Help needed from the experts

[Luketommo]

Hello
I am at my wit's end with a problem I have but am not getting anywhere.
We live in Dover,Kent and have over the last 2 years had a honeybees nest in our chimney. The bees either come down via the chimney to our front room or lie dead in our attic-ive just come back from holiday to find about 40 dead honeybees in the loft.
When I contacted a local beekeepers they advised to either smoke them out or get someone to remove them.
After going through checkatrade many local companies do not want to touch the work due to either new rules/regulations or it being too difficult to do the job. I'm now at my wit's end as I know honeybees are protected and good for the environment but I cannot have loads of honeybees come into our home every day on the floor so I have found your forum and would ask if anyone on here can give me any other hints or tips.
I really appreciate your time in reading this and any replies would be brilliant.
Thank you.
Luke

 

[Boston Bees]

Hello
I am at my wit's end with a problem I have but am not getting anywhere.
We live in Dover,Kent and have over the last 2 years had a honeybees nest in our chimney. The bees either come down via the chimney to our front room or lie dead in our attic-ive just come back from holiday to find about 40 dead honeybees in the loft.
When I contacted a local beekeepers they advised to either smoke them out or get someone to remove them.
After going through checkatrade many local companies do not want to touch the work due to either new rules/regulations or it being too difficult to do the job. I'm now at my wit's end as I know honeybees are protected and good for the environment but I cannot have loads of honeybees come into our home every day on the floor so I have found your forum and would ask if anyone on here can give me any other hints or tips.
I really appreciate your time in reading this and any replies would be brilliant.
Thank you.
Luke

They aren't protected, just to be clear.

This is a good group to join and ask advice from. They'll be plenty on there who can do chimney removals.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/759123678164015/about/
EDIT: DON'T under any circumstances take the advice you have been given to light a fire under the colony. After 2 years your chimney will have plenty of wax and honey in. Both burn very well nicely indeed.

 

[Bluebell1985]

These gents may be worth a call, for advice if nothing else. Their Instagram is usually full of bee removals from hard to get to places.

 

[ericbeaumont]

smoke them out

Chance of it working on the day the bees arrive. No chance now, and as BB said, risky to mix fire and wax.

companies do not want to touch the work due to either new rules/regulations

Likely that pest control companies are aware of a prosecution by the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme in 2008 in which a pest controller was fined £1000 for terminating a honeybee nest (incompetently and without due precautions).

The recent withdrawal for use of the main termination chemical prevents pest control companies acting. Many also believe (because they don't bother to check the law) that bees are protected, which is plain wrong.

Unless you are prepared to pay for scaffolding and repair work to remove the nest, your main hope rests on the death of the colony in winter. If there's no regular flight on mild spring days, fit a very fine mesh screen over the chimney mouth and re-point the chimney to seal other access points.

 

[Luketommo]

Amazing thank you for your advice. As we are a family on a tight budget would you recommend coping until the winter months and then sort out the chimney repointing and put a mesh over the chimney mouth as being more cost effective than getting scaffold out and someone simply removing the colony. As it's in the chimney my other question could be if they could be removed from the inside(i.e the loft) thus saving the cost of scaffold.
Many thanks.
Luke

 

[Newbeeneil]

These chimney sweeps carry out removals but I'm not sure they would cover your area.
https://masterchimneysweep.co.uk/bees/

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

These chimney sweeps carry out removals but I'm not sure they would cover your area.
https://masterchimneysweep.co.uk/bees/

I think there is a facebook group of chimney sweeps who do bee removals - worth looking to see if there's one in your area

 

[Amari]

Hello
I am at my wit's end with a problem I have but am not getting anywhere.
We live in Dover,Kent and have over the last 2 years had a honeybees nest in our chimney. The bees either come down via the chimney to our front room or lie dead in our attic-ive just come back from holiday to find about 40 dead honeybees in the loft.
When I contacted a local beekeepers they advised to either smoke them out or get someone to remove them.
After going through checkatrade many local companies do not want to touch the work due to either new rules/regulations or it being too difficult to do the job. I'm now at my wit's end as I know honeybees are protected and good for the environment but I cannot have loads of honeybees come into our home every day on the floor so I have found your forum and would ask if anyone on here can give me any other hints or tips.
I really appreciate your time in reading this and any replies would be brilliant.
Thank you.
Luke

Are you sure that they're honey bees? The ones in the front room presumably come down the chimney but I'm puzzled that they are in the loft as well - how do they get there?
My neighbour has a similar problem every year - bees in their sitting room with no obvious source. As I've recently posted they are smaller than honeybees, black, and have round abdomens. Advice on here suggests they are mason bees.
Can you provide a pic?

 

[ericbeaumont]

Are you sure that they're honey bees?

Good point, Amari.

a honeybees nest in our chimney

Have the bees been identified definitively, Luke?

