One for the bee extraction team

[Ziggymole]

PH,

Have you contacted R****kill? Surely they would be able to advise on the best way to kill the colony, after that it capping the unused chimney and clearing the wax etc is a job for a builder.

I don't agree with the young mum wanting them dead btw, but like you say it's her house!

Jan

 

[sherwood]

The only way of truely eliminating the re-entry of bees to the chimney is to put what is called a sailors cap on the chimney however when you do so you must include inside the sailors cap some varoa mesh around the inside of the cap and insure there is no ingress for bees. This ensures that that stack remains ventalated.
This of course would only be done either after you have recovered or treated the existing bees in the chimney.

I am of course presuming that the bees are gaining entry through the chimney top. If they are gaining entry elsewhere thats an entirely different and more complex problem.

Hope this helps. I have helped doing this on two previous occassions. The same methodology can be used for entries via air bricks where these are fronted by some sort of clay vent.

 

[Chris Luck]

my suggestion is a bit cruel and drastic....block the vent and seal the chimney during the night,

Have you heard the noise the bees make when this is done? I have and you wouldn't want to hear it twice - it's terrible.

The only way of truely eliminating the re-entry of bees to the chimney is to put what is called a sailors cap on the chimney however when you do so you must include inside the sailors cap some varoa mesh around the inside of the cap and insure there is no ingress for bees.

What's the varroa mesh for? Ahh, hang on, could it be any mesh that stops bees getting in?

Chris

 

[BeeJayBee]

... but it is her house and her call.

And that's how it should be.

Probably not helpful, but our neighbours chimney bees have been there for many years (probably nearer 15 than the 10 I've said previously) and have defied all attempts at poisoning, in fact they seem to be thriving and now fill two flues.

Their chimneys are properly 'sealed', with an insect-proof vent at the position of the old fireplace, and are capped. There are wardrobes built round and across the chimney breast, so work inside very disruptive.

It's an oldish house, it's possible that smoke or standard amount of poison put in through the air brick has been dissipated or diluted because the feathering within the chimneys is decayed. The latest suggestion our neighbours had was to line the flues and then try smoking or pesticide. They've declined, because of the expense. A trapout is impractical because of the way the house is built - scaffolding is also very expensive.

The things that we've noted though, is that bees tend to like a certain style of chimney cap - the pot ones with the nice bee-entrance around them. They tend to avoid open chimneys or ones with wire cages.

If 'your' chimney has a means of access at the bottom of the flue, I'd be tempted to get it opened up and light a very smoky fire in a metal bucket. If there's an air brick, and there should be one, you might even be able to remove it and slide in something like a rectangular camping cooking pan and use that. It'll probably take a long time to drive them out though.