I have a bumblebee hive under my wine barrel.

[Gracie]

They are not agressive, but...bumblebees are way bigger than bees and can pack more than one wallop. So...I need to make them move. I saw them go in and out of the wine barrel that has plants in it...and I read on google that if you just flood them out, they will find new lodgings. However, I don't think they are in the ground itself. I think they are hanging out underneath the barrel..about 2 inches high from the rim. Which means flooding won't do a damn thing.

So..since I do not use poisons, and the flooding means squat...that means I either have to live with them and block off their house so the dog doesn't get too near, or find another means to have them removed.

 

[Grandma]

Can you either wrap the outside bottom with plastic, or put some kind of 4-inch high wall around the barrel? You could flood the underneath if you raise the water level...

 

[Mojo2]

Why don't you use poisons?

The ecology or the killing?

Because there are some natural poison sprays made from crushed chrysanthemums which kill bugs dead.

It's what Billy the Exterminator swears by.

Pyrethrum was a genus of several Old World plants now classified as Chrysanthemum or Tanacetum (e.g., C. coccineum) which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants formerly included in the genus Pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is also the name of a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium and Chrysanthemum coccineum.

Here's another remedy: Boric Acid in a small "puffer' dispenser.



And here is Billy the Exterminator presenting another guy who relocates bee hives, in case you want to go this route.

 

[Gracie]

I don't want to kill them because we need all the polinators we can get. And I don't use poisons because...its poison. Kills everything. I don't want to kill. I just want them to go somewhere else.

But I have been thinking about it....they have not harmed me or the dog or the hubby who does his scrapping right next to that barrel. I thought there was a hive in there last year because of all the bumblebees in the flowers...but never really THOUGHT thought about it until today. So...i think I will just leave them bee. Bee. Get it? lol.

I will just be extra careful when watering the barrel from now on. I have been standing right next to it, leaning on the edge as I watered, and they just buzzed around me and never really bothered me. So why would they start? Even the dog grazes the grass where they fly in and out. So...they can stay.

 

[Gracie]

Can you either wrap the outside bottom with plastic, or put some kind of 4-inch high wall around the barrel? You could flood the underneath if you raise the water level...

I have some chicken wire....might put that around it in a bigger circumfrance..just to protect the dog as she grazes the grass that grows in abundance there.

 

[Mojo2]

This looks really interesting once they take all the honeycomb out.

 

[Gracie]

Ack!!! I went out there to watch them come and go and now that I know they are there..I can hear the drone of LOTS of them. So..I called the fire dept and asked what to do and they said call a pest control. So I called a pest control and they gave me a number of a lady that will come get them...free. I said I didn't want them killed...just removed. And she supposedly does that. So...I am waiting for her to call me back. FREE bumblebees!

 

[Gracie]

Bumble bees are now gone. Found a guy on CL that came and took the whole wine barrel...plants and all. There are about 25 or so bees still out there looking for their nest but its gone so eventually they will leave and find new homes. I hope.

Meanwhile..the dogs and I plan to avoid the back yard for the rest of the day and evening and hopefully they will be gone tomorrow. He pissed them off, lol. They didnt attack...but they were buzzing around his head and there were some REALLY big ones! Good thing he had his bee suit and his smoker.

 

[Gracie]

I am dismayed that two pest control companies, the fire department and 2 professional bee removers did not bother to tell me that bumble bee nests are only from late spring to october...and then they abandon the nest and go elsewhere. I feel horrible. I wish I had found this website BEFORE having that guy move them.

Bee Nest Removal and Bumblebee Nests

So, I pass it on to you guys, so at least you know more than I did before I turned into a murderess of bumble bees.

The ones still out there minus their nest and their queen...were crawling around in the dirt, hiding under grass, hanging on to the tree and in general...lost. I hated seeing it. Hated it. And a bunch of teeny tiny ones were crawling around in the dirt, lethargic cuz its cold now and they have no shelter. Little bitty baby ones. And a few really big ones. I can't let the dogs out there...they will step on them. So...I did what I thought best and cried doing it. I squashed them. I am so bummed. If only I had hunted further on google. But I didn't run across the website until about 2 hours ago or so. I wondered what would happen to those left behind with no nest, no queen. Death, thats what. No rebuilding a new nest somewhere else with the leftover bees. So...I thought I would send them quicker rather than later. No suffering. Plus, fear the dogs would step on them. There were about 20 to 25 left out there...just crawling around...searching. Hiding the best they could from the elements. But I don't want another dead dog. Nor do I want to be stung since the last time a bee got me, it made me ill. And I don't have an epi pen.

In short..I am finding excuses for myself because I feel so damn bad.

So read up on the link above. Next time I find a bumble bee nest in my yard..if ever...at least I know to leave them be until they move on their own in October. Doing what I did caused a mess...with bumblebees all over the lawn looking for their home....and now a bunch of dead squashed ones

 

[Gracie]

Plus I feel really stupid crying over a bunch of bumblebees. Alas...it is part of who I am. It still sucks though.

 

[Gracie]

AIEEEEE!

They are back! I swear there are like 50 of them out there....in a mound over the place the barrel was...and flying all over the lawn and up in the tree that was next to the old barrel. Sigh. PILES of them everywhere. Looking for a new home I guess. And...I am betting they had a backup queen. Or she didn't go with the old barrel. I can't have oodles of bumblebees wandering my yard, so...I gave them another barrel. I had a spare one that was empty, so I rolled it over there, told them NOT to sting me cuz I had a new house for them, and plopped it upside down over one brick so they had a way to get in. And...they went in.

I figure if they are going to insist on staying, I need to condense them to one spot. Once they get re settled, I will block off the barrel with chicken wire so none of us get near it and they can live here along with us...but behind a protective area and a reminder to us to not pass their chickenwire fence. Its either that or kill them and I feel bad enough about yesterday so that ain't gonna happen.

 

[Ernie S.]

I kill bees that nest near my house. I am seriously allergic to them. I have epie pens in the fridge, the medicine cabinet and in my truck, but I refuse to take the risk. I love me some honey, but I'd pay extra for it if they could keep the bees away from me.

 

[Gracie]

Well, these guys are STUBBORN. They refuse to leave. All they do..all damn day...is buzz around the yard and hang out where their nest used to be. I have not been outside in 2 days now because they are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. At night, they hide in the grass. Not together, either. Which makes it difficult to kill them because I can't find them. And now, I do want to kill them. Enough already.

I read that if I sprinkle garlic where they hang out, they will leave. I will try it tonight.