 

[Luketommo]

Good point, Amari.

Have the bees been identified definitively, Luke?

Thank you all for the information.i will try this weekend to get up the loft and take some pictures to identity the type I'm dealing with. I've sealed the chimney with loft insulation to block them coming down into our front room. They are accessing the loft via a gap in the chimney breast wall(old mortar) so I'll fill in the gaps at the weekend.
I really appreciate everyone's time in replying and as I say I'll add some photos asap
Many thanks
Luke

 

[ericbeaumont]

I'll fill in the gaps at the weekend

Good idea; once exit options are reduced the bees will give up exploration and settle down.

 

[Luketommo]

Hi all. Here is an attached picture of some of the bees that dropped from our loft hatch a few days ago. Any info would be great if they are honey bees or mason bees.
Many thanks

 

[Boston Bees]

Honey bees, as expected.

 

[Nighthaunt]

Have you contacted the Dover Bee Keeping Association?

 

[Luketommo]

Hello yes I messaged them but got the below reply. I am thinking about trying the smoke bomb rather than paying for scaffold etc to get them removed but ready online it seems smoke bombs probably will not work. We had a chimney sweep out yesterday and it is an open chimney.
Here is dovers reply:-
Have you tried the obvious remedy of lighting a fire if it is an open chimney?



Bees don't like strong smells, you can buy smoke "bombs" [internet] to try & clear them, have the room closed off before you try, doors & windows shut, be prepared to sweep up lots of dead bees, protect your face with hat & scarf.

Basically you are trying to encourage them to change their decision to occupy your chimney & move on.

Otherwise, pest control,They do not like to kill bees, but if bees are making your life a misery in your own home, then do what must be done, it is not illegal.

 

[Boston Bees]

Hello yes I messaged them but got the below reply. I am thinking about trying the smoke bomb rather than paying for scaffold etc to get them removed but ready online it seems smoke bombs probably will not work. We had a chimney sweep out yesterday and it is an open chimney.
Here is dovers reply:-
Have you tried the obvious remedy of lighting a fire if it is an open chimney?



Bees don't like strong smells, you can buy smoke "bombs" [internet] to try & clear them, have the room closed off before you try, doors & windows shut, be prepared to sweep up lots of dead bees, protect your face with hat & scarf.

Basically you are trying to encourage them to change their decision to occupy your chimney & move on.

Otherwise, pest control,They do not like to kill bees, but if bees are making your life a misery in your own home, then do what must be done, it is not illegal.

Lighting a fire under a two-year old colony is an insane recommendation from whoever said that

As for smoke bombs .... I wouldn't personally, I don't think it will work. They'll just come back when the smoke has stopped

If you want them out, you need either pest control (not sure what they would do in practice) or a live bee removal company

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Lighting a fire under a two-year old colony is an insane recommendation from whoever said that

As for smoke bombs .... I wouldn't personally, I don't think it will work. They'll just come back when the smoke has stopped

but I suppose you have to look at what sort of organisation you are dealing with

 

[ericbeaumont]

Lighting a fire under a two-year old colony is an insane recommendation

Not only insane but pointless and stupid, because the recommendation was given without thought or experience of the outcome.

bees are making your life a misery

Are they? If access to the house is eliminated they can be left until spring, when evidence of life will be clear and action can be taken to either live with them, or prevent re-occupation later that year.

 

[pargyle]

K

Hello yes I messaged them but got the below reply. I am thinking about trying the smoke bomb rather than paying for scaffold etc to get them removed but ready online it seems smoke bombs probably will not work. We had a chimney sweep out yesterday and it is an open chimney.
Here is dovers reply:-
Have you tried the obvious remedy of lighting a fire if it is an open chimney?



Bees don't like strong smells, you can buy smoke "bombs" [internet] to try & clear them, have the room closed off before you try, doors & windows shut, be prepared to sweep up lots of dead bees, protect your face with hat & scarf.

Basically you are trying to encourage them to change their decision to occupy your chimney & move on.

Otherwise, pest control,They do not like to kill bees, but if bees are making your life a misery in your own home, then do what must be done, it is not illegal.

If they are a honey bee colony that has been there for two years then there will be lots of comb in the chimney....comb is made of wax... with a low melting point and like wax candles is inflammable... if you decide to light a fire I would call the fire brigade before you set the fire going... If you value your house !

There is no easy way to remove an established honey bee colony from a chimney... its going to be a specialist job and it's going to be expensive. If you don't use the fireplace... seal it up ... block up holes they are finding in the loft and leave them in peace...

 

[Pembroke]

If it's not too late to add my suggestion this company specialise in removing bees from chimneys as can be seem from their front page photograph.

https://swarmcatcher.co.uk/
I'm sorry, I've no idea what they will charge, it really depends on how easy the job is.