Covered in Bees!

Well not quite but after finding random giant bumble bees stumbling into my kitchen window over the last week it would appear I have a nest just outside in the wooden edging which sits below the roof edge in the yard just above my kitchen window.

They are anything but aggressive and a bit of a search shows that you just leave the bumble chaps where they are and only consider getting rid of the nest in winter months. Guess they are falling in when I open the skylight then get headaches in frustration as to why they can't get back into the nest which is inches away through the window. Just need to pay a bit more attention when Ledger is in the yard as these new tenants seem a bit dopey to try and fly away from him trying to catch them!

My mum had this problem, she rung pest control (just to see if they would do any damage to the house becasue they were inside an air vent) and they said "if they have red bums then they're 'nice' bees, they wont do any damage and will move on next year to another place. If they're your typical bees they will stay in the same place for avery long time and should consider getting rid of them :/

Oh no jules, darcy likes to try & catch them. I hope ledger doesn't bother with them.

Get yourself a hive, think of the honey. There have been a few swarms of late, it must be they are on the increase, which is good news considering they have been dying out over the last few years.

pag wrote:Get yourself a hive, think of the honey. There have been a few swarms of late, it must be they are on the increase, which is good news considering they have been dying out over the last few years.

Well said we need more bees! 

I think bumble bees just pollenate everything don't think they are honey bees else beekeepers would rehome them

I like bumble bees and I love there name......saying that I wouldn't want a hive above my window! Xx

I'm a member on a foraging site and there have been a large number of swarms on the move.. all honey bee's. As long as you get the queen the rest will follow..

I think generally bees don't bother you, it's wasps that are nasty! I had a nest in my wall last year but I think they drowned in all the rain!! I never had any problems but I didn't have Daisy then, she does keep trying to catch the bees in the garden!!

if they have a white backside beware as they could be tree bee's and thats what stung marleys eye after he got close the other week.

they get real angry when you get close and i tried to bag em at night when they were supposed to be asleep but they went for me. i couldnt take the risk as next day they were crawling over the dogs trying to sting them so they bit the dust by blow tourch later that night nesting in a bird box. bumble bees or not they already cost me £35 and any more than a couple of stings could have killed my boy which i will not alow to happen. native bees never cause a problem so i would have left them alone, yet tree bees arnt native and have only been here a few years nasty lil buggers

Hmmm they are the white bum variety  they have only been in the house when I opened the skylight (last few days that really hasn't been an issue) so they must have fallen in and seem overly docile from head butting the window to get back out I've been scooping them into a mug (they made no attempt to get back ou) and throwing them outside. Will certainly be more aware and not leave the skylights open when I go out this weekend

jshrew wrote:Hmmm they are the white bum variety  they have only been in the house when I opened the skylight (last few days that really hasn't been an issue) so they must have fallen in and seem overly docile from head butting the window to get back out I've been scooping them into a mug (they made no attempt to get back ou) and throwing them outside. Will certainly be more aware and not leave the skylights open when I go out this weekend

White tailed bumble bees aren't a problem. We had a nest (they're not hives) in our garden last year & they kept themselves pretty much to themselves! They don't swarm either, so you don't have to worry about that. They do a tremendous amount of good in the garden.

My only problem was stopping Dempsey from trying to catch them! Idiot dog!

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/white-tailed-bumblebee

Ah found the little fellas Tree bees

We have a nest in a chimney, we just live and let live. They come down and get soot everywhere but hey that can be cleaned up lol

They generally only stay about 3 years then move on. I don't think we have them this year.

Sounds like white tailed bumble bees. They don't stick around for winter, so you should be fine. Unfortunately, only honey bees make honey, but all bees are great for your garden!

jshrew wrote:Ah found the little fellas Tree bees

yups thats the very same ones that had a go at marley, they swarm if vibrations are felt near the nest. at night you wil notice two or three stay outsde the nest to guard/raise the alarm and they were all over my two in the day time. try a bee keeper first and get them moved if you can, if not like me get medevil on them but watch out they will put you in hospital. i had trouble iding them becuase everywhere said they were docile...wouldnt like to meet and angry one  

These are definitely docile when I first saw them heading into the flashing where they are I banged it with the end of a mop and didn't get a reaction :S the odd few I have found on the floor outside and in the house I have held a short twig to or held a mug near and they have just clambered on and then back off onto the one plant (weed) I have in a pot in my yard

Will be wary tho just a bit miffed I can't leave the skylight open for Ledger this weekend (lucky my house stays fairly cool) as I am out and he just has the dog walker coming in a couple times each day

Try to get a proper look at them before you call in any exterminators. Bees are extremely important to the ecosystem, so harming them should be avoided if possible. If they turn out to be white tails, you should be fine. If you can get a photo and compare it to a white tail photo, you can easily tell them apart - they don't actually look that similar, aside from the white tail.

A lot of people say they're aggressive, but it's barely more than any other bees. They'll get irritable if you go too near the nest or disturb the nest, but it isn't a swarm as such.

As Eleanor says, they don't 'swarm'. Neither do they attack unless they are threatened.

Tree bees are slightly more aggressive than buff tailed (oe white tailed) bees, but onl in as much as the noise level will rise if you go too close, and they will dive bomb you if you approach the nest.

Yes, they'll sting if provoked, but no more than any other bee, and their sting is no more dangerous than any other bee.

This will show you the difference between the white tailed & tree bees.

http://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/u23/downloads/pdfs/bbees-645kb.pdf

As far as I'm aware, the males don't have stings anyway. So that's a little less to worry about!

Yep definitely those tree fellas in the main picture on that link, I think its illegal to kill bees anyway as they are endangered but been out in the yard most of the morning for one reason or another and they have kept themselves to themselves and not ventured into the house. the nest is well hidden away though so figure they know its not under threat

It'll probably be fine then. I wouldn't leave a dog unsupervised around a bees nest anyway, but it's best to just keep an eye out. They'll do wonders for your garden!

If only I had a garden, just a single weed in an old flower pot in my concrete yard