Bees in cavity wall

[ADorothy93]

Hi all,

Just wanting a bit of advice please, we purchased our house just over a year ago and noticed that there were a lot of honey bees in the garden (we have had a specialist check them - definitely honey bees) they turned out to be in our cavity wall, getting in through a small gap in the brick.

We love bees so didn't touch them as researched it and it was mentioned that they don't usually come back for a second year so left them be. However this year early spring we noticed them back and in their hundreds, you can hear them buzzing from inside the house in the bedroom where they are. Again this year we haven't touched them but as they are now starting to die off we have sometimes 20/30 dying bees on the floor every evening and I am worried as I have a dog and don't want him getting stung or eating them.

I am just wondering if once the bees have gone for the summer can I block the hole up or will they still be in there? I don't know want to hurt them but I am getting increasingly worried especially for next summer and the future when there may be small children running around the garden.

I was just looking for some advise really of what we can do if anything?

Thanks in advance! We are in West Yorkshire.

[thewoodgatherer]

Sounds like your getting mixed up with wasps that only use a nest for one season and move on, if these are honey bees they stay put unless things go wrong and the colony dies. Regards the dog I have my hives in the garden and no problems with the dogs, if they get stung it's usually only ever once and they keep away. Unfortunately if they are in the wall then it looks like you will probably need to get pest control to kill them if you cant put up with it. I have a thatch cottage and we had them in the thatch years back living happily until they just died out probably due to disease etc.

[Patrick]

Woodgatherer has summed it up pretty much up I am afraid.

If you do decide to get rid of them you must check your pointing over for any other possible entrances otherwise there is always a risk that a passing swarm will reoccupy. They have an almost uncanny ability to sniff out previously occupied nest sites as being given the bee equivalent of a thumbs up.

[Fishman]

Where are the bees based in terms of height in your house? Because if really don't want to kill the bees you could set a trap out, not the usual one but the tubed one into a box so that they move their reserves into the new box. It should if implemented correctly leave you with empty comb in the cavity (so no honey to spoil) but you would need to block off every access point as comb like that would be very attractive to other swarms. You don't want the bees to be killed without having the combs removed as it leaves the comb, pollen and honey intact which will without the bees looking after it will breakdown, leak and eventually rot inside the cavity.

[AdamD]

If colonies HAVE to be destroyed by chemical it is important that the nest site is blocked up so that other bees cannot rob the nest and carry poison back to their own hive. Some pest control companies will not consider this - although most will.

As for trapping - or diverting bees, you may be able to gather a few flyers however unless you have the queen and brood you are not going to remove the colony.

[AdamD]

Reading the original post (OP) the dead bees under the nest could be the males - drones - which are starved and then chucked out late in the season when the colony doesn't need them any more.

I have a bunch of hives in my garden and the bees do not bother anyone - even the postman who walks past them every day. Bees travel a long distance (a couple of miles or more if they need to) to obtain food so a few honeybees in the garden could be from anywhere. They are unlikely to upset the dog. When I was a child we had a dog that used to catch flies and wasps and insects in his mouth; I fondly remember that his teeth went <SNAP> as they slammed together. Occasionally he would pull a face - probably if he got stung - but he kept doing it and it didn't seem to bother him!

[Jim Norfolk]

On the subject of bees and dogs, our 14 week old puppy decided to investigate a bee hive. My wife pulled 5 stings from his face and ears and he wasn't happy. Fearing the worst we called the vet who told us not to worry. She was proved right and the puppy soon bounced back. 5 stings in an 8 kg puppy must be the dose equivalent of 50 stings in an 80 kg adult human.

The puppy is no longer interested in beekeeping. Even so I have put up a fence I should have put up earlier. The bees are normally very friendly.

[DianeBees]

Poor puppy. Did he react? I've seen cats after they've had a bit of an encounter with a bumblebee.

[Snorch]

Always be careful of bees (wasp, hornets) and dogs: our 2 year old dog was stung, we think by a hornet, and she went into anaphylactic shock. If we hadn't got to an emergency vet (of course it was on a Friday evening! ) she would have died.

[Jim Norfolk]

I think we were just lucky there was no reaction to the stings.