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dealing with bumblebee nest

  • 17-07-2013 09:44PM
    #1
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 51,740 CMod ✭✭✭✭


    wasn't sure whether to put this here or in gardening; but i think there would be better advice here.
    bought a house during the winter, with a large leylandii hedge down the back. behind the leylandii is a large pile of hedge cuttings and the like which has obviously been building up over the years, so is now a mixture of very crumbly humus (if that's the right description) intermixed with twigs and branches.
    the plan was to clear all that out in preparation to cut the leylandii down and replace with hazel, rowan, birch and holly. but i've noticed that there's a bee's nest in the big pile of rotted cuttings.
    unfortunately the pile has to go at some point - but when is the best time of year to do this, which will do least damage to the bees?

    for what it's worth, i'm sieving out the humus out and creating a fresh pile of the twigs and branches which have not rotted down, in another part of the garden, so it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that bees will (hopefully) create another nest in this new pile.


Comments

  • #2
    dan dan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 69 ✭✭dan dan


    Sorry I cannot advise you, But let me say thank you for your awareness and care. The post name scared me .


  • #3
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 51,740 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    yeah, i could probably have phrased it better!


  • #4
    Mothman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,498 ✭✭✭Mothman


    As a rule Bumble Bee nests do not overwinter. The Queens hibernate and they start a fresh next year. There is the occasional report of nests of a particular species overwintering in southern Britain.

    So to answer question, sometime in autumn once it gets chilly and you see no activity...and...before the hedgehogs hibernate!!


  • #5
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    Mothman is spot on. Once we have had about a week of frost they will be dead and the Queens moved on to hibernate elsewhere. Thank you for your concern and awareness, as bumble bees have been in decline and need all the breaks they can get. This has been a good year for them and it would be a shame to lose a hive unnecessarily.


  • #6
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 51,740 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    i once read that mouse fur can attract bees to nest, as they often nest in old mouse holes. any truth in this?

    not that i have a ready supply of mouse fur to attract them in.


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  • #7
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    magicbastarder wrote: »
    i once read that mouse fur can attract bees to nest, as they often nest in old mouse holes. any truth in this?

    not that i have a ready supply of mouse fur to attract them in.

    Very much so, I believe. It's always very encouraging when I see a wood mouse using any of my bumble bee homes in the garden.


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