Underground bees nest

mudokon

Hi All,

My lawn was overgrown so I decided to tackle it & I got to one spot where when I was raking the ground over there was a number of bees (maybe 10 - 20) coming out of the ground.

Is there a way to identify if I have a nest underground & any tips on the best way of getting rid of the bees?

I'm in Cork City so any suppliers of products (if required) in the area that could help would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Gordon Gekko

I already know the answer to this, but could you not just leave it alone? I had wasps nesting underground in one of my flower borders - just left them alone for the summer and they haven't been back since (that was three summers ago).

People freak out about wasps so much but if you just leave them alone they're not a problem. The wasps will do a great job of killing greenfly etc. Besides, we all need somewhere to live

mudokon

Gordon Gekko wrote: »

I already know the answer to this, but could you not just leave it alone? I had wasps nesting underground in one of my flower borders - just left them alone for the summer and they haven't been back since (that was three summers ago).

People freak out about wasps so much but if you just leave them alone they're not a problem. The wasps will do a great job of killing greenfly etc. Besides, we all need somewhere to live

Thanks for the info but I am a bit concerned about if their numbers increase as this is my front garden & I dont want people or pets to get stung if I end up disturbing the bees everytime I mow the lawn.

What is the likelihood of them coming back next year if I do decide to leave them alone?

Dizzyblonde

I'm not entirely sure about this but I think it's against the law to destroy a bees' nest and kill the bees. Your best bet would be to contact a local beekeeper and ask how to go about having it removed LINK

lucylu

I agree with Dizzyblonde.
bee hives are dwindling due to two main factors : insecticides and the parasitic mite Varroa.

If they are honeybees I am sure some beekeeper would be happy to take them off your hands

mudokon

Thanks to everyone who has responded.

I am not sure what type of bees they are (they dont look like bumblebees).
I'm glad that I asked now as it never occurred to me that there may be a legal issue in removing the bees.

I'll take Dizzyblonde's advice & contact a local beekeeper to find out my options.

EDIT: Gordon Gekko, I would still be interested in finding out what the original answer was just out of curiosity. If you dont want to post it on the board could you PM me the answer?

old boy

most of the REMAiNING wild bees nest underground, actually from my recent observations it seems that their biggest enemy is the wasp, in my garden lately when a bee lands on a flower near a wasp, it is immediatly hit upon by 2 wasps, and hunted away.

Gordon Gekko

mudokon wrote: »

EDIT: Gordon Gekko, I would still be interested in finding out what the original answer was just out of curiosity. If you dont want to post it on the board could you PM me the answer?

Ah, I just thought you'd already made up your mind to get rid of them but now realise you weren't. My bad

The likelihood of them coming back is extremely slim, as I said I haven't had them back in three years. Only the queen survives the winter.

As someone said you could contact a beekeeper who will identify if they're honeybees and will take them away to a proper hive if they are. There was an article in the paper about them doing this last week.

netwhizkid

I fixed a wasps nest yesterday with petrol and some matches. I leave the poor bees alone though.

Degsy

I have a bees nest under my shed,some of the bees are the size of my thumb..delighted to have them and no intentions of getting rid of them.

old boy

please remember the bees propogate all flowers and fruit frees

Reesy

Hi,

Your local beekeeping association at www.irishbeekeeping.ie might be able to help you identify them. Yes, it's my understanding that bumbles are protected - and it sounds likely that they are, because honeybees tend not to nest in the ground. The bumbles with the white backsides (Bombus terrestris) nest in the ground, for instance.

And yes, if they are bumbles the nest will break up in autumn, so if you can wait that long, they'll all go away and hibernate. Lots more detail at this excellent site http://www.bumblebee.org/

mudokon

Reesy wrote: »

The bumbles with the white backsides (Bombus terrestris) nest in the ground, for instance.

They look more like Bombus lapidarius to me as they are quite close to a wall & when I discovered them they looked quite small
http://www.bumblebee.org/lap.htm

Thanks for the all the responses on this, just leaving them be sounds like the best answer

If i was to use a weedkiller on the lawn would that have any effect on the bees?

Thoushaltnot

I'm sure it would. Worldwide, bees are dying off at an alarming rate and there's no one real reason for it.

My bro used plain white vinegar on sections of the lawn, to kill off weeds. It turned everything brown and took a few months to grow back but if you pour it on selectively, it should do a great and otherwise, unharmful job.

netwhizkid

Thoushaltnot wrote: »

I'm sure it would. Worldwide, bees are dying off at an alarming rate and there's no one real reason for it.

Are radio & mobile phone signals interfering?