Pests and Nuisance

Bees are extremely useful insects, which have a valuable role in pollinating flowers and producing food. While there are many types of bee, you are likely to encounter three kinds:

• Honey Bees
• Bumble Bees
• Solitary Bees

Single bees found indoors should be encouraged to leave through an open window or door.

Honey Bees

Honey Bees are the bees that are kept by beekeepers in hives. They should only cause a problem when they swarm. At this time some of the bees will leave the hive and look for a new home, this occurs in the summer months. When this happens thousands of the insects form a visible and disconcerting cloud, or when settled, a solid cluster of bees.

What treatment is available?

When actually swarming (flying) no appropriate treatment is available. When the swarm has settled and is easily accessible, you can inform a local beekeeper who will attempt to collect the swarm. 

Where the swarm has settled in a place, which they obviously intend to colonise, and where they might pose a risk to the public e.g. domestic chimney, then this Council offers a chargeable service to treat the problem.

Bumble Bees

Bumble Bees are generally larger and hairier than honeybees; they do not swarm, but will often be found to nest in gardens. They will disappear into mouse holes in the ground, under sheds, bird boxes and air vents. The nest itself does not survive beyond late summer and is not re used. As the bees are not aggressive and can usually be encountered in larger numbers visiting garden flowers than near the nest itself, destroying the nest is an unnecessary and wasteful act.

What treatment is available?

No treatment to eradicate the bees should be considered.

This Council offers advice only on bumblebees.

Solitary Bees

Solitary Bees are generally similar in appearance to honey bees. Commonly encountered types derive names descriptive of their nest forming activity e.g. mason bees nesting in holes in mortar joints, mining bees nesting in pencil sized holes in lawn borders etc., leaf cutter bees seen carrying small pieces of leaf to line holes often in the chipboard of flat roofs.

Although the name solitary suggests low numbers, often nests are grouped together to produce large numbers of insects. This is what distinguishes these bees from honeybees, most commonly encountered wasps and bumblebees - for a large number of Insects, you will have a correspondingly large number of nest entrance holes.