Allotments 4 All

Bees have taken up residence in one of my compost bins, entering through one of the slits in the side. What is the best thing to do now? (I don't need to use the bin).
Thanks for any help.

Not sure about a compost bin  but a couple of years ago bees started coming and going to and from the bank of the rhyne next to our shed on the lottie.They made a small hole which fast became a big one ,it was 2 foot from our shed door .They didn't bother us and only became grumpy if we stood 2 abreast in their path.We were told they would probably return but we extended the shed so they couldn't but we get the odd stray buzzing in the shed.I'd say leave them alone and be grateful they're there.They'll move on eventually.

There will only be about 200 bees in there at most, i wouldnt touch them if i were you, there a godsend, your own little private pollination army!!

There are wasps in my shed!

I had a huge nest in another shed once, making it unusable. All I could do was spray wildly and run away slamming the door, every day for a few days. I don't like killing them, but I needed to use the shed (I was away while they built up the nest).

This shed is small, with a small neat wasp nest on the ceiling, but I am giving it the same treatment, sadly. I would leave them alone if they weren't in the shed.

I am letting the ants in my compost dalek get on with their lives, as the compost won't be ready until much later in the year.

Bees ... Allotmenteeres need them .... encourage
Wasps ...the same
Ants... do lots of damage... control.
Think we need a BIG list !

I've had wasps in my shed repeatedly, and never had trouble cohabiting with them.

Well, do they buzz into your hair when you try to take out a rake or spade? (Do you have hair?)

Do you have to warn people passing your shed that wasps might be startled and attack them?

i like wasps and  know they are beneficial, but I don't like their stings when I am on "their" territory..

I hate wasps.

they are nasty aggressive little *%!x%£! who will sting you just for fun. And they attack bees nests.  I once was walking across my lawn when I though "ankle hurts", i looked down there was four little  *%!x%£!  busy stinging away at my ankle.

There was an underground nest. The next two days consisted of shoving a fork in the going, turning one sod over then running  like mad to the safety of the conservatory, then 20 minutes watching annoyed wasps banging into the glass. I found the hive eventually, the entrance where i started was more than four feet away, and the tunnel was was L shaped. Once i turned the actual hive over  and revealed it all hell broke loose. A friend of mine who did fishing was present at the last turn, he went in after 20 minutes well kitted up with a spray, and fished out all the grubs, apparently they are much prized by fishermen for bait.

Many years ago, i was p[resent when the beekeepers got called to a stone cottage. The owner had discovered honey weeping out the gaps in the stone chimney stack. They had a look inside the chimney with a camera, there entire chimney cavity had a collosal bees nest inside, it was estimated there was half a million bees in there. The guy smoked them out and took them away, but it took two days to clear all the combs and honey out.

Wasps take caterpillars off your cabbage .... What about centipedes , we get the red ones and the long cream coloured many legged chaps , good or bad ?

Quote from: lincsyokel2 on May 28, 2011, 21:06:07
Many years ago, i was p[resent when the beekeepers got called to a stone cottage. The owner had discovered honey weeping out the gaps in the stone chimney stack. They had a look inside the chimney with a camera, there entire chimney cavity had a collosal bees nest inside, it was estimated there was half a million bees in there. The guy smoked them out and took them away, but it took two days to clear all the combs and honey out.

Half a million bees in one colony? The standard estimate is 50 000 per colony, but that relates to Italian bees, which have bigger colonies than most of the local strains, at around midsummer.