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I think there might be a hive in my loft?

Louise BLouise B Posts: 81
in Wildlife gardening

Hi,

This morning I was a bit surprised to see a procession of bees? disappearing under the gutter when I stuck my head out of the window for a breath of fresh air.

We have two loft spaces that are separated by a stone wall with some cable holes in it. They are in the unused one above the garage.

They aren't a bother at the moment, actually I'm amused that I'm forever complaining that I don't see any bees in the garden, but I don't know what it means.

Are they damaging the house by chewing wood or something?

Will they continue to expand within the loft or just fill a standard unit of space?

If I went into the loft would I be attacked by an angry swarm or are they contained within hive walls?

Will there come a point where they swarm into the garden? 

Do I get any free honey?

Thanks xx

Posts

  • pansyfacepansyface Posts: 21,913

    MANY OF THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS DEPEND ON IDENTIFICATION. WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO PHOTOGRAPH ONE OF THEM?

    Apophthegm -  a big word for a small thought.
    If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,162

    They won't do any harm. The bees that live above our bedroom window are Tree Bumblebees and they'll be gone by the end of the season.

    Honeybees can be a long term project. 



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • GrannybeeGrannybee Posts: 312

    Contact your nearest beekeepers association for expert advice and help.  They may make a small charge depending on what needs to be done. It they are bumbles they will not move them.

  • Jane SircombeJane Sircombe Posts: 7

    I did just that when I noticed several bees dissapearing under the barge board.

    I was advised to temporarily block up the access and leave the loft door open so any  who had got in could get out, theses would be scouts looking for a place to swarm?

    I do everything to encourage bees in the garden but not so keen to have them in my loft space.

  • Louise BLouise B Posts: 81

    Ok so I've taken several photos over a few days and they're all rubbish. All I can see is blurs.

    To me, they look all black with a white fuzzy bottom.

    Some look like they have orange shoulders.

    I've tried to google and couldn't see anything like it. I really couldn't see any yellow stripe on them.

    Now what do I do?

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 16,706

    We had a load of tree bees in the bird box on the side wall.They were swirling around the other day in the heat,but seem to have settled now. They did it a couple of years ago, then just disappeared at the year end. Google tree bees. They have a rusty orange back.

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,162

    Orange shoulders and white bum? Probably tree bumblebees. I've got them over 2 dormer windows now, spotted the second one today. 

    They're not trouble, they'll be gone soon, a lot of whirling round outside the nest then it's all over



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • Snow MaidenSnow Maiden Posts: 862

    At the moment we have two bee nests at different ends of the house, we just let them alone as they  aren't causing a problem. A few years back we found a huge bee swarm in one of our trees and as we then had loads of children using the garden we contacted the local bee keeping group and they sent a couple of keepers round to remove it. We have also had ,in the past ,a Hornets nest in the garage . I must say that if it had been in the house then we would more than likely have had it removed because despite the nest being some distance from the house they seemed attracted to the lights in the evening ( like moths) and became a real problem on hot summer nights.

    Last edited: 16 June 2016 21:29:53

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