To be pissed off with bees terrorising my garden

[InsomniacVampire]

While mowing the grass, we found out we have a bumblebee nest in the garden- in the gorund, which I didnt even know is a thing. Not at the very far end where we dont use much anyways, but right at the very beginning of it, near the kitchen door. We cant use the garden at all, as contrary to what uncle Google says, they attack kids and me whenever we approach.
How do I get rid (I know I know bees are the future, but I want my garden!). it's hot, kids are going mental inside, and we're stuck inside as we can't use the garden because of mental bees. And it takes months for them to move nests :(

OP I have no advice but will agree with the fluffy little buggers not being cute or cuddly all the time, I have some in a underground nest in the paddock and they got really aggressive with me as I stood on the entrance to their home, and three bees shot out when I moved and were dive bombing me, I'm lucky that they are are in a remote corner rather than outside the back door as I can. leave them be undisturbed

When you said 'bee suit' my mental image was of this. For some time I was wondering whether a human sized bee would really fool them or not.

Are they brown with an orange middle and a white tail? They might be tree bumble bees, unusual for them to nest in the ground but they do tend to be a bit more vicious than your average bumble bee (also a foreign invader interestingly)

If its a tree bumble bee nest we have one under our bathroom floor and the nest has been pretty much vacated now so hopefully yours will move on soon. Make sure you destroy the nest when it is empty as it is possible for other bees to move in the following year and reuse it

There are (one or two) companies who will come out and try to safely move bumble bee nests but you will have to pay and most of them are very reluctant to do so. If you explained about your son they might be more inclined

Beekeepers generally wont move bumble bees only honey bees.

Most male bees (ie the workers) don't have stingers so are unable to sting Are you sure they aren't some variety of wasp?

Sometimes reading all the OP’s posts are a good idea before sounding off.

She has a 5 yr old with autism and a toddler. He elder child has already been stung. The are not complaining snowflakes and you are utterly insensitive.

If this is the way you speak to people when trying to protect biodiversity you aren't going to be doing the bees any favours.

Snowflakes? One of the OP’s children is non verbal and the other one is little more than a baby, so I don’t think they’re actively complaining about anything. But yes, how dare these very young children want to play in their own garden without getting stung.

I don’t have anything helpful to add OP, but you have my sympathies! I would try googling ways to encourage them to move on without harming them?

Our bees are lovely. There are a load of rough teens that cause trouble on our road but they give our place a wide berth because of the the “bloody bees” lol

How nasty and unnecessary. Your tone is abhorrent.

No one has said that. Go away and be an obnoxious dobber somewhere else.

All of those not thinking being stung is an issue, when was the last time you were stung? It really hurts especially if you are a small person. I don't think any environmental war is going to be won by OP's kids getting stung in their back garden.

For some reason my sister gets attacked by wasps, mosquitoes etc more than I do. She still has what look like burn marks on her wrist from being stung in Italy. Have you tried Citronella candles? Try spraying wrists with citronella and see if that helps.

There was a post locally to me on fb for a bee handler to move an angry swarm so you could do that and ask your local council for beekeepers who have the equipment to move them.

I had seagulls nesting in my box gutters last year, an absolute nightmare, still nearby although my roof is gull proofed and they're absolute pests when they divebomb, the mess on you and cars is a nuisance. They followed me outside front and back doors flying overhead so still wearing my hat and glasses to go outside.

Most bees in a colony - the worker bees - are female. This goes for both honey bee and bumble bee colonies. There are much fewer males and they are the ones without a sting.

Long term then let the grass grow back up there and cut around it as they've only got agitated since you cut it

Short term can you put up a temporary divider between your door and them? Prob some solid board up of similar so they feel protected?

There is information here from the Bumble Bee Conservation trust on rerouting nest entrances, which may be your best bet: https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/bumblebee-nests/#movingnest

Which part of the country are you in? You can find local beekeeping associations in the UK here: https://www.bbka.org.uk/find-beekeeping-near-you. It's true that they are often reluctant to move bumble bee nests, as they are usually gentle, and the advice is it's best to leave them, but if you explain the situation with your children you may be able to find someone kind who helps you.

Sorry that beekeeping association link should be https://www.bbka.org.uk/find-beekeeping-near-you

@Cheeseplant72 I have not got to read any of your (many!) messages, but it's very clear seeing how they were all removed before I logged in that I am better off not having done so 😂

I have got in touch with a local beekeepers association, although not sure they will help... For once I hope the grass will grow back super quick. @Stayingstrongish thank you, I think I looked up that link yesterday and sent an email to a local place, we'll see what they say.

Thank you all for tips, I mean at the end of the day not much we can do, it's just a shame kids wont be able to enjoy the garden in the meantime until the nest moves on its own volition (it can take a few months though!!!) My neighbours had a similar problem last year with the nest appearing in the roof above their door, and the lady is allergic to (soory dont know what the technical term is- bee stings?), so may ask them too how they managed to remove the nest.

@bellabasset noooo. I used to live in a place ovverun by seagulls, you could not walk down the street with food in your hand as they would dive in and try to claw it out, forget like picnics outside as well haha, you would turn around and see a few of them approaching for the kill 😂It's kind of funny now, but it was not that funny back then :)

I love how so many people seem to think there's only one type of bumblebee.

I wonder if the OP has a colony of Tree Bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum). They usually adopt an old bird bird nest or nestbox, but might take on any dry cavity. If it is them, they're quite distinctive with a ginger back, and the males will spend all day flying/hovering in front of the entrance. They're not guarding the entrance, they're facing it waiting for a female to emerge. They can get rather possessive for a few weeks at this time of year. The males hangung around outside don't sting, but vibration/disturbance can cause the colony to take flight to defend the nest. The nest will usually be empty and all the bees will have gone by mid-/late- July. They're a really nice species to observe if they're nicely down the far end of the garden tucked into a corner, but they're a PITA if they're next to the patio or the washing line.

Hope the local beekeepers association can help.

@DogInATent this is exactly what I think we're dealing with. There always are a few outside and more if someone passes by more come out and are not happy.
Yeah I am happy looking at them from afar lol, sadly they chose such an inconvenient lcoation as it makes doing anything at all impossible.