To be annoyed that killing things is so much more cost effective?

[Gotabadfeelingaboutthis]

So long story short but basically on Sunday we had a giant swarm of honeybees land on our house and take up residence in our chimney. Bees were coming into the house via the wall where the electric fire is wired in, windows, everywhere. I have a 7 year old and 12 month old so we packed and left the house. I have spent Sun, Mon and today trying desperately to find someone to come and remove them but because the hive is at the top of a chimney which is bricked up at the bottom (supposedly, though clearly not well since bloody bees are still getting through!) access is obviously an issue.

I have phoned so many people. Lots haven't answered, lots haven't called me back, some have said no. One person has said they can do it in 6 weeks for £2500!!

The noise from the bees is awful, the fact they keep finding their way into the house is even worse. The fact that it means we can't open any windows and the house is currently over 30 degrees is unbearable.

So the only 2 quotes I have had are both in or around the £2000 mark. Yet someone has said they will come and just kill them all for £150.

How can that be right?! Aren't we all meant to be saving the bees? Morally I just can't accept killing them is the right thing to do, but nor do I have a spare £2000 and I need my house back!

They're not my bees! As plenty of people have said there's plenty of people that would do it for free or cheap you just got to put in the effort to find them.

I only commented because I'm sick of the attitude of mumsnetters attitude to inconvenient wildlife and trees. Every thread goes 'if it's a slight nuisance just kill it/chop it down'. It's not something I live my life by. I'm fricking taking bugs out by hand out of my house into garden whenever I see them. I don't even let my husband kill spiders, he has to relocate them to the shed. My point is I don't kill small wildlife just cos it's a mild nuisance. There's other humane ways of dealing with stuff. Not my fault if anyone is too lazy or tight to deal with it humanely. ☺ In fact that was the point of the op's thread - it's cheaper to kill than relocate wildlife and it bloody shouldn't be!

And to the other poster @cinnamono , I'm well aware of the problem of non native species. If it's a plant get rid of it. If it's an animal I understand the need to eradicate it but you won't catch me killing grey squirrels etc because it's against my morals and it's not their fault they happen to be introduced by humans to the wrong habitat. I just help the native stuff by planting and encouraging more native stuff to thrive. Humans and their actions on a global scale have far more blame on this ailing planet, than non native species moving around.

I'm literally a trained and experienced ecologist. It's painful reading people's ignorance about nature on the Internet. So I decided to stick my 2 cents worth in on this thread.

I have very recently had honeybees removed.

A couple of things.

Firstly, no beekeeper or swarm collector will touch them. Swarms which are gathering outside somewhere are different to what is now an established colony. They're simply not insured to deal with opening up brickwork.

Secondly, under no circumstances should you simply kill the bees if you value your property. My colony was established for only around 3-4 weeks and the hive was already massive. Shitloads of wax and honey. The former can and will melt and come through your walls as greasy stains when it gets hot, the honey left behind will not only slowly seep through your walls, