help!!!!

[SAMBSUE]

2 weeks ago my daughter told me she saw bees flying in and out of the drain pipe attached to my wall, i told her not to be silly (im the silly one for not believing her) although they are not flying in and out of the drainpipe they are into a hole behind the drainpipe. the bees are quite large unfortunatley im allergic and dont want to get too close to inspect.
my landlord said they are masonary bees because the are living in the wall but a pest company told me they are not because masonry bees are solitary bees.
i have a bee flying in and out of the whole every minute or so some are large and then some are small in size. what bee are they and how do i get rid of them i have 3 young children who i wont let out to play just incase they annoy them and get stung:eek:

[Moggett]

There are quite a few threads of this nature. They could be one of a number of species so if you can post a clear photograph it would help with an identification. If they are bumblebees (it sounds most likely) they are very gentle creatures which should be encouraged; and in any case the colony will die out in late autumn when the frosts appear.

[Chris]

i have 3 young children who i wont let out to play just incase they annoy them and get stung:eek:

I would just monitor the situation for a while and see how it goes.

Solitary bees often choose the same place in a wall in which to nest in. So, while they might look as if they are living as part of a colony, they might in fact be solitary bees. Some solitary bees are completely stingless, and with others the sting is not able to pierce human skin.

All said, they are perhaps more likely to be bumble bees. If the hole is out of the way it is probably best if they are just left alone. One of your kids would probably have to catch one and squash it in their hand, or accidentally sit on one, in order to get it to sting. And any kid who hasn't been stung has had a dull upbringing.

[beean]

I think it's very unlikely your kids would get stung - bumblebees and masonry bees aren't like wasps, they really need to be properly provoked before they will sting - not from kids running about near their nest /falling off bikes and hittign the wall/etc.
If you can leave them to it, then that's best: maybe wait a few weeks and see how it goes.

[SAMBSUE]

Thankyou all for your advice a guy came round to test my water today and his father is a bee keeper apparently, he had a look and said they are bumblebees and that im very honered to have them chose my house for a nest. I have quite a large garden so the kids can play somewhere else in the garden. Im going to try and get a photo of one and post it later just to confirm they are bumblebees. if they are then i dont mind them staying there i read up on them and although i have a phobia i know they wont hurt me.
:)

[Nellie]

I like a story with a happy ending :)