Bumble bee bummer!

[alwoowar]

Hi Folks,my first post so be gentle with me! I'm currently clearing a very overgrown area in my garden and have got rid of a huge amount of rubbish. Today i lifted an old rotting carpet that revealed a bumble bee nest,unleashing a small swarm.(30-40 bees)
I retreated very quickly to a safe distance but am now a bit stuck as to what to do next. do i go back and carry on taking care when i lift the carpet again? do i leave it and bring in a professional?(on a v tight budget,not an option i can really afford) or can i diy removal of it some how?
Any suggestions or advice much appreciated!

[Nicos]

Were they bumble bees?? ( you'll need to google piccies)...if so- YUP leave well alone- they are in very short supply!!!

[alwoowar]

definitely bumbles,furry,big bodies. Are there different varieties of bumble?

Leaving alone not really an option as its a large project and i am under the cosh from my better half to get it done!

[vikkib]

Try this link:

Bumblebee identification page - learn how to identify the UK's bumblebees

I'm still trying to work out which one's are in my gardens atm.

[taff]

get in otuch with a local bee association or beekeeper and ask if they want them

[NOG]

Depending on the type you could either leave them alone or be nicked as some types are protected as they are very rare. They will leave the next in the autumn and not reuse it.

Sorry

[frias]

There are severel different bumble bees and are often called gentle giants. They rarely sting unless they feel really threatened. Couldn't you work around them? Wish I had them in my garden as bees seem to be in short supply this year.

[digthatchick]

Bumble bees are protected under the Wildlife act - you will have to leave them alone until they leave the nest.

Don't worry though, consider yourself a lucky one that the bumble bees have chosen you, I have a nest under my living room floor (the get in via the air bricks) no problem though - now if they were wasps

[vikkib]

I was nervous when I first realised we had a bees nest in our garden (under the concrete, right in the middle of the only path from the back door into the garden! ) but it's been fine and I've been in the garden loads this year.

The bees aren't at all aggressive and tend to fly away if there is an accidental encounter (I've had a couple of, literally, head on or face on collisions with them!)

I read on another thread that bees can change the angle of their wings (or something similar) to make a buzzing sound which tends to be a warning that you are in their way so I know to listen for that! They have a regular flight path that they take and I just try and make sure I give them room and keep an eye out for them.

I've actually grown very fond of them now, and felt strangely proud and very excited when I saw one of them fly out of the nest and straight into the flowers on my courgette plant!

I even made attempts to 'save' them (in hindsight I'm sure they would have been fine without me!) when we had torrential rain a couple of weeks ago as their nest is right next to a surface water drain that started to flood as there was so much water. I dashed out and started bailing water into a bucket so it didn't flood them!

I can't believe how much my point of view has changed in such a short space of time! I'm actually thinking about what I could sew to give them an extended season with access to flowers (and I don't 'do' flowers!)

[FB.]

I suggest doing everything you can to leave the nest undisturbed until the autumn (unless the nest has been abandoned, in which case it doesn't matter).
Many of us on here are finding that bees of all kinds are extremely rare these days. We encourage bees to pollinate our fruit and veg (pollination by bees is essential for food production; no bees = no pollination = no crops = no food for us).
I estimate that bee populations are down by half - just in the last year - in my area, which is very worrying.
None of my bee nests have been used this year, which is even more worrying, since my "established" population from past years appears to have died out completely.
Pollination of my fruit trees has been incredibly low this year - the trees are generally only carrying about 1/4 to 1/3 of a full crop.
We need to do everything we can to support bees. Sadly, most bumblebee nests fail to thrive and die off during late spring. You are very lucky to have a thriving nest as summer approaches and it will produce a number of young queens later this year, which will start new colonies next year.
At the end of the summer, your nest will be abandoned and not used again. You can remove it from late autumn onwards.
Bumblebees are almost harmless. They will do almost anything to avoid a fight - except when something threatens their nest. I have (had?) a bee nest in one of my composters (although it may have died off before establishing). the bees never took any interest in my activity, even when I was just a foot or two from their nest (which was under the bottom of the composter).

FB

[vikkib]

At the end of the summer, your nest will be abandoned and not used again. You can remove it from late autumn onwards.

Do they always abandon the nests and not use them again?

I only ask as the one's in my garden were here last year too and I hope they come back next year!

[NOG]

No they will find a new one....don't know why. I had them in a compost bin and they were great tenants. Didn't cause me a problem.

We both got on with our jobs.

[vikkib]

No they will find a new one....don't know why.

What a shame.

I guess I should be relieved that I won't have to try and dissuade the other half from his little decked area plans somewhere down the line though!

I was contemplating how to tell him I'd rather we left a gap for the bees!

[NOG]

You could put up a nest for solerity bumble bees (like the mason bee)..

[Sonata]

There's details on how to move a nest on the the Bumblebee conservation society website Untitled Document.

it's so sad though, they die off in autumn - only live a year! I'm going to make a few nests around the garden and hopefully get some living here. Need to grow more flowers for them though.