Bees infestation

Never had this before.

Property Manager contacted me to say there are a swarm of bees at the IP. Problem is, not sure where the hive is, it could even be in the neighbours trees. PM has got quotes for $100 to exterminate & $300 to get someone to remove them. I've contacted the council and they said to leave it for a few days until Queen bee settles and then the swarm settles, but the poor tenant has already had them there for a week (so the queen should be settled) and now they are becoming aggressive and the tenant has been stung. Would prefer to have them removed but have been told that if they aren't settled and the bee collector goes out and can't collect them, we will be charged for it anyway. Then there's the issue, well if it's in the neighbouring property, who should pay for the removal & what happens if the neighbour doesn't permit them to remove the bees?

 

Don't do any of that. Go on gumtree and find someone that will collect the bees for free. Win, win, win (you, the person collecting them and the bees).

 

Thanks Spludgey. I did have a look on Gumtree and have seen a couple of free removalists, but as the IP is quite a long distance away I don't want to waste their time and effort if they can't remove them due to neighbour or that the bees are not settled enough. A bit of a quandary.

 

My Dad's a commercial bee keeper, he used to get calls asking how much he'd pay to come collect bee swarms.

The reality is professional bee keepers aren't interested in swarming bees. There's a reasonable probability that they carry various diseases which would contaminate their other hives. It's simply too much of a risk. Most of those that will remove a swarm and aren't professional exterminators are amateur bee keepers. The irony is that these are the guys that are responsible for most bee swarms in the first place (bees only swarm when they run out of food, commercial operators move them periodically to endure there's always the resources available).

At this time of the year, the bees probably swarmed because they ran out of food during winter. If trees and flowers in the area are starting to blossom they're not about to go anywhere, best to do something about it sooner rather than later.

If you can locate the hive, there's various bug bombs you can put nearby and release, that tends to encourage them to move on. If it's not easy to get find the hive, it's probably in the walls of some ones house. Get someone experienced to remove them because it may require removing wall panels to access the hive.

 

many apiarists would be happy to remove for free.

 

That's what I've heard as well.
For a quote of $300, I'd google "apiarist" and "bee keeper" first to give them a call to see if they can get them for free. Unless the IP is extremely remote, there should be some around.
Might also be worth asking the council.

 

Where do you stand when Mother Nature happens?

 

I'd be getting that confirmed first, tenant or PM so should be able to track view their movement back to hive without getting stung.

I had them in the wall next to letterbox, I never bothered them, they never bothered me, posty didn't like them though

 

Who am I to argue when Nature Calls

 

I think the PM really should have clarified with tenant further on where it looked like they were coming from or inspected to see. If its coming from someone else's house then put pressure on them to sort it out.

Additionally, could prob get some insect bombs for the backyard which might help more cheaply in the meantime.

For most PMs it seems every problem is resolved by spending landlords money.

Out of the way

 

Up wind?

 

“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
― Maurice Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee

 

Very true. Honey bees pollinate the majority of the worlds crops. Without bees, the world starves.

Australia is also one of the few places where bee populations have managed to avoid certain diseases and parasites. We actually export bees to multiple countries including the US and China (think of a cargo Boeing 747 fully loaded with bee hives).

There's a very good reason Australian customs are very strict about importing foreign animals, food, wood products, even mud on your shoes. Please take it seriously.

 

Tenant said he believes that they have nested in an old vehicle has has parked up?

Will be annoying (and costs associated) If someone is sent out and they aren't nesting on our property

 

People are happy to come and collect the bees...

Everyone has this and everyone wants as many bees as possible. I think people might even pay to get the bees.

Watch this vid:

 

The most common reason we see bee swarms is because over the course of a year the environment changes and the bees move on in search of more food, water or better climate.

Flowers and trees blossom on an annual basis and some years are more productive than others. This leads to a cycle of excess food to almost no food at all over the course of the year, sometimes on a 1-5 year cycle (or longer in drought conditions). When there isn't enough pollen, nectar, water or it's too cold, the bees either need to be moved, or they move on themselves, causing bee swarms.

Commercial bee keepers move their hives regularly. As a Victoria bee keeper Dad was regularly in the Big Dessert in Winter, Hay or Deniliquin in Spring, Port Fairy in summer, Castlemaine, Mount Hotham, North East SA, remote NSW, you name he's been there.

Amateur bee keepers don't have this ability, so they loose hives quite regularly to swarming, which often ends up in peoples houses or nearby trees.

 

I didn't find anyone on Gumtree or the web who will do for free when looking?

Maybe that was just WA

 

Just be careful they do create a colony in the walls of your IP.