Bumble bee calls - getting bored repeating myself

[Chris B]

Sorry but this is utter tosh.

Everyone, beekeeper or not should be doing their bit to help out bees. Like I said in an earlier post, as a beek, you should point blank refuse to kill off any bumblebee nests and try to educate people - whether they listen or not.

And as for your comments on Bumblebee charities and pesticides - don't get me started

Clearly you haven't been on the receiving end of 30 calls a day, over many years. Doing your bit is one thing. Being harrassed is something else. But the waste-of-space charities just want it all on a plate don't they.

 

[hedgerow pete]

nope its called murphy's law of idiots,

if it fly's its peters bees, this also includes wasps, bumble bees. pigeons,
fly's, mosquitoes and elephants

in 20 calls 15 were for bumble bees and 4 were wasps, one was a swam

they all the get the same sort of questioning,

can you see them when they are flying, yes, bumble bees, no wasps and or bees

do you have a big furry rugby ball, yes, swam, no wasps

are they in the house or shed or building, yes, not interested, no on a tree or wall, yes interested

how high up are they, 2m or less, still interested 2m or above, not interested

are they in a chimney, yes, put phone down rapidly!!


unless I can walk up and collect them I don't do them.

charges, now this is where it gets extremely heated

charges
call out and collect bee swarm, £30 within a three mile radius, £50 will get me out to 10 miles, but the kettle had better be on when I land

false call out for wasps or bumble bees, £50

any thing else is also £50

I arrive and ask for cash, no cash straight away I get back in the car or on the bicycle and leave.

never advertise your number with the local council as everyone suggests as they deal with it in this manor

hello

hi I have bees/wasps/ flying things/elephants and two aardvarks in the house/flat/ shed

that's ok, they are a protected species, you are not allowed to touch them, and we at the council do not do any thing with these due to cut backs,

here , call this plonker called Pete, say its bees and he will do it for you for FREE

end of conversation and end of council liability's

some people go out of there way to collect swarms and as for me I am the opposite, why on earth do you want to keep swarmy bees??

 

[Heather]

I don't want to kill any bees... but the situation I described is sadly a necessity. And, yes, tree bumbles are more bold and will attack. I was chased off and stung when I went near a nest.
I have attended many BB calls, and reassured people. But this colony has to be removed... it will be just blocked in if I don't intervene and humanely destroy.

 

[Ben90]

Cars kill more far humans than bees every year but im sure you and your friend both own and use them every day?

And if you're allergic or have an allergic family member, keeping tree bumblebees is akin to playing chicken in heavy traffic. Tree bumblebees are known to be perhaps the most aggressive species of bumblebee in the UK. If I were more involved in removal of bumblebees I'd obviously want to ensure I was taking a last resort. But forcing someone to keep bumblebees that are behaving aggressively towards people who are distressed about it isn't going to help their image either.

 

[madasafish]

Just visited (3pm today) a lady whose builder was stung by Tree Bumbles.. Lady agreed to delay work until they die off...(they are under the soffits)



(As stated above, where are the bumblebee charities in all this? Nowhere...)

 

[Heather]

I lent the builder a suit. He finished the job quite quickly!

 

[psafloyd]

I have had FOUR today. All bumbles, all up in the eaves/soffits/gutters. All bar one seemed to think it was my job to go and remove them because they can't open their windows and they will come in and sting their children. People are too bloody lazy to have even read the page they got the information to call me as none of them had a clue.

 

[psafloyd]

I've had one genuine swarm, which was hanging from a tree, but in Kent. The bloody BBKA search function keeps putting me as closest to people from saff Lunnun, when there are much closer keepers than me.

 

[MuswellMetro]

I am sending out this if we get emailed

Unfortunately we are only insured to remove honeybees swarms not bumblebees nests nor Bee colonies in biuldings (We also are not licenced to use pesticides), We do know of a private company whose ethics are the similar to ours and they are insured and licenced to carry out the any work, if you want to contact them their telphone number is XXXXXXXXX

However to try and help the following is a digest that I have repeatedly being giving callers regarding a new species of Tree Bumble bee which your Bees most probable are that is because they nest in a holes and voids usually above 10ft .We are currently receiving high levals of call up to 20 per day on this new species of bumblebees

1.This species Bombus hypnorum first arrived from France at Southampton in 2000 prior to which it had not been recorded in this Country It was first seen in London around 2005 and has now spread throughout the UK

2.It regularly nests under guttering accessing to between joists in lofts & building a small wax nest under the heating insulation.corrugated shed rooves and bird boxes

3.If it is round & furry & has a white tip to its tail then that's what it is.

4.You will not have noticed them until their mating ritual commences .In this a number of males congregate at the nest hole & dance (up & down in flight ) waiting the arrival of the virgin queens (The Male bees cannot sting but the Worker and Queen bees can) .Following mating the queens leave the nest

5.Lasting a few days the process is repeated some 4 weeks later, the colony dying gradually & finishing their life cycle in late July/early August .This year due to the early Spring they should finnish by mid to late July
.
6.Nesting so high and provided they are not disturbed they do not normally present a Health & Safety Risk.

