Bees in cavity wall

[ach5]

Hi,

We're doing flagging around the back of the house, and noticed some bees flying in and out of a hole left in the brick from a previous waste pipe that was removed - the resulting hole was never filled.

Presumably, this hole leads into the cavity space. The hole does not go "through and through" into the bathroom - just as far as the cavity.

I am not aware of any problems, and have never seen or heard any bees in the house.

Should i plug the hole, presumably killing off any bees trapped inside, or are the bees harmless?

Does the cavity wall (part of a single story extension) open into the roof space, or will it be sealed along the top of the wall?

Thanks,

Adrian.

PS no idea what species of bee it is, other than to say the one i saw flying into the hole earlier was huge - much bigger than your standard bee!

[ktmog6uk]

call a beekeeper asap, they can cause a lot of damage, and the honey in the nest attracts all sorts or vermin. my mum had a problem a few years ago and it was a rare occasion where the beekeepers agreed to kill the bees due to the size and position of the nest in the house inside cavity walls, we had to hack through plasterboard to get the honeycombs out as it started running into the house (the nest was initially in a dormer wall but spread) and we found 6 massive honeycombs - enough to fill one and a half wheelie bins! imagine that going rancid and sending out "come eat me" smells to eveything in your neighbourhood once there are no bees to guard it. if they get established it can be a real problem and you need a licence to move them or kill them iirc when we asked the council to sort it out.

[DS3R]

I've had 11 months of trying to solve a leak in a wall caused by a bees nest (which made a cavity wall tray collapse with its weight), so listen to the advice above!!!!!

[unclealec]

They sound like bumble bees, which shouldn't cause any problems. They don't swarm.
Let them go about their lawful business, they need all the help they can get these days.

[Meinessex]

They sound like bumble bees, which shouldn't cause any problems. They don't swarm.
Let them go about their lawful business, they need all the help they can get these days.

+1

Too few around, we need to do all we can to try and save them.

You need to find out what kind of bee they are, most types of bee or wasp live in such small numbers, and do not make much honey, so its unlikely they will cause any damage to your property.

Unless any of your family suffers from serious allergic reactions to bee stings, just leave them alone, chances are they will move on eventually by themselves.

[ktmog6uk]

They sound like bumble bees, which shouldn't cause any problems. They don't swarm.
Let them go about their lawful business, they need all the help they can get these days.

it could just as easily have been a queen, or a hornet - having seen the damage they can do i really wouldn't leave it alone....

[jwg663]

Your local council should offer a low cost "verminator" service. Check the website.

[bomberman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt1OQxcBkRU

As posted already, contact a local beekeeper.

http://www.bbka.org.uk/

http://www.bbka.org.uk/help/find_a_s...oordinator.php



Good luck

B

[seikopath]

call a beekeeper asap, they can cause a lot of damage, and the honey in the nest attracts all sorts or vermin. my mum had a problem a few years ago and it was a rare occasion where the beekeepers agreed to kill the bees due to the size and position of the nest in the house inside cavity walls, we had to hack through plasterboard to get the honeycombs out as it started running into the house (the nest was initially in a dormer wall but spread) and we found 6 massive honeycombs - enough to fill one and a half wheelie bins! imagine that going rancid and sending out "come eat me" smells to eveything in your neighbourhood once there are no bees to guard it. if they get established it can be a real problem and you need a licence to move them or kill them iirc when we asked the council to sort it out.

Honey doesnt go rancid . It is one of the very few foodstuffs that doesn't go off.

[Fords]

Do not plug the hole, they have and entrance, they will only find another way in, ring the council they could bee harmless, they will advise you of what to do.

[dutchgray]

Honey doesnt go rancid . It is one of the very few foodstuffs that doesn't go off.

Indeed, and the bees wax the rest of its made from is fine to so its only the dead bees that could be a problem, honey bee nests can get insanely massive though in houses, its a bit spooky when all you can hear in an attic room is bees in the roof structure.

[ktmog6uk]

Indeed, and the bees wax the rest of its made from is fine to so its only the dead bees that could be a problem, honey bee nests can get insanely massive though in houses, its a bit spooky when all you can hear in an attic room is bees in the roof structure.

either they decay or something must eat into it fast as we had liquid wax and honey running into the house within 72 hours of the bee cull (estimated 50,000+ bees) and one very scared beekeeper - he didn't dare try to move them and was very jumpy during the extermination. it gave off a very pungent sweet smell and we were warned to get rid if it quick or every insect, rodent and god knows what within a mile would be heading our way for a free feast!
whether this was due to the poison agent or not i don't know.

