Bees setting up home in my porch canopy

[PupInAPram]

There are loads of bees flying in and out of my (hollow) porch canopy. Other than closing my front door very gently, what should I do? I should add, I'm quite happy for them to stay all summer.

Tell them to buzz off

They might be masonry bees in which case they are harmless and all fly away in June

Har Har. I want them to stay, but not if it's dangerous for them or me obviously!

You should definitely name them. I vote Balonz.

I've got them in my bathroom at the moment (masonry bees) , they decided last week to make themselves known, but have mostly dispersed now.
Have been told the will have come in through a hole in the brick work and advised to get it sorted, or they will come back alongside other creepy crawlies, that will be attracted to the scent left by them.
They don't hugely bother me, but obviously don't want to bathe with a swarm of bees either, so getting holes fixed.

Definitely more than one. There's dozens flying in and out. It's like Picadilly Circus!

@Newfluff Another vote for Ballonz!

The porch canopy won't let them into the house though. Maybe I'll just use the back door this summer 😂

Read up on them, just to check what behaviours unsettle them.

We had a wasp nest outside our bedroom window a couple of years ago. It meant keeping half the window closed, but had the other half open all summer.
They didn’t like it if the window slammed, and sometimes came into the room. But if you don’t bother them, I found they just fly off. I also had to remember to close the window and keep lights off at dusk, or I’d find up to a dozen wasps flying around the bedroom when they all should have been tucked up in bed.

I’m glad you are happy to keep them, they need all the help they can get.

Did you know it’s also “No mow May”, by leaving your grass long, you give the bees a chance to feed on the flowering plants in your lawn.

Not a bee expert, but I would be slightly wary, as loud noises can anger bees. My Mum was in the Land Army and used to tell of being attacked by a swarm she had inadvertently disturbed by stopping nearby in a tractor with the engine going. Definitely close the door gently!

I'm going to need a lot more than one name. So far I have named 2 of them; Balonz and Lupin....

Forgot to say wasps do the same jobs as bees. So we need them too.

I live with a bee-keeper. Contact your local bee keeper society. They'll be able to identify the bees and if they're a risk, they might even be able to move them on for you.

I have been doing no mow May. I hope the noise of the mower isn't going to be a problem as I'll have to cut the grass eventually.

I have named 2 of them; Balonz and Lupin.

Brilliant! 😂

I think now two are named they are in fact pets which means that The Rules come into force...we need a picture.

Just what I was going to say. There is usually someone local who can give you advice 😀

Fair enough @Newfluff Here are Balonz, Lupin and un-named bee coming in to land.

Also, it's surprisingly difficult to take pictures of a moving, tiny object when you can't get close!

Well you have excelled yourself, I can even see Balonz's little tiny wings. Stirling work.

Beelonz, surely?

🤣

Have you identified the type of bee?

The spacing of the three bees is Red Arrow level, well done!

My Dad had bee colonies when I was growing up (still does). One flew in one day, whilst the other was a hive and bees as a gift as he liked the first so much, but couldn’t see what they were doing.

I second getting involved with a bee society person who can give you info. They need food (flowers etc) and a water source, but will fly along way for different pollen types. I remember Dad putting up an umbrella once to shad the hive on a really hot week, and also putting out a little bowl with some sugar water near the hive to ‘strengthen’ it (not sure what he meant exactly, but I thought the aim was to let them drink it and help them build their stores in the hive quickly. Possibly when they were new, or maybe the hive had just split or something).

He also added little pots below every tap, to create a little water source of any drops, so they had places to drink.