Yes and No, Bumbles do NOT nest directly behind their entry point, they travel and nest up to 8 meters away, so they will not be directly behind the air brick, in the soffit/fascia board, or directly behind the brick next to the mortar they are entering. Yes we can remove them when they can be found.
NO, Bumbles do NOT use part of buildings as their building matter, just wax, made from their own bodies, they DO NOT chew through wires or plasterboard, and they normally build their colonies on flat surfaces, although most times underground.
A colony will last 3-6 months, they have probably been in their/your home for a month before you have even noticed them, they DO NOT return to use an old nest, although the scent of a nest might encourage others to nest nearby next year, as it could be deemed as a SAFE area for a colony. The max in a Bumblebee colony is 400, which might sound a lot, Wasps can house from 3000-6000 a nest and Honey Bees anything up to 60,000 and more, so 400 odd Bumblebees is small.
Bumblebee DO NOT swarm, but they will protect their home, what annoys them is VIBRATION or Physical contact with their nest. Vibration such as Lawn Mower, Banging the ceiling, opening and closing a shed door and removing garden tools/equipment etc (if nesting in or under the shed), jumping up and down on a lawn where they are nesting underground, these actions will cause a reaction, normally 10-20 will emerge to see what’s going on and causing the disturbance, if you just walk away they normally just go back inside their home after a minute or two.
They will live quite happy WITH you so long as the above is followed, if you are unhappy or nervous.
Do NOT HESITATE to call us on 01296 770 214 even if you have further questions, telephone advice is FREE or if you require a site visit and advice attendance a nominal charge will apply
We would prefer you to re-home a colony to one of our Sanctuary/Foster Parent sites than have another company indiscriminately kill them for a greater cost than our re-homing service.
Beecome bumblebee foster parentzz
Unfortunately some Bumblebee need to be homed, due to a variety of reasons, maybe the householder has an allergic reaction to stings, possibly just scared, young children or pets etc……
You too can now have the opportunity to be a Foster Parentzz, but can meet the requirements of the Bumblebee?
Keep up to date with Bees Knees on Facebook
No more posts