[ktmog6uk]

just found this ; mirrors my experiences well:
http://www.bees-online.com/RemoveBees.htm
http://forsythbeekeepers.org/bee-removal-faqs/

[gunner]

We have bees in the wall of a dormer window. After talking to a beekeeper we're leaving them to it...

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Please take some sympathetic advice on this one - the UK bee population is much reduced and under strain and they are valuable in the extreme.

[seikopath]

thats right , leave the bees alone

[jk103]

As a beekeeper ... call a local beekeeper, if they are honey bees he will likely take them for free. If you leave the comb inside more bees will come to repopulate the hive so the comb has to be removed as well to keep it bee free in the future.

jwg663 has provided bad advice

[paneristi372]

I came home from work last year on a sunny afternoon to find the bathroom infested with bees, all very lazy trying to exit through the closed window, many were dead so I got the Dyson out and sucked all the dead and alive up, it was a shocking discovery!!


Even worse I then went into the back bedroom and the window sill was literally crawling just like the bathroom. Same action was followed again. Turns out they had entered the cavity wall next to the soil stack outlet from the outside that we had filled in the only way they could get out was under the window sills in the bathroom and he back room.

Touch wood not had any further issues.

[number2]

Call in an experienced bee keeper...

ALL WE ARE SAAYYING, IS GIVE BEES A CHANCE

[Bravo73]

Could they be mason bees?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_bee



Either way, as has been suggested, consult a beekeeper (who would be happy to get a 'free' swarm) or leave well alone.

[Captainhowdy]

They can be attracted my music, try to avoid playing anything by Sting or the Bee Gees.

[jwg663]

As a beekeeper ... call a local beekeeper, if they are honey bees he will likely take them for free. If you leave the comb inside more bees will come to repopulate the hive so the comb has to be removed as well to keep it bee free in the future.

jwg663 has provided bad advice

Actually, I haven't. The council guy won't exterminate them unless he has to. If they're able to be rescued/moved, he'll be able to
recommend somebody. If they're not bees, he'll be able to deal with them at a lower cost than Rentokill or whoever.

[village]

Could they be mason bees?

.

Unlikely...Mason bees are solitary and they live in little dead end holes,such as old screw holes in the brickwork etc. We've got loads and they don't do any damage....very good for pest control in the garden though!

Regards the OP - i would definitely recommend getting a beekeeper in for a look see - and it's all very well to be saying give the bees a chance/leave them alone etc etc but if they are established in the cavity wall then they need to be removed one way or another.

[ingenioren]

I came home from work last year on a sunny afternoon to find the bathroom infested with bees, all very lazy trying to exit through the closed window, many were dead so I got the Dyson out and sucked all the dead and alive up, it was a shocking discovery!!


Even worse I then went into the back bedroom and the window sill was literally crawling just like the bathroom. Same action was followed again. Turns out they had entered the cavity wall next to the soil stack outlet from the outside that we had filled in the only way they could get out was under the window sills in the bathroom and he back room.

Touch wood not had any further issues.

We had a similar experience in our house.
All the beekeeper did was stick his hand into the huge mass, (no protective gear !) find the queen, put her in a matchbox, carry it outside and left it in a tree and within 10-15 minutes all the workers had joined her - in fact lovely to be able watch nature at its best.
Good luck - but DO NOT try kill it !!!

Also, try check if it is a regular 'traffic' or just a singular masonary bee.
We need bees in every form !!!

[Jestermedia]

Unlikely...Mason bees are solitary and they live in little dead end holes,such as old screw holes in the brickwork etc. We've got loads and they don't do any damage....very good for pest control in the garden though!

Although Masonry Bees are technically solitary you do often get lots of them in the same area. I was at Dunham Massey (National Trust place) yesterday and they've got a sign up saying "The flying insects that you can see in the area are not wasps, even though they look like them. They are Masonry bees and will not sting you unless you try to handle them. Please don't panic and treat them gently." or words to that effect. There were dozens of them all buzzing around the wall and so it would have looked like a swarm. It might be that there is more than one 'hole' that they're occupying rather than just the obvious one you've seen. Can you get a photo of them to help determine what kind they are?