Bees in fascia- how can I move them on?

bomchikkawawa

Hi all. In last few days there have been a few bees around our fascia….I think they are bees but haven’t seen ones like these before. They seem to be building nests in the grooves in the fascia just above the windows. See photos below.

What can I do to move them on? We have a bug hotel thing in the garden…they haven’t gone for it though! I tried spraying with peppermint oil but they aren’t put off. Where they are accessing on the outside leads to sunroom roof on inside and the bees could probably get inside the house from there . So can’t really leave them there.

Would appreciate any helpful advice!!

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whisky_galore

Get onto a beekeeper to remove, Swarms.ie. Don't attempt to remove them yourself.

Citizen Six

It looks like solitary bees, rather than a swarm taking up residence. Can't tell 100% from your photos though. There's no point in having a bug hotel in your garden if you can't accept them in your fascia. If it's not honey bees, Apis mellifera mellifera, then it's not really much to actually worry about. Don't destroy nature just because you don't understand it.

machiavellianme

Yes, they are protected so don't try a DIY solution. There's loads of beekeepers out there who will gladly take them from you. It's a joy to watch them grab the Queen and pop her in a little box and then the rest just follow her in.

Google bee keepers in your area and ring one.

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123436854#Comment_123436854

These don't look like the bees you are talking about, so they won't have a queen. Honey bees aren't really endangered. Bee keepers will not be interested in trying to rescue solitary bees.

Bee hotels are mostly just greenwashing. It's incongruous to have a bee hotel in your garden, then wanting to remove solitary bees for no real reason.

What the OP has, looks more likely to be a red mason bee. Pretty much harmless, and should just be left in place.

bomchikkawawa

thanks for comments so far, I don’t know much about bees so appreciate all info. Regarding if they are solitary bees, all I’ve observed are 3-4 bees each creating their own “plug” in the grooves along same stretch of fascia, you will See 2 “plugs”in photo below. The 3rd plug is a few grooves further along the fascia

I have young children who would be playing in this area so am concerned about that and also that the bees may easily access the interior of the house because of where they are nesting.

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437206#Comment_123437206

Those bees won't be bothered by your children at all, so are no threat to your children. It's a great opportunity to teach your children about bees.

I've kept honey bees on the roof of my house, and rarely had problems. Honey bees are protective of their hive/colony, so can be a bit aggressive, if you get too close.

Danzy

Solitary bees, they'll disappear in a few days, zero threat to all, no ability to sting, the ones you see will be dead by the weekend.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437206#Comment_123437206

Why do you have a bee hotel if you are concerned about bees because of your kids?

bomchikkawawa

perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned the bee hotel . It’s irrelevant to the question I had around bees nesting in the structure of my house.
thank you for all the helpful comments