Red Mason bees - how to relocate them?

[Anna]

We have quite a few bees living under / at the edge of our patio. From posts and pictures on this site and others I'm pretty sure they're Red Mason bees, although I've never tried to identify a bee before!

There might be as few as 8 - 10 of them, although it certainly seems a lot more since they are so busy, continuously flying into and out of their holes and all around the garden on sunny days.

We like the bees :D and are pleased they've chosen our garden to live in, but the problem is that we would like to lay gravel down on the path next to the patio. This would block up the entrances to their holes.

Is it possible to entice the bees away to nest in a different part of the garden before we do this? We are thinking of making a simple bee home (holes drilled in wood) elsewhere - but how do we persuade these particular bees to move house?

And if we do end up having to block the entrances to their current homes, is there a particularly good or a particularly bad time of year to do this?

All good advice appreciated, as I haven't a clue what to do!

Thanks,
Anna

[RoofTops]

If they are red mason bees they will stop flying in a few weeks after laying their eggs in a series of tunnels. If you want to relocate them then you need to act quickly. You can buy artifical nests at some garden centres. These are a collection of cardboard tubes which you can fix someone convenient.

The bees can't be actually moved. All you can do is block up or cover their holes during a warm day when the adults are flying and then hope they re-build their nests. It is late in the season for this - it would be better to put up the artficial nest next spring and then lay the gravel once you see lots of adults flying around and probably investigating the tubes.

If you lay the gravel after the bees stop flying towards the end of June you will kill off the next generation completely. Depending where you live they may already have stopped flying so it is already too late this year.

The best plan is probably to lay all the gravel now but leave the holes temporarily exposed, perhaps with a frame of wood to keep the gravel back until next year. Then cover them next year once the new generation emerges.

[Anna]

Thanks so much for your reply. We've done what you suggested - built a temporary frame of bricks to keep the gravel back from the holes.

Will leave it like that til next spring then, and hope we can judge the right time to cover them up!

Thanks again,
Anna