Bees in Shed Wall

pampootie

Hi all, not sure if this is the right forum for this so Mods if there's a better one move me please!

Basically my problem is I have some sort of bees living in the cavity of my shed wall, and am wondering if anybody has any idea what would be the best thing to get rid of them? My OH thought that blocking up the holes with that expanding foam stuff at night would be the best idea, and did this a few nights ago. As far as I can tell all their exit holes have been blocked, but there's still at least 10-15 bees there every day swarming around the wall trying to get in, so I reckon we've probably trapped the queen in there and pissed off all the workers.

I've tried googling it but it's complicated because I can't actually figure out what type they are! About two months before I noticed them in the cavity wall I found a small paper nest inside the shed which I destroyed-I had thought only wasps built paper nests but these look nothing like wasps, they're quite large, mostly black with very dark orange stripes, and furry. Identification is not helped by the fact that I am TERRIFIED of bees and can only spend max about 10 sec observing them before one of them flies at me and I have to run squealing back to the house. They don't actually seem in any way aggressive, nobody has been stung so far, not even my kitten who has taken to playing hunt the bee. I'd really like to get rid of them though if at all possible-any ideas? Thanks!

random.stranger

I understand your fear, but killing them really isn't the way forward.

Here's an article you might consider reading: http://www.greenme.ie/greenblog/2010/06/alarming-decline-in-irelands-wild-bee-polulation/

I suggest you get in touch with a bee keeper from your locality, they may be kind enough to come around and advise you. If you have honey bees they will be happy to take them off your hands.
http://www.irishbeekeeping.ie/federation/affassoctxt.html

pampootie

random.stranger wrote: »

I suggest you get in touch with a bee keeper from your locality, they may be kind enough to come around and advise you. If you have honey bees they will be happy to take them off your hands.
http://www.irishbeekeeping.ie/federation/affassoctxt.html

I'll do that, thanks. It's not that I'm dead set on killing them, ideally I'd rather not, but I would really prefer if they went elsewhere. Any tips on identification of what type they might be?

carwash_2006

I have a suspicion that bees are a protected species and killing them is illegal. Hope you find a beekeeper who can help you.

A lot of bee species don't even sting, so they might not really be a problem if so. Actually reading back over your description, they sound like they could be some sort of bumble bee which don't sting.

random.stranger

Certainly no expert on this, but I had a run in with bees in the garden.

A bee keeper was kind enough to come around and take a look. He got so close to the bees without any protective gear on, it really put me at ease about how unlikely they were to sting.

Some basic info here on identifying them: http://www.irishbeekeeping.ie/html/beebasics.html

It turned out we had bumble bees, which sting very rarely (there is a risk of them stinging if you close off the entrance to the hive).

If you have honey bees: the bee keeper is likely to take them off your hands

If you have bumble bees: they are very unlikely to sting (I have gone right beside their nest with my lawnmower plenty of times & they have tolerated me). I think bumble bees will die off in the Autumn & the queen will leave around this time.

random.stranger

Hi Pampootie,
Any update on the bees?

missymoo2

Hey there, we had a hive in the back garden. they had to go, cos we have 3 small kiddies. Had we thought o a bee keeper!!!! wow, that would have been ideal ... but we hadnt a clue what to do.
anyway, hubby went at it with a stick!!! and then they were so docile. none even attacked him. they just buzzed about trying to fix the mess he d made. so then we just moved them. luckily they were stuck to a box, and he lifted the box up to the back of our garden. (filled with brambles etc so no kids could get there!) they ve been living happily ever after. anyway, not sure what my point is, except that they are nice little things. shame to kill them all.

sellerbarry

Sorry. Making new thread