Pain

[trappa 518]

I went to see some "wasps" last week in the next town. Huge swarm of honey bees going into facia. I explained to the fella that i wouldnt kill them and neither would anyone worth their salt, then gave him numbers to try of beekeepers plus the county bee keeping assoc. I was on a facebook later that night, and people were talking about the thousands of dead bees in the back alley of this street. I rang about and found out he had rang the council after i left and they came and killed the feckin lot, didnt seal hole up afterwards or anything. Crying shame

[dytkos 17,818]

1 hour ago, trappa said:

I went to see some "wasps" last week in the next town. Huge swarm of honey bees going into facia. I explained to the fella that i wouldnt kill them and neither would anyone worth their salt, then gave him numbers to try of beekeepers plus the county bee keeping assoc. I was on a facebook later that night, and people were talking about the thousands of dead bees in the back alley of this street. I rang about and found out he had rang the council after i left and they came and killed the feckin lot, didnt seal hole up afterwards or anything. Crying shame

People who kill bees are cnuts.  Fact.

Cheers, D.

[trappa 518]

Mate i hate to see it. I , like loads of us, get calls after calls for them and refuse, but we know fine well someone else will come an hour later and kill them for an easy £50 or so, breaks my heart. Be nice to see them on a licence of some sorts like birds.

[stormyboy 1,352]

22 hours ago, trappa said:

Mate i hate to see it. I , like loads of us, get calls after calls for them and refuse, but we know fine well someone else will come an hour later and kill them for an easy £50 or so, breaks my heart. Be nice to see them on a licence of some sorts like birds.

There are courses on live removal available now, which is great. I won't kill them, but would be good to know someone who does cut outs etc rather than a lot of keepers who won't even go up a ladder.

[Outofnowhere 93]

3 hours ago, stormyboy said:

There are courses on live removal available now, which is great. I won't kill them, but would be good to know someone who does cut outs etc rather than a lot of keepers who won't even go up a ladder.

Unfortunately, our insurance, provided by the BBKA, does not cover us [whilst collecting swarms of honey bees] for completing cut-outs, removing bricks or working at height. 

Once a swarm has relocated into the fabric of the building and the property owner wants the bees removed, they have two options, fund the removal of parts of the building and its re-constitution when the bees have been removed or destruction of the bee's.  It is virtually impossible to entice the queen out and the bee's will never leave brood.

I went out the other night and the swarm was tucked well into the bush in the front garden and I asked permission to cut the bush to gain access to the bees and this was refused.  That turned an easy job into a real nightmare.

[DIDO.1 22,845]

On 27/05/2019 at 16:16, trappa said:

I went to see some "wasps" last week in the next town. Huge swarm of honey bees going into facia. I explained to the fella that i wouldnt kill them and neither would anyone worth their salt, then gave him numbers to try of beekeepers plus the county bee keeping assoc. I was on a facebook later that night, and people were talking about the thousands of dead bees in the back alley of this street. I rang about and found out he had rang the council after i left and they came and killed the feckin lot, didnt seal hole up afterwards or anything. Crying shame

I would guess the pest controller didn't know what they were. He wouldn't of lost money walking away but it would certainly cost him if he had been caught. 

 

[DIDO.1 22,845]

2 minutes ago, Outofnowhere said:

Unfortunately, our insurance, provided by the BBKA, does not cover us [whilst collecting swarms of honey bees] for completing cut-outs, removing bricks or working at height. 

Once a swarm has relocated into the fabric of the building and the property owner wants the bees removed, they have two options, fund the removal of parts of the building and its re-constitution when the bees have been removed or destruction of the bee's.  It is virtually impossible to entice the queen out and the bee's will never leave brood.

I went out the other night and the swarm was tucked well into the bush in the front garden and I asked permission to cut the bush to gain access to the bees and this was refused.  That turned an easy job into a real nightmare.

Cutting them out isn't easy and often not feasible. I was impressed with the thermal imaging camera though and that will make it much easier to cut em out. I'll try and do a video of it in use if I get another 

[Outofnowhere 93]

4 minutes ago, DIDO.1 said:

Cutting them out isn't easy and often not feasible. I was impressed with the thermal imaging camera though and that will make it much easier to cut em out. I'll try and do a video of it in use if I get another 

Modern technology is fab aint it ….

[Torquemada 288]

I saw a programme about an American company who managed to trap bees out. Basically they constructed a cone over the entrance to the nest so that the bees could only leave the nest and right next to it they put a hive and put some cotton wool soaked with lemongrass into it. The bees ended up going into the empty hive and once enough of the workers had left the Queen left as well. I would like to try it, it did take about 3 weeks though. 

As per the previous posts, I have found a lot of customers completely unwilling to go through the process if it's going to be a long job. And that's not just because taking down walls or Chimneys will cost them a fortune, but they want them gone and they want them gone as soon as possible.

[DIDO.1 22,845]

If we are just talking honey bees you can't always blame people for killing them if they are in a bad spot. How many average families could financially cope with being told parts of walls are coming down? Often they have spoken to dozens of pest controllers and bee keepers who simply arnt interested. 

Most pest controllers are on the ball with passing phone calls about swarms onto bee keepers, most of us do it quickly and for free just to help the bees. 

I rehome quite a few bumble bees in birdboxes and educate hundreds of members of the public every spring about how harmless bumblebees and masonry bees are. 

I think the vast majority of pest controllers are bee friendly and do more to help bees than any other profession on the whole. 

Edited May 30, 2019 by DIDO.1