Discussion
I have a bee problem!
They've made a nest in the void between a ceiling and flat roof and are getting in/out of the gaps around the shuttering (sofits?) below the roof.
We've had a Bee keeper round and he tried to coax them out with various tubes, treats and a purpose built hive but it didn't work. He then tried to vacuum them out without success and advised that as much as it hurts him to suggest it he felt we had no option but to Nuke them which he did with a tin of bee killing foam.
The nuke didn't work and he suggested stuffing petrol soaked rags into the gaps as the fumes will do the job.
This we have now done three time plus two more good sprays of the bee killing foam (so 5 tins in total)...
But all to no avail
Has anyone any other ideas of how we can kill the little
?
They've made a nest in the void between a ceiling and flat roof and are getting in/out of the gaps around the shuttering (sofits?) below the roof.
We've had a Bee keeper round and he tried to coax them out with various tubes, treats and a purpose built hive but it didn't work. He then tried to vacuum them out without success and advised that as much as it hurts him to suggest it he felt we had no option but to Nuke them which he did with a tin of bee killing foam.
The nuke didn't work and he suggested stuffing petrol soaked rags into the gaps as the fumes will do the job.
This we have now done three time plus two more good sprays of the bee killing foam (so 5 tins in total)...
But all to no avail
Has anyone any other ideas of how we can kill the little
?
Please don't kill bees, there is a real issue in the UK with the shortgage of bees right now and they are vital to the food chain.
Wasps are fair targets though!
Seriously as someone else has suggested, call a more experienced bee keeper to move the bees eleswhere or contact the British Beekeepers Association who will be able to help.
Wasps are fair targets though!
Seriously as someone else has suggested, call a more experienced bee keeper to move the bees eleswhere or contact the British Beekeepers Association who will be able to help.
flyingjase said:
Please don't kill bees, there is a real issue in the UK with the shortgage of bees right now and they are vital to the food chain.
Wasps are fair targets though!
Seriously as someone else has suggested, call a more experienced bee keeper to move the bees eleswhere or contact the British Beekeepers Association who will be able to help.
We have been in touch with the British BeeKeepers Association which is who sent the beekeeper that came, 20 years experience and high up in the Assoc as well, he came half a dozen or so times to try and coax them away as he lives in the next Village and on a couple of the times he came he brought another bee keeper with him.Wasps are fair targets though!
Seriously as someone else has suggested, call a more experienced bee keeper to move the bees eleswhere or contact the British Beekeepers Association who will be able to help.
To answer the question as to why do anything at all... if they were anywhere else other than the roof void that they're in we would leave them, but the void is above the front door which is right next to a narrow pavement, a neighbour (or two) complained to our Landlord our Landlord has instructed us to deal with the Pest as "Pest Control" is the tenants responsibility plus we move out in about 5 weeks time (not that the Landlord knows that yet). Yes I appreciate that they fly at 8ft above the ground so are unlikely to come into direct contact with humans even when walking in or out or passing on the pavement but there are people out there (Landlord & neighbours included) who don't appreciate/know that.
We have spent three weeks trying to re-home them, and short of removing the ceiling below or roof above we are unable to actually get to the nest.
We know, that there's likely to have been 20/30,000 in the nest, that they live for 6 weeks and that they'll die in October anyway but the issue is now and I can't leave it.
Trust me Killing them is the last thing we wanted to do.
As for vital.... honey bees (for that is what they are) account for about 10% of the pollenation in the UK but yes are in decline (as are all flying insects) and no-one really knows why..... but wasps actually pollenate more than bees so if you are concerned about the food chain then leave the wasps alone too!!
My father had this problem with a roof void that was inaccessible from inside the house, but with wasps. You could see dozens of the sods flying in an out at any given moment, it made opening the windows of the house a complete non starter during summer, which also made the house stifling.
We tried a couple of things to get rid of them - there's a wasp killing powder that you're meant to puff from the plastic bottle (this was 10+ years ago, so I'm stuffed if I can remember the name of it, sorry. Probably irrelevant in this case as wasps vs. bees). The problem with this was that the entry/egress points were accessible only via ladder, and being so many of them, this would have been suicide without full protection, so we tried a couple of methods of application-
1). Fire puffer bottle up in the most accessible gaps as quickly as possible, bloody awkward to do, only covered a small portion of the available entry points, results negligible.
