Honeybees in soffit/fascia

[cobkelly]

A bit of background:
Since we moved into our house four years ago, we have had honey bees behind the soffit/fascia on one side of the house. The first time we noticed them we thought they were wasps and called the local pest control who are also a honey farm - they promptly identified them as honey bees and laid down some powdered poison and that was that.

The following year at around this time (May to June) they came back and again we called the honey farm and again poison was administered. owever, they came back within a month and out the honey farm came again. This time it lasted the season. That particular year we had a lot of complaints from neighbours because they came in a huge swarm that was really quite scary - the neighbours were naturally worried about their children.

Last year they came back again, albeit this time there were a lot less of them. I finally decided to look into the problem in a lot more detail and this is when I discovered they are endangered and numbers are dwindling. I decided not call our honey farm again as it was less than effective and I would rather not kill them if I don't need to. However, I did call someone else who was reluctant to come come out unless they were posing a threat to people - which I can completely understand. As it happens, last year they were no problem at all.

However, they have just come back at the bank holiday weekend. Although we were away, our neighbours immediately rushed over to us when we got back at 22:30 Monday night to tell us we had a huge swarm of wasps in the side of our house and everyone was running for their lives! Of course, it was the bees back again...

However, we do live in a cul de sac with a number of other houses and while I am sure there is no real threat posed from the bees, I cannot convince the neighbours - I will need to get rid of them.

The advice I would like:
Firstly: How can I get them removed (ideally without them being killed - but it is looking doubtful)?
Secondly: I have been told (and read here and other places) that even if the nest is removed, the bees are likely to come back again year after year. So how can I return the house to a pre-bee state in such a way that they won't come back - and will this involve replacing the soffit/fascia for those eves? Also, what kind of a person is likey to take a job like this on?

We live in Dorset if anyone out there is wants a bee-removal job.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

[Chris]

Honeybees nesting like this are a natural phenomenon, and because they are nesting out of peoples way I don't really see much point in having them killed off. Maybe tell your neighbours to keep their noses out of your affairs. Stupid people are often overly fearful of things which fly and sting.

Seen as this is perhaps a recurring problem, it might be an idea to think a bit differently about the problem. The swarms which appear to be re-populating your home each year are obviously coming from somewhere. That somewhere might be: a) a feral colony nesting somewhere or other - just like the one now in your roof; b) a beekeepers beehive; or c) an old abandoned beehive.

In the case of (a), there ain't a huge amount you can do.

In the case of (b), you could make a case to the respective beekeeper that he/she needs to do more to minimize swarming. And 'the beekeeper' might well be that honey farm you speak of. Those seem the right people to ask anyway.

And in the case of (c), you could have a look around the neighbourhood for old abandoned beehives, and you could contact your local beekeeping association in the hope that someone may want to take ownership of it.

All said, this is perhaps more a problem of people's lack of 'enlightenment' rather than any beekeeping problem per se. I wouldn't go too far out of your way to be neighbourly or helpful to other people, and when it starts costing you sizable amounts of money, well.

Oh, and don't entrust the job to any beekeeper who claims they can remove those bees. Messing them around trying to dismantle their nest is a surefire way of getting people in your neighbourhood stung. Contact a professional pest control company.

[hemo]

Hi Cobkelly,
I am a time served Joiner and Carpenter of 30 yeras, part removal of the fascia and soffit board as you have said will be necessary to access the colony. If you are willing to go to the expense to appease your neighbours
then by all means take up the offer from Steve! However do please get a quote and not an estimate for any work done as you don't want to be stung (pun intended).Also beware in case of any rotten timber ie rafter ends , tile batten as this will add unforseen exrta's to any quote.

[Jon]

Steve:
Why are you so angry?
Chris may be right, he is often in the wrong and can lack a bit of tact, but internet forums are all about expressing opinions.
I am not even sure if he is a member of the BBKA.
There have been quite a number of people who come on here and make one or two posts with the express purpose of taking offence and complaining about it elsewhere.
There are a lot of knowlegeable decent posters on here.
I am not a member of the BBKA myself.

Back on topic, I collected a swarm and a cast which originated from a colony behind a soffit last summer and I advised the home owner to wait and see if the colony survived the winter as the swarms I collected had a fair varroa load.
I checked with him recently and the colony had not survived, so I advised him to block up any access to the gap behind the soffit to avoid attracting in another swarm this summer.

