Bee problem

[rudebhoy]

There seems to be a colony of them under my garage floor of all places. We had it converted a few years ago so that 75% of it is a utility room and the rest is just a storage area. Every time I open the garage door, there are 4 or 5 of them flying in and out of the small gap between the original floor and the new utility room floor.

the gap is about a centimetre wide. Did think of sealing it up with concrete but that seems a bit barbaric. Is there a humane way to tackle this?

It does seem odd to me that they are nesting under a floor, does that even make sense?

 

[LincolnShep]

If they are honey bees, contact your local beekeepers association - they'll probably want to come and take them away for you. If you're not sure, contact them anyway and have a chat about the best way to deal with it.

Please don't entomb them in concrete though - we need bees and their numbers are declining.

BTW, lots of types of bees build burrows so nesting under a floor doesn't seem too different to that. I wonder if the rules of golf include bees as 'burrowing animals'...

 

[chrisd]

If they are honey bees, contact your local beekeepers association - they'll probably want to come and take them away for you. If you're not sure, contact them anyway and have a chat about the best way to deal with it.

Please don't entomb them in concrete though - we need bees and their numbers are declining.

BTW, lots of types of bees build burrows so nesting under a floor doesn't seem too different to that. I wonder if the rules of golf include bees as 'burrowing animals'...

Our village beekeepers are asking people to do what you say Shep

 

[huds1475]

There seems to be a colony of them under my garage floor of all places. We had it converted a few years ago so that 75% of it is a utility room and the rest is just a storage area. Every time I open the garage door, there are 4 or 5 of them flying in and out of the small gap between the original floor and the new utility room floor.

the gap is about a centimetre wide. Did think of sealing it up with concrete but that seems a bit barbaric. Is there a humane way to tackle this?

It does seem odd to me that they are nesting under a floor, does that even make sense?

We have quite a large population under our living room Dave.

They go about their business through external vents that are below floor level and we've sealed our floor so they don't come in.

We're more than happy to host them, they never bother us.

If they can get in and out another way there's no reason you can't seal your floor and leave them to their own devices.

If you're not keen them loads of local bee people who'll gladly take them off your hands.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

They might be Masonry Bees, which are mostly harmless to your property, but they burrow and if your mortar is old and knackered, they could cause serious structural problems.

Probably best to get a local Bee Bod to have a look
👍

 

[rudebhoy]

We have quite a large population under our living room Dave.

They go about their business through external vents that are below floor level and we've sealed our floor so they don't come in.

We're more than happy to host them, they never bother us.

If they can get in and out another way there's no reason you can't seal your floor and leave them to their own devices.

If you're not keen them loads of local bee people who'll gladly take them off your hands.

according to the local bee keepers website, they are bumblebees, not honey bees, so they won't collect them. however the website says it is fine to leave them as they will all die out by the end of the summer. I'll wait for that to happen then seal up the gap so we don't get them again next year.

 

[jim8flog]

Last time I had some under concrete (albeit outside of the house) they were definitely bumble bees. They love some of the plants I had put in alongside the concrete so only had to travel a few yards to get their food. Never saw them the following year.