7.If nesting above a window it has been found that the window can remain open during the day, the bees not being invasive such as wasps & if the room is to be illuminated then shut thewindow in early evening and open again when dark. This will prevent the last returning bees to be attracted to the light .A net curtain is also useful .

8.Bird nesting boxes are sometimes adopted by this bee as a nesting site should the owner forget to clean after the season concludes. Once more provided it is not attached to a shed or door that vibrates when opened they do not present a problem but can be relocated after dark if required.This should only be done by an expert & should be moved at least 2 miles away
.
9.All Bumble Bees are vitally important for theenvironment , particularly this year as many native ground nesting species are in decline following last winters flooding.

 

[MuswellMetro]

I've had one genuine swarm, which was hanging from a tree, but in Kent. The bloody BBKA search function keeps putting me as closest to people from saff Lunnun, when there are much closer keepers than me.

CHANGE the post code on your BBKA profile to one near your prefered collection area, I used to use my work address as my boss allowed me to collect swarm near my works

 

[peterbees]

My ansaphone message says "If you've got a problem with bees please see our website c0nwybeekeepers.org.uk "nuisance bees" Scroll down and you will find a list of beekeepers who can help you. Anything else just leave a message". It catches most of the incoming calls. Have a look at the webpage here: http://tinyurl.com/plz3vmc
Feel free to use the information.

 

[madasafish]

This evening I removed two (!) tree bumble nests in bird boxes from the bungalow of an old lady (on sticks). One either side of her rear (garden ) door and rather aggressive even for TBs.

They apparently attacked and stung here whenever she opened her rear door - the nestboxes were mounted on the house wall.

One was an open robin box - sealed with cardboard/gaffer tape and wire mesh. The other should have been easier being a nest box with a hole - but the back was rotten...(you often cannot unscrew them as the screws are inside the birdbox).. Three stings later and 2 meters of gaffer tape....

When safely installed on trees at home, they showed their appreciation by stinging my wife on the nose: no venom so not dangerous...just painful.

The old lady was quoted £163 (incl VAT) by a pest control company to remove them...

Anyone who says TBs only sting when attacked is not living in my world......

 

[VEG]

I have just asked for my name to be removed after umpteen calls about bees "oh they are definitely honey bees" most knew full well they weren't they just wanted to get me there to deal with it. So the time has come to remove myself from the swarm lists, and pest controllers lists as well.

 

[Bates]

Been long gone from any lists for past 3 years for this reason.

 

[TOBY-3652]

sorry beecology but you are simply just not taking all situations into account. I am going out to a lady tonight who has a colony of tb's nesting in a vent right outside her back door. She is highly allergic to bee stings and actually ended up in hospital last year with severe swelling and breathing difficulties. She has two young children who are also very illergic. She has phoned the council and a couple of pesties and on all fronts, they have refused to deal with them and told her she needs to call a beek.

I'm happy to pm you her number and you can have a go at trying to convince her she should put hers and her childrens lives at risk and just "live with them" as you say. Alternatively, i could just refuse to help her and sleep well at night wondering if she is still alive and well.

Needless to say that although it will be difficult for me to do, the nest will be getting destroyed tonight. Not what i want to do but easier to live with than the hospitalisation of one of her children.

this is a sensible man i just wish we were all like him and me. As i have said before iff i can save a bumble bee nest i will. But 9 times out of ten i wont

 

[TOBY-3652]

that's fair enough, but i wonder how likely it is any of them will be stung? I could go outside now to closest nest and virtually sit on it without the slightest bit of concern.

I think as a nation, the attitude is if it flies and could sting then it should be killed, there is certainly an awful lot of hysteria involved when it comes to things like bees and wasps.

I don't now for sure, but im sure there could be some solution before killing off the nest - use the other door perhaps, box the vent out with a small access hole to one side etc etc?

come and sit on one i have been to tonight.. You would of got ure ar-e stung a few times..

 

[TOBY-3652]

Originally Posted by beecology View Post
Bumblebees are totally harmless and docile if left alone and pose no threats to humans.



Obviously had no dealings with Tree Bumbles then and speaking from a position of total and utter ignorance.


I've been stung by tree bumbles - last night . I removed a nest of them annoying adults and buzzing kids.

In 2012 I removed a nest so aggressive anyone approaching within 10 meters was stung...


Please please don't pretend to be full of expertise on a subject and make sweeping generalisations... which are just bull excrement.

 

[TOBY-3652]

That's around the nest, as in sticking your head in it! My point is that if left undisturbed, they will not cause ANY HARM.

Cars kill more far humans than bees every year but im sure you and your friend both own and use them every day?

http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/faqs/moving-bumblebee-nests/

WERE NOT TALKING ABOUT CARS.. WERE TALKING ABOUT BUMBLE BEES

 

[TOBY-3652]

That is without a doubt the most ridiculous statement I have EVER read on this forum.....

 

[BeeJayBee]

The old lady was quoted £163 (incl VAT) by a pest control company to remove them...

That seems an awful lot of money.