PS.
Just checked on another forum and I see that Steve is a mate of the person who left this one and started up the other.
The clue was in the location. (Hampshire!)
Shame on you Steve for your hidden agenda. You are not the first to do this and I am sure you will not be the last. I post on both forums and try and respect both lots of posters. Best to concentrate on your beekeeping. I see you got your first bees earlier on this month.

[cobkelly]

Thanks for your replies, and if it were just our house with no others around then I wouldn't even be considering getting rid of them and would instead take Jon's advice and wait to see if they survive the winter.

Now, this may be a stupid question, but how would I check to see if they have survived or not (either the previous lot if I could have checked a couple of months ago - or the current lot early next year for example)? There was no obvious activity over the winter months until a week or so ago, but I just took that as being normal until it warmed up.

I understand that replacing the fascias/soffit boards can be pricey so it really is my last resort - thanks for your options Chris. The local honey farm just weren't interested in anything other than getting rid of them (they also run a pest control company). However, contacting the local beekeeping association is a viable option - but if someone wants the bees they still have to get them and I am going to have to replace the fascias...

Thanks also to Hemo for your advice re the quote and unforseen costs, and thanks to Steve for his comments - a little colour is always amusing.

It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend in terms of bee numbers/activity as it is quite warm here today and a fantastic forecast for the next couple of days. Perhaps the decision will be easier to make on Monday...

Thans for your help so far and I will update the thread with anything useful.

Thanks again.

[Jon]

Now, this may be a stupid question, but how would I check to see if they have survived or not

You will see a few bees flying any day of the year even in winter if the temperature is at or above 10c, especially if the sun is out. Bees are very active collecting pollen in march as that is the main period of colony build up.

You will not get a swarm arriving until April at earliest so the time to block up would be late March if there is no sign of bee activity.

Bees have a tough time of it with untreated varroa. I think in your case you are getting a new swarm each spring. You could have quite a few kilos of honey behind the soffit and the smell of wax and old brood comb also attracts bees. I would guess the honey farm is the prime candidate. It's a bit ironic if they issue swarms and then charge to remove them.

again we called the honey farm and again poison was administered.

This is a very bad idea as another colony of bees will find the honey laced with poison and it could kill them when they rob out the dead colony. I am very surprised that anyone from a honey farm would do this. Are you sure it was poison rather than petrol fumes or something similar?

[mwhbee]

Thanks for your replies, and if it were just our house with no others around then I wouldn't even be considering getting rid of them and would instead take Jon's advice and wait to see if they survive the winter.

Now, this may be a stupid question, but how would I check to see if they have survived or not (either the previous lot if I could have checked a couple of months ago - or the current lot early next year for example)? There was no obvious activity over the winter months until a week or so ago, but I just took that as being normal until it warmed up.

I understand that replacing the fascias/soffit boards can be pricey so it really is my last resort - thanks for your options Chris. The local honey farm just weren't interested in anything other than getting rid of them (they also run a pest control company). However, contacting the local beekeeping association is a viable option - but if someone wants the bees they still have to get them and I am going to have to replace the fascias...

Thanks also to Hemo for your advice re the quote and unforseen costs, and thanks to Steve for his comments - a little colour is always amusing.

It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend in terms of bee numbers/activity as it is quite warm here today and a fantastic forecast for the next couple of days. Perhaps the decision will be easier to make on Monday...

Thans for your help so far and I will update the thread with anything useful.

Thanks again.

hi if you have a tiled roof and not slates you could easy remove or slide the second row of tiles up and then rmove the bottom row without touching the fascias /soffits and cut a hole in the felt , get the bees out and slide a new bit of felt under the old pit by lifting the battons with a claw hammer and remove the nails far cheaper than removing fascis etc ,it can be done with slateroof a bit more difficult to replace but still cheaper

[cobkelly]

Thanks Jon. It was definately a white powder substance as the second year I did try and block up some of the more obvious ways in and there were remains of it a few days after it had been administered. It appeared to be the same application each time.

I am also sure there is an amount of honey in there as it appears have discoloured the fascia boards underneath (unless I am going mad...).

However, over the bank holiday weekend, and over the last week when the weather has been warmer, I have still only noticed a few bees around the area of where tey go in. Although I haven't checked at mid-day, I have checked at between 2pm to 4pm and only a few are there. Perhaps the swarm didn't take...

I agree with your comments about the honey fram, which was why last year I spoke to the local coordinator and this year I have chosen to ask those in the know... As there aren't many about I think I will leave them be (!) for now.

Thanks also to mwhbee for your advice re an alternative to replacing the fascias. Certainly an option to consider is I hvae to go down that route.

Thanks again.