I was out pruning a clematis that grows up the back side of my house, and whenever I went near it, 4 or 5 bees would come flying out and swarm around me. I wanted to be positive that there was a nest in there so I WHACKED it with a broomstick and about 50 came charging out and buzzed all around me. Naturally, I ran.
I want to get rid of it forever. I don’t care that I am killing innocent souls. How do I make it go away?
My sister said that I should call a beekeeper and have the bees and the nest taken away. But I think they aren’t regular honey bees.
My dad says to have somebody, an exterminator of sorts, come with a vaccuum type machine that sucks them all up and out of the hive.
Has anyone tried either of these things?
My boss had the same problem at his house. We used a regular shop vac. Sucked them all up and than sucked up a 1/2 can of raid.It worked great.
You can buy a can of spray that shoots about 20 feet almost anywhere, even grocery stores. If you don’t like to get stung, use it in the evening, after the sun goes down.
Either a beekeeper can come and take them away (If they are honey bees) or any pest control company that deals with wasps will be able to exterminate them.
Do NOT kill those bees! There is a disease that is killing bees in certain areas of the country, and they are dying en masse. There are beekeepers who make their living moving colonies from state to state to help pollinate crops, and they are all embargoed and unable to move outside their states. There is some speculation in scientific circles that bumblebees might be on the verge of extinction.
Bees are beneficial insects, they do GOOD things for the environment. Leave them alone and they will leave you alone. Do not whack their nest, do not spray them with pesticides. Look up “apiary” in the yellow pages, any beekeeper would be glad to come out and take your bees away for free.
Thanks everyone.
Of course I like the option of giving the bees to the bee keeper, 'cause it will make me feel like the boy scout that I never was. I couldn’t tell what kind of bees they were because I have seen wasps, honey bees, and black bees all flying around there. Let’s hope they are honey bees.
Thanks again! 
[sub]Another crisis expunged with help from the SDMB Crisis Management Team.[/sub]
Have you found a beekeeper yet?
If there’s not one in your phonebook, you can always try calling your local agricultural extension office (or cooperative extension, or whatever they call it where you are). Failing that, let me know — my brother posts to a beekeepers newsgroup, and they may be able to find someone in your area.
I was just looking in the yellow pages in fact. I didn’t find anything under apiaries, but I did find many names under “Bee Removal”. Unfortunately, most of them looked the harmful kind, not like the ones that take them away alive.
I pruned around the bee hive today, maybe if I am not busy tomorrow I can find someone to come(I live in a big city so I shouldn’t have a problem). The bees don’t really bother me when I am not standing on a ladder two feet away from their hive, so I am also considering letting them stay. Then I can have their hive when winter rolls around. Ever since I planted the clematis vine, I have amassed a nice collection of bird’s nests. If anyone knows how to preserve bird’s nests and bee hives(hairspray) and keep them form falling to pieces, please let me know.
THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!
I just want you to know that I really appreciate you informing me of the humane way to handle this. If I had not posted this here I would have never known, and killed an entire colony of bees. I learned today that my neighbors just had a man come and kill a bunch of bees that built a hive on their house, just because they didn’t know any better. But thay are good people, and would have done the same, had they only known.
Thanks for giving me a reason to feel good.
“Fighting ignorance since 1973.”
“Saving bees all afternoon.”
Sounds more and more like you are describing a hornet nest, probably bald-faced hornets.
Honeybees would not be likely to build a hive in the open, they tend to be cavity nesters and do not build a paper hive.
While hornets have a healthy sting, they seldom bother you unless you disturb the nest.
After the nest is abandoned next fall, carefully break off the branches that it is attached to and display it, no need for preservatives if carefully displayed.
Don’t let just anyone come out to kill those bees, or whatever they might be. Even if they’re not honey bees, they can be put to good use. When I was a kid, we had a hornets nest in one of our trees, the guy my mom called to exterminate the hornets, charged almost nothing for the job, but he took the nest and sold the hornets to a company which used them to make anti-venom for people who are deathly allergic to stings. At least this way, some good could come from their deaths.
You should be able to tell whether they are bees or wasps/hornets by observing their behaviour; see if you can follow them to their food source; if they are visiting flowers and making short stops at many blooms, then returning to the nest, then they are bees.
Personally, like bare I’d be surprised to hear that bees are nesting in the open, but I’d be equally surprised to find that anyone getting within a couple of feet of a hornet/wasp’s nest wouldn’t be percieved as a threat and investigated, if not attacked.
I don’t know what hornets are like over there in the US, but the sort we have here in the UK are bastards and will attack with little or no provocation, they are big and scary too (about the size of your thumb).
Maybe someone from the biology department of your local college could identify them if you trapped one in a glass jar and took it in.
One last warning if you are planning to keep the nest; in the depths of winter it should be dormant (that is if the temperature drops below zero in your locality), but it may not be dead; depending on the species, it might just be full of hibernating adults, which could be a nasty surprise.
Do not keep the bird’s nests. With the exception of the species listed below, you may be in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (full text with links) of 1918 - the following is from an inter-office memo:
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects all common wild birds found in the United States except the house (European) sparrow, starling, feral pigeon, and reisdent game birds such as pheasant, grouse, quail, and wild turkeys. Resident game bnirds arte managed seperately by each State. A reference list of migrqtory game birds is found in Title 500, Code of Federal Regulations. Part 10.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it unlawful for anyone to kill, capture, collect, posess, buy, sell, trade, ship import, or export any mirgatory bird, including feathers, parts, nests or eggs.
Historically, the plumage from many migratory birds was highly desired by the millinary industry to the extent that the populations of some species were rapidly diminishing. More recently, with the popularity of Natie American artifacts increasing, a lucrative market still exists for migratory bird feathers and eagle feathers to decorate many curios and art objects. Enforcement officers have no way to determine whethers feathers used in artwork were found on the ground in one’s own backyard, or if the feathers came from a bird that was killed illegally. These prohibitions are therefore intended to eliminate any commercial market for the birds themselves, as well as their feathers and parts.
There are a few exceptions to the prohibitions:
Violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Eagle Protection Act, and Endangered Species Act are considered criminal offenses and can result in significant fines and imprisonment. In some cases, a conviction might also result in the forfeiture of equipment (vehicles, boats, airplanes, weapons, etc.) used during the commision of the crime.
In a nutshell - leave the nests where they are. Apart from the possibility you may be breaking international law**, the nests may be reused by the same birds or another species, even in that same breeeding season (some birds can have two or more broods in a season, depending on many circumstances.
Make your own decorative bird’s nests using interlaced sticks and greenery (I’m sure Martha Stuart has a chapter on this somewhere). By making your own, you are less likely to bring in bird mites, lice and diseases (avian pox - not harmful to humans, but can be nasty to pets) into your house.
** The MBTA was signed by the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Great Britian, Russia and Japan. Other countries may have their own laws and statutes protecting local and migrating wildlife, but even if they don’t, how would you feel if you came home and found your house in a museum?