2). Mix contents of powder bottle with water, spray up via pressurised garden sprayer with extension - application simple, results negligible. Boo.
3). Take now empty first bottle, cut a circular hole in base, machine a fitting to take an airline from the compressor (overkill, and achievable through bodging, he just had the kit to hand, so used it), tape bottle to long length of wooden pole, tape airline to pole, test.
Replace blown out nozzle with that from the second bottle. Epoxy in place after filling bottle with contents of third plastic bottle. Poke nozzle of bottle up under the eaves, fire away.
End result is impressive quantities of the powder billowing up through every conceivable opening, including through the gaps in the tiles, and the can being emptied inside about 10 seconds. An hour later, there were only a few wasps to be seen, an hour after that, one or two only. Next morning, silence.
A few years later, he broke into the void in order to create more room in the attic and found a truly impressive nest, set quite a way back from where they were getting in – we suspect that the first few methods failed because not enough of the good stuff reached the nest itself, although the wasps themselves were meant to track it in; spraying the powder in under pressure obviously penetrated much more effectively.
I’m wondering in you’ve got the same issue – it might well be worth investigating what other chemical solutions are available to you – the foam might not be getting where it needs to go?
We tried a couple of things to get rid of them - there's a wasp killing powder that you're meant to puff from the plastic bottle (this was 10+ years ago, so I'm stuffed if I can remember the name of it, sorry. Probably irrelevant in this case as wasps vs. bees). The problem with this was that the entry/egress points were accessible only via ladder, and being so many of them, this would have been suicide without full protection, so we tried a couple of methods of application-
1). Fire puffer bottle up in the most accessible gaps as quickly as possible, bloody awkward to do, only covered a small portion of the available entry points, results negligible.
2). Mix contents of powder bottle with water, spray up via pressurised garden sprayer with extension - application simple, results negligible. Boo.
3). Take now empty first bottle, cut a circular hole in base, machine a fitting to take an airline from the compressor (overkill, and achievable through bodging, he just had the kit to hand, so used it), tape bottle to long length of wooden pole, tape airline to pole, test.
Replace blown out nozzle with that from the second bottle. Epoxy in place after filling bottle with contents of third plastic bottle. Poke nozzle of bottle up under the eaves, fire away.
End result is impressive quantities of the powder billowing up through every conceivable opening, including through the gaps in the tiles, and the can being emptied inside about 10 seconds. An hour later, there were only a few wasps to be seen, an hour after that, one or two only. Next morning, silence.
A few years later, he broke into the void in order to create more room in the attic and found a truly impressive nest, set quite a way back from where they were getting in – we suspect that the first few methods failed because not enough of the good stuff reached the nest itself, although the wasps themselves were meant to track it in; spraying the powder in under pressure obviously penetrated much more effectively.
I’m wondering in you’ve got the same issue – it might well be worth investigating what other chemical solutions are available to you – the foam might not be getting where it needs to go?
flyingjase said:
Please don't kill bees, there is a real issue in the UK with the shortgage of bees right now and they are vital to the food chain... Seriously as someone else has suggested, call a more experienced bee keeper to move the bees eleswhere or contact the British Beekeepers Association who will be able to help.
Indeeed, I thought beekeepers would come and take them away somehow - there was a thread here a few months ago.Even if they can't move them, why not just let them bee, I mean be?
Simpo Two said:
Indeeed, I thought beekeepers would come and take them away somehow - there was a thread here a few months ago.
Even if they can't move them, why not just let them bee, I mean be?
They've tried with no success.Even if they can't move them, why not just let them bee, I mean be?
jimmyjimjim said:
The problem with this was that the entry/egress points were accessible only via ladder, and being so many of them, this would have been suicide without full protection, so we tried a couple of methods of application-
Thanks for all of this..... plus I know the feeling of ladder suicide.. I was up the ladder yesterday with spray can in hand, lots of bees around then suddenly the house over the road started up their strimmer..... thinking it was a swarm attacking I jumped off only to realise it was the strimmer!!Leave the Bees alone! Bees will not sting people unless purposely/accidentally crushed etc unlike wasps, they will go on their business collecting pollen and theirother duties. It may seem off-putting to see a load of bees around your house but if you dont bother them, they won't bother you - after all it is suicide for them to sting.
ETA - Wasps are soimething else, would quite happily press a button to make them extinct.
ETA - Wasps are soimething else, would quite happily press a button to make them extinct.
If you spray a powder in there beware of the statutory conditions that are written on the packet/bottle as these ARE law!!! So if it doesn't say for use on honeybees and you use it on them then you break the law!!
The ones that are for honeybees will usually say that you have to block all entrances to the current colony to prevent cross contamination if this is a tiled roof it means you have to mastic every tile down!!
Other option is to cut the plasterboard under the colony out and remove that way!!
If done properly you can usually remove the colony into a hive box and take them away and then once the colony has been removed you need to remove all the comb etc and creosote the area they were as other swarms will smell out the remaining wax and then repair the ceiling!!!
It's not the cheapest option but if you want the colony removed alI've it's the only way!
If you don't care on the colony surviving but you want them gone then it's cheaper and quicker to do!!
Pm me if you want a quote on getting them removed, dead or alive!! ;0)
The ones that are for honeybees will usually say that you have to block all entrances to the current colony to prevent cross contamination if this is a tiled roof it means you have to mastic every tile down!!
Other option is to cut the plasterboard under the colony out and remove that way!!
If done properly you can usually remove the colony into a hive box and take them away and then once the colony has been removed you need to remove all the comb etc and creosote the area they were as other swarms will smell out the remaining wax and then repair the ceiling!!!
It's not the cheapest option but if you want the colony removed alI've it's the only way!
If you don't care on the colony surviving but you want them gone then it's cheaper and quicker to do!!
Pm me if you want a quote on getting them removed, dead or alive!! ;0)
I've had bees in my loft above my open bedroom window for the last few years. They are Bumble Bees so the nest is not very big.
Sometimes one gets into the house and so I open a window or door to let it out before it expires.
Otherwise, they just do bee things and we leave each other alone. I'd suggest the same to the OP.
Sometimes one gets into the house and so I open a window or door to let it out before it expires.
Otherwise, they just do bee things and we leave each other alone. I'd suggest the same to the OP.
Not much help to the OP now but preventative measures are best. My missis is very good with this. We've got a very old house which wasps in particular seem to like. OH stops them at source by keeping her eagle eye out for the individual scouts who come round every spring to scope out likely accomm for the flock/herd/swarm. Whenever she sees one buzzing around she hunts it down relentlessly. Plus she sprays anti-wasp stuff under the eaves right round the house. Seems to work. Like I say, not much use now but perhaps something to bear in the mind for the future.
Bee related but unlikely to provide a tenable way for you to get rid of them...
Last spring I had a swarm pass through the garden, they spied a likely looking nesting place and over the next couple of months proceeded to setup home in the top of the boiler flue.
A cold snap resulted in longer than usual use of the boiler right up until the moment the exhaust gasses melted part of the nest allowing it to slide down the flue and lodge in the right angled bend. This blocked the flu allowing pressure to build up until the inevitable happened.
The door to the boiler was thrown across the kitchen when the pressure release valve popped, the bees were launched into orbit taking the entire top part of the chimney with them. The road outside and my patio was the like some kind of bee armageddon with thousands of them deep fried and crispy strewn around.
I don't have a bee problem anymore...
Oh and INB4 - Cool Story Bee
Last spring I had a swarm pass through the garden, they spied a likely looking nesting place and over the next couple of months proceeded to setup home in the top of the boiler flue.
A cold snap resulted in longer than usual use of the boiler right up until the moment the exhaust gasses melted part of the nest allowing it to slide down the flue and lodge in the right angled bend. This blocked the flu allowing pressure to build up until the inevitable happened.
The door to the boiler was thrown across the kitchen when the pressure release valve popped, the bees were launched into orbit taking the entire top part of the chimney with them. The road outside and my patio was the like some kind of bee armageddon with thousands of them deep fried and crispy strewn around.
I don't have a bee problem anymore...
Oh and INB4 - Cool Story Bee
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