Subject: Getting rid of Bees II

From: [email-masked] (Keith Reynolds)
Date: 10 Jul 1995 16:17:39 GMT

My mother has a problem hive residing in a Purple Martin house. She says they 
are Bumblebees. They are very aggressive and have made gardening/lawn mowing 
very hazardous. She has been stung once and my father twice. Any advice would 
be much appreciated. Incidentally, there are baby birds nesting in one of the 
other holes and they would like to not harm them if at all possible.

Thanks in advance.

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From: [email-masked] (David J Trickett)
Date: 11 Jul 1995 02:22:36 GMT

Test - please ignore

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From: [email-masked] (David J Trickett)
Date: 11 Jul 1995 02:42:13 GMT

Ok, sorry about the test; I've been having problems doing follow-up posts.

Assuming they *are* bumble bees, the general procedure is to expose the 
cavity within which they have established their colony and simply scoop 
out the globular, waxy peanut-like clusters comprising it.

Do this quickly - don't mess around.  Open the cavity locate the clusters
and dump them into a 5 gallon bucket with a little flyin insect killer
sprayed inside.  Work quickly and you will minimize the probability of
getting stung. 

  You will need a good veil, gloves and thick shirt(s).  Really, you
should use a good suit.  Normally, in removing these or vespids, you'd
want to spray a bit of flying insect killer in the cavity to knock out any
flyers.  But in this case you'll probably just have to do without.  If 
it's a small nest you'll be ok.  If it's big.... I don't know.  Maybe you 
could spray in some ammonia....  What exactly is the physical 
configuration of the box?  Bumblebees, despite their benign nature can 
really be mean when aroused.  Also intimidating.  When they bump your 
veil, you know it. 

For the record, I absolutely hate to kill bumblebees.  We usually try to 
talk the customer out of it if at all possible....  At this point, if 
it's absolutely necessary (i.e., they are either hiring us or doing it 
themsleves or hiring someone else - either of the latter may result in a 
botched job), we just do it and get it over with as quickly as possible. 

Dave

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From: [email-masked] (David J Trickett)
Date: 11 Jul 1995 02:44:34 GMT

Whups, forgot to post the alternative method.  Since you actually know 
erxactly where the nest is, and it is apparently in a defined, confined 
space, why not try something like liquid nitrogen or dry ice?

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From: [email-masked] (Malcolm Roe)
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 1995 14:17:09 GMT

Assuming that we are talking about bumblebees here I would put in a
plea not to kill them.  It is rarely necessary.  If they really are a
nuisance because of the place that they have chosen to make a home, it
is possible to move the nest.  Here are some interesting pieces on
moving bumblebees - or even keeping them as pets - taken from the Bee-l
mailing list recently.

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Date:         Mon, 3 Apr 1995 16:25:04 +0100
From:         Malcolm Roe <[email-masked]>
Subject:      Re: Bumble Bees

Michael Thigpen asks:
>
> I was informed by one of the tenants that bumble bees have "taken over"
> the garage there. When I checked this weekend, there were indeed quite a
> few buzzing around. I hate to disturb their activity, but the tenant is
> in a panic. Is there a way that I might "invite" them to shift their
> activity just a bit so that they'll not be near the tenants' vehicles?

For some years I used to be on a list of beekeepers held by my local
authority, who are responsible for pest removal in our area.  If someone
called them with a bee problem they'd get one of the beekeepers on the
list to go instead of their own staff.  In my experiece at least half
the call-outs were actually for bumble bees, not honey bees.

What I used to do was try to encourage the householder to leave them
alone.  It helps to know something about bumble bees and their behaviour.
Sometimes a little reassurance is all that's needed.  You soon know
whether that's going to work.  If not, I'd try to remove the bumble bees
alive.  This is often quite easy.  The nests are usually made in a ball
of insulating material.  I often used to to find them in bird boxes.
A bird had nested there one year.  The next year a bumble bee queen
established herself in the old nest.  Old mouse nests are another common
place.  My guess is that the bees are in a pile of old rubbish
somewhere in the garage.  If you're lucky the nest will be inside some
sort of container.  Wait until the evening when the bees have stopped
flying  and you can just gently remove the whole container after blocking
the entrance or putting it inside something like a sack.  Otherwise,
you'll have to lift out the nest enclosed in it's insulating matter and
put it in a box to remove.  In this case I'd wear gloves.  There's a lot
to be said for wearing a veil as well although bumble bees are much less
aggressive then honey bees.

Finally you can establish the nest somewhere else.  My favourite place
was under my shed, which is raised about 10cm above ground level.  I'd
just put the nest into something like a small cardboard box with a hole
cut for an entrance and push it under the shed.  Then I could watch "my"
bumble bees flying all summer!

=========================================================================
Date:         Mon, 3 Apr 1995 17:04:51 GMT
From:         "Gordon L. Scott" <[email-masked]>
Subject:      Re: Bumble Bees

Malcolm Roe writes:
> Michael Thigpen asks:
> >
> > I was informed by one of the tenants that bumble bees have "taken over"
> > the garage there. ....
>
> put it in a box to remove.  In this case I'd wear gloves.  There's a lot
> to be said for wearing a veil as well although bumble bees are much less
> aggressive then honey bees.

