Bees in the roof...

coddlesangers

Hi there,

We have a holiday home in south wexford that has honey bees living in a flat roof for years. We had a beekeeper come and take the swarm away a few times over the years, and last year took the roof down and removed mucho honey and combs from the space in the ceiling. We then filled the space with insulation etc and assumed the bees would go somewhere else - however, after looking like they had gone somewhere more conducive, they are back again.

I don't want to remove them particularly, but has anyone a suggestion for what we can do so that they don't make their home in the rafters again? Should we buy a hive and try and move them into it or are we destined to have to clear out honey every few years regardless? Suggestions?

brianmc

coddlesangers wrote: »

Hi there,

We have a holiday home in south wexford that has honey bees living in a flat roof for years. We had a beekeeper come and take the swarm away a few times over the years, and last year took the roof down and removed mucho honey and combs from the space in the ceiling. We then filled the space with insulation etc and assumed the bees would go somewhere else - however, after looking like they had gone somewhere more conducive, they are back again.

I don't want to remove them particularly, but has anyone a suggestion for what we can do so that they don't make their home in the rafters again? Should we buy a hive and try and move them into it or are we destined to have to clear out honey every few years regardless? Suggestions?

If you don't remove them, they will more than likely make their home in the rafters again. If you leave them to it they will establish the colony there again and will be with you forever or until they die out due to disease. Even if they do die out, they will likely be replaced by another colony.

To stop them from living in your rafters you will need to get them removed and block up any possible entrances for other swarms in the future.

If they have only been there a very short time... preferably less than 24 hours, you could try leaving a bait hive (ask a beekeeper) with a swarm lure or a couple of drops of lemongrass oil and some old brood comb in it to try and get them to change their minds to another home. It's only a small chance that would work but if they've just arrived it may be worth a shot compared to opening up your roof again.

coddlesangers

Thanks, that was kind of what we thought. They've been there a month or so now, so probably too late to get them to shift this year...

brianmc

coddlesangers wrote: »

Thanks, that was kind of what we thought. They've been there a month or so now, so probably too late to get them to shift this year...

Yeah, they'll be well established by now.

Actually, whether they survive over the winter will depend on the size of the colony before the winter, how healthy they are, how good a home your roof is and the Winter weather.

You should see them coming out on the first warm days of spring next year... if they don't, that could be your opportunity to seal up the roof. That said, you would probably be better off getting any comb removed if you can.

Enjoy them for now, I guess!

solargain

Next year you should probably get a local beekeeper to put out a bait hive on your property in May & leave it there for 2 months

coddlesangers

i'd be totally delighted to have them in a hive in the garden, just not in the poxy roof! The space they enter is also just above the external boiler for the heating system, can't imagine thats a great atmosphere for them....

solargain

If you don't seal up all those gaps they will keep getting , they only need 4mm

bpmurray

One problem is that if you clear them out but leave some of the comb/honey, another swarm will smell it and move in next year. In fact, if this is happening all the time, it's likely that they've swarmed from a local beekeeper who would be delighted to get them back, although after a month that's going to be tough.

tabby aspreme

We have bees in the attic for the first time this year, where they are is accessible, would it be possible to move them to a hive at some stage or do we have to wait for them to leave, if it is possible to physically move them when is the best time, thanks

brianmc

If they are honey bees then you should almost certainly get them moved and the sooner, the better.

There's no danger from the bees themselves they will build a lot of comb in the space available which will be partly filled with honey, partly with new brood and so on.

The colony of bees might survive a long time (years) and even if it doesn't, once it dies out, another colony will more than likely move in to the nest they have created. Effectively an established honey bee colony in your roof is likely to be a new permanent feature unless you do something about it.

Check out this thread to help decide whether they are honey bees or not. Or if you can't decide, post up some photos of the nest or some of the bees. Sure, post up pictures anyway if you like... we could use more photos around here!

There are some notes on Bumble bees and wasps in that thread too which are the other likely candidates.

tabby aspreme

brianmc wrote: »

If they are honey bees then you should almost certainly get them moved and the sooner, the better.

There's no danger from the bees themselves they will build a lot of comb in the space available which will be partly filled with honey, partly with new brood and so on.

The colony of bees might survive a long time (years) and even if it doesn't, once it dies out, another colony will more than likely move in to the nest they have created. Effectively an established honey bee colony in your roof is likely to be a new permanent feature unless you do something about it.

Check out this thread to help decide whether they are honey bees or not. Or if you can't decide, post up some photos of the nest or some of the bees. Sure, post up pictures anyway if you like... we could use more photos around here!

There are some notes on Bumble bees and wasps in that thread too which are the other likely candidates.

I'm fairly sure they are honey bees but I can't get pictures up with this phone, i will give the local beekeepers assoc a shout , thanks for replies