Providers of honey and almost universally
viewed with affection by the public, honey
bees are one of the most well known insects.
Many species of bee are found in the United
Kingdom. Some produce honey, some do not.
Some live in highly organised colonies,
some on their own. Some sting, some do not.
Bees rarely present problems as pests. However,
feral swarms can set up home in undesirable
places such as chimneys and wall cavities.
Bee keepers may be reluctant to take such
swarms due to a parasitic mite which many
swarms carry. Control may, therefore, be
necessary. Bees are not protected and control
is best left to professionals; honey bees
have a barbed sting and die once they have
used this. However, they will sting when
provoked. Attempts to kill them will provoke
them. Once the nest has been killed, efforts
must be made to remove it or seal it in.
They honey within it will attract bees from
other hives which may then themselves be
poisoned, as well as their nests, by the
pesticides used. Insects and mites will
also thrive on the honey and dead grubs
within the nest and may cause problems.
Masonry bees may occasionally cause problems.
Unlike honey bees these are solitary insects.
They nest in a wide range of cavities some
of which they excavate themselves. The nest
particles glued together with saliva. Masonry
bees are normally harmless, their sting
seemingly unable to penetrate human skin.
On occasions though they can present a problem
due to their ability to build nests by tunnelling
through soft brick mortar, generally in
older properties. Only rarely do large numbers
occur together but due to the fact that
vulnerable buildings tend to be repeatedly
attacked, quite severe damage can occur
over several seasons. Modern houses are
not immune either. Small gaps left in otherwise
sound mortar may be colonised. Although
this is not a problem from a structural
point of view, some householders are distressed
by such activity. In the long term, re-pointing
with sound mortar is the only answer. This
must be thorough however, as bees hunting
for a nest site will soon locate areas that
have need missed. Small individual holes
are easily filled. Treatment with insecticides
is not normally necessary but where damage
is serious or great distress is being caused,
insecticides can be used. Application of
an insecticide to the entry hole will quickly
kill the occupants.
