[ellied]

I've had a bit of a surprise today when feeding the 8 week pullets in their pen, suddenly realised there were over a dozen bees in there, apparently crawling into the ground. 

Weren't there yesterday and now just invaded.  I am a little concerned that the pullets don't get stung, or myself, particularly when herding them into bed in the evening.

Anything I can do do make the area unattractive to bees before they settle in?  Is underground nesting a long term thing or is there something they're enjoying but only for a day or so?  I can just see me treading on the area and getting a whole lot of stings, or the pullets trying to catch a snack..  Never had anything like it here before, ideas?

[Fleecewife]

Bumble bees nest in the ground.  The queen will have hibernated through the winter in that hole, then started laying eggs.  As they hatch, she forages and feeds the new bees herself.  When those are ready to work, they will crawl out of the hole, which is what you are seeing, and the queen will stay underground laying more eggs.  They never have huge colonies though, like honey bees, just small families.

Please please don't try to kill them, and you won't be able to chase them away without killing them.  Bumble bees are struggling, as they have for the past few wet summers.   I don't think your pullets will try to catch them - the buzzing should put them off.  Bumble bees rarely sting unless their life is endangered.
How about putting something over the hole, big enough to prevent you failing to notice the nest and stepping in it?  I would suggest a wooden box with wire mesh over the bottom, placed top down over the hole.  This would be four vertical walls, an open bottom, and wire mesh over the top.  The bees could still get in and out, and they would set off flying from a foot or so's height, so they would be less likely to crawl before they flew off.  They prefer their hole entrance to be a bit disguised anyway.
Bumble bees tend not to last for many months, then they all die except a new queen or two, which fly off to find their own hibernating nest.  They don't come back to the same nest the following year.
I hope you don't mind going to a little bit of trouble to support these wonderful creatures 

[ellied]

OK, thanks FW for explaining why they've appeared and how long to expect them to stay.  Context is a great help. 

I would not want to kill them, just wanted to know if I could dissuade them from settling in the chook pen - I am scared of standing on them inadvertently, not just the harm to them but I had a scary experience when I was very young and stood on a wasp nest in my aunt's garden, stood still because I'd been told to stand still if a wasp or bee was on me - got multiple stings and have always been VERY wary since. 

Apparently no chance of shifting them safely, so I'll find a way to work around them and expect them to find somewhere else next season.  The box idea is good but I think the chooks would go up to see, they like being up above ground and use the coop roof and a branch a lot for daytime perching.  Will see what else I can think of, maybe an old garden sieve or something just to remind me not to step there..

Thanks

[Fleecewife]

The sieve sounds fine ellied.  Hope it works.

Scarlet.Dragon - that was me too  .  When my first son was tiny, I had dried his clothes out in the sun.  I was folding them afterwards when there was a frantic buzzing from a bumble bee caught in a romper suit.  It really freaked me out, thinking what would have happened if I'd put it on him without noticing.  Silly but it made me pathetic with bees for years.
We don't often get honey bees here, just bumbles and solitaries.  Now I find it rather endearing that the bumbles are so busy doing their work that when they have to divert around me I can feel the exasperation from the little bee mind.  Aw - cute.
Honey bees I'm still a bit funny with, but not as bad as when I couldn't even watch them on film 
For wasps, I always just squashed them in the past.  Then I watched them one day in my old allotment as they patrolled the veggies in a neat search pattern, then flew away with caterpillars, greenfly etc.  How useful is that!!  Now I squash them if they come in the house when I'm trying to make jam, but mostly it's just a case of live and let live.

[Lesley Silvester]

My friend has a nest in her garden, although they didn't look like bumble bees but smaller. She called a bee keeper and was told the same as FW says. She's recently moved into her bungalow and has been working hard to convert a jungle into a productive garden but the bees patch is remaining wild for this year. It is lovely seeing the bees buzzing around. My neighbour had the same thing a year or so back.


Personally, I love bees and would have loved a hive or two but my ex is scared of anything that flies (should have seen him the night we had a bat in our bedroom - except you wouldn't have seen him because he was under the duvet) and now I am not fit enough to do the work. I'd be delighted if some took up temporary residence in my garden.


SD, I'm very impressed with your efforts to overcome your fear and do admire you for protecting the child.


Ellied, enjoy your bees while you have them.