beside my neighbours front door. This means that throughout the day she has bees hovering around her door and they also get disturbed when she walks past because it is so close to their nest, the bumble bees are trying to defend it. A bit of a problem as she has young children. They seem to be particularly aggravated by the push chair.

I know that bumble bee nests can be relocated but I can't do this without removing my porch first (not really an option!) and it's also illegal to destroy the nests these days, not that I would want to do that anyway.

As the bumble bees really don't bother me, and when I leave for work in the morning, and come home at night, the bees are pretty quiet anyway, I was wondering if it's possible to force the bees to enter/exit their nest through a different route?

I have a long plank of wood which I thought I could lean length ways across the bottom of my porch, leaving a tunnel down the side of the porch, and then place a brick at the end forcing them to come in and out across my front door, not my neighbours.

My concern is that the bees will find their way out but won't find there way back in, and will hover outside the plank of wood in the area they normally enter the nest in, and perhaps also get aggressive.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Jono

If you open another entrance/exit for them first,let them get used to it then block the old one after a few days.

[Imaginos]

Originally Posted by Jono

Hi,

As the bumble bees really don't bother me, and when I leave for work in the morning, and come home at night, the bees are pretty quiet anyway, I was wondering if it's possible to force the bees to enter/exit their nest through a different route?

Yes it is, the way you describe would be ideal.

Originally Posted by Jono

I have a long plank of wood which I thought I could lean length ways across the bottom of my porch, leaving a tunnel down the side of the porch, and then place a brick at the end forcing them to come in and out across my front door, not my neighbours.

My concern is that the bees will find their way out but won't find there way back in, and will hover outside the plank of wood in the area they normally enter the nest in, and perhaps also get aggressive.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Jono

A bumblebee will do a quick reconnaissance flight as it leaves the nest-they zig-zag away from the nest backwards- so if you put the planking in overnight then most of the colony will be in the nest and will happily return to the new entrance. Bumblebee colonies only last the summer (apart from a few exeptions) and if necessary, you can block the hole up over the winter.

[Jono]

Thanks for the advice.

I'll put the plank in place tonight after dark and check in the morning to make sure they are coming and going freely.

I'll try to borrow a friends digital camera and post some pictures of them if anyones interested.

Thanks again

Jono