Bees in loft - Leave them or block the small hole up from outside?

I have had bees going through a smaal hole between two tiles just below the rook ( 2 story house). I am sure they are bumble bees. I am reluctant to do anything as they at the moment are not a problem. But as they are probably going into the loft and I may need to go in there if I need to get something or maintenance to the ball valve etc (maybe an emengency), I do not want to have a problem with the bees.

How long will the bees remain there.

If I block the hole from the outside (the hole is about 1 cm in dia.) how long will it be before any activity in the loft is stopped (the bees are all expired)

If I go in the loft with a light will the bees fly around annoyed as I had when we had a wasp nest 10 years ago.

I used to put Vapona in the loft every year till it stopped being on sale. Is there anything I can repel them in future, I have read reports of using math balls but they are frowned on these days.

I am quite happy to leave alone but dont want a problem when I go in the loft

Thanks for any replies

Reply to
MD
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Years ago a neighbour had bees get in through a tiny hole in the mortar and a whole swarm finished up occupying his spare bedroom. We spoke to a beekeeper who told us that, as they are a protected species, you cannot intentionally destroy them. However, he suggested, with a twinkle in his eye, that we block the hole they were using. Twenty four hours later they were all dead and the neighbour shovelled them up into a bin bag and disposed of them.

Reply to
Tinkerer

Google bumble bees and nests, they are not the same as honey bees. I had some in my compost heap a year or two ago (one of those bin things). If I remember correctly, they generally nest in groups of 50-100 (I think) and will have gone by September (ish), and they don't use the same nest again.

They weren't any trouble (but of course they were outside) and indeed they had all gone by the end of summer/start of autumn.

Cheers

Reply to
HappyHunter

If you need to shift them call the secretary of your local fishing club and they will likely come and remove them for you to use as bait. Same applies to wasps especially if the nest is accessible.

Reply to
Woody

On careful examination using binoculars these bees are definately bumble bees. Thankd for the info so far

Reply to
Mick Davies

critcher said..................... I thought bumbles nested in the ground and overwinter in their nest.Wasps will nest in a loft etc but will be die off around October,earlier if colder than normal.honey bees will swarm and nestanywhere it suits them.Wasp nests are best left alone as long as they are not causing a nuisance, they can sting multiple times unlike honey bees.After wasps die off, remove the old nest or leave it,and they will not return to an already used site.

Reply to
critcher

I removed a large wasps nest from the loft which had been empty for years, so a school teacher could have it to take to school. Whilst it was in a carrier bag awaiting collection, I found that several moths had moved into it.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

critcher said........ nature always hates waste doesn't it

Reply to
critcher

he also said.................... the part about not returning to an already used site is wrong.

After the nest died of last year, I removed what was left and thought that was that. This year they have built another nest using the same access hole,so wait till October and then I'll get rid of the nest again.

Reply to
critcher

They won't reuse an old _nest_.

Well, you made space for them to build a nice new nest... ;-)

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

critcher said..................... well I don't mind them using my loft as long as they don't cause me any problems, don't know about the window cleaner on his ladder though.

Reply to
critcher

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