I agree with all Malcolm has said.  I too do  this  fairly  often.
Bumble  bees  often  make  a lot of noise considering how few bees
there are, but they don't *often* sting.  They do  sometimes  come
out of the nest is something of a noisy rush though.

I had occasion last year to take a nest  before  dusk  when  there
were  still a few bees out flying, so I invited the homeowner (who
by then was fascinated): "If you feel like it, put  any  straglers
into  a  ventilated jar and bring them to me -- I'll put them with
the rest as they *do* need their numbers." Over the next four days
he  brought  me  about 40 bees in a dozen jars, so it seems likely
that not all bumbles come home every night.

BTW, this was a big gorilla of a guy who spent an hour or so  each
of  those  nights,  sitting  by their ex-nest with a small fishing
net, just scooping them up. Definitely a softy at heart.

=========================================================================
Date:         Thu, 11 May 1995 16:57:35 -0700
From:         Ann Dougherty <[email-masked]>
Subject:      Bumble Bee Hive

       Does anyone know how to put together a Bumble Bee Hive?  A friend
has a nest of Red rumped Bumble Bees in his back yard in the ground.  I
recall reading a small hive can be built to house them. I'm mostly
interested in just observing them.  They sure are beautiful bees.  any
suggestions would be appreciated.

=========================================================================
Date:         Fri, 12 May 1995 13:23:00 -0700
From:         "Kerry Clark 784-2225 fax (604) 784 2299"
              <[email-masked]>
Subject:      Re: Bumble Bee Hive

   There are professional ways to rear bumblebee colonies, but I tried a
   very simple method in a situation such as you describe, and it worked
   fine. A friend had a bumble bee nest in the rocks where his 2 and 4 year
   old had their sandbox, so the decision to moved the nest was made.

   I had a clear plastic package from the supermarket bakery: like a clam
   shell, about 6 x 4 x 4 inches. I stapled one side of the package in a
   sheltered spot just ouside a window, where we could watch. I stapled a
   piece of cloth, draping over the clear plastic for shade and insulation.
   I put a 3/4 inch hole in the box for an entrance.

   I used another plastic container to carry the nest. I had my bee veil
   and some rubber gloves. I moved some rocks and found the nest in an old
   mouse nest. I  picked it up and put it in the container, with the large
   queen and about 20 smaller bumblebees, and covered it with a cloth, then
   I waited for 20 or so other bees to return to the nest spot, where I
   picked them one at a time and popped them into another container.

   I took the whole works home, put them in the clear box on the post, and
   released the bees. Within a couple of hours they were foraging as if
   they had been there all along.
   When the kids wanted to see them, I'd lift up the cloth and we would
   watch them a while. In a few days they had built a cover over the
   cluster of cells, and we couldn't see much except the foragers.

   The colony did alright for maybe 6 weeks, until September. Then the
   activity decreased and when I last looked there were quite a few mites
   running around in the nest material, but no bees.

   It was nice while it lasted.

=========================================================================
Date:         Tue, 30 May 1995 11:05:14 -0500
From:         Jeff Fagerman <[email-masked]>
Subject:      How to move a bumblebee nests?

Hello everyone,

I have a bumblebee nest (in the ground alongside my children's sandbox)
that I would like to excavate and move.  I am not an expert in this, in
fact, this will be my first non-honeybee venture.  I am looking for advice
>from  those better informed before I undertake this task.  One point, I
would like to keep the bees for further observation and study.  Here's my
current plan for removal:

1.  Construct a small box (next) about 6 inches on a side with a small hole
    (about one-half an inch in diameter), paint it for water proofing, and
    put a removable lid on top for later replacement with glass (for
    observation).  Maybe put some grass or other stuffing in it to make it
    look like a mouse nest.

2.  Using a veil and a net, begin excavating the nest.  As bees enter and
    exit catch them with a net and put them in a bottle of sorts for
    temporary holding.  (I'm not quite sure how to move them from the net
    to the bottle.  Any suggestions?  Obviously this is a critical concern
    here, at least to me.)

3.  Upon reaching the nest, remove nest and place in box.

4.  Take nest and bees to a new site several miles away and place on
    ground.  Shake bees (quickly) from bottle into nest.  (Should I leave
    the nest sealed for a short period of time?  I probably won't.)

5.  Several weeks later, bring box back home and use as an observation hive.

Any information anyone can share with me will be greatly appreciated?

=========================================================================
Date:         Wed, 31 May 1995 08:31:07 -0500
From:         Jeff Fagerman <[email-masked]>
Subject:      Update on moving bumblebees

Just a quick update for those of you interested.  I posted a message
yesterday concerning moving a bumblebee nest and received a couple of very
helpful suggestions.

Well, last night I moved the nest and it was remarkably simple.  The most
amazing thing, in my opinion, was the non-aggressive behaviour of the bees.
(The hive size was just under twenty (20).)  The bees obviously didn't like
my presence or intrusion but neither did they attempt to sting me, even
when I was grabbing them and placing them in a container for transport.

It was a rather interesting evening.  Thanks to each of you who responded
to my initial message.

=========================================================================

-- 
Malcolm Roe                                Phone  :  +44 1442 345104
Crosfield Electronics Ltd                  Fax    :  +44 1442 343000
Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP2 7RH, UK        E-mail :  [email-masked] 
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