Bees in my garage

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Nick Lang

House Bee
Joined
Oct 30, 2020
Messages
184
Reaction score
81
Location
Pontypool, South Wales
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
Only one
So .....I went out to my garage today to router some timber.....and when I put the lights on from nowhere there are about a dozen or so large dark looking bees......must be a wild bee colony in the roof space somewhere.... haven't been up to have a look.

What do people do with bees that have taken up residence where they shouldn't......can/should they be removed into a polynuc???...would they survive....can they become a successful colony in a hive in their own right?

At the moment....my current thinking is I might just check they're not damaging anything and leave them.

Just curious what folks do???

Ta 😁😎
 
If you can get a picture pls dead or alive advice Will vary according to type. Ian
 
Depends on so much. How long have they been there, how big is the colony, can you get to them, ........need loads more info!
 
We seem to have a lot of hover drone flies about at the moment…………a photo of your suspect might be useful.
 
If they are honeybees, you can sometimes do a "cut out" (search for thst term on Youtube) but if you do it now they'll die. Do it in Spring when they can repair comb damage.

If it was only a dozen I doubt it's a nest, could be bees attracted to the smell of beekeeping equipment?

A swarm once escaped their collection box into my garage (TIP: heat of a swarm can melt the glue on cheap duct tape!!!) and clustered on the window. Look there, and use your ears. A nest might be in an awkward position to cut out.

If it is a nest relocating it nearby is a little trickier than to a faraway apiary - the "3 foot 3 mile" rule
 
Could be queen wasps looking to hibernate - I’ve turfed a few out of my garage this week.
 
Definitely honey bees...but it's only half a dozen or so flying around.....and I do keep my bee stuff in the garage...so that's most likely why 😎
 
Definitely honey bees...but it's only half a dozen or so flying around.....and I do keep my bee stuff in the garage...so that's most likely why 😎
If I put my solar melter out, by the time it takes me to put a sheet of glass on the top I have several bees in and around it. I don't know how they do it so quickly, it takes them seconds to find a robbing source at this time of the year!
 
.... it takes them seconds to find a robbing source at this time of the year!

At any time of the year ... it's just worse now ! I was jarring up some honey yesterday morning at just after 8.00am ... had finished the jarring and was washing up the utensils with the back door open - next thing I know I've got two bees buzzing around the kitchen !! Their sense of smell is totally amazing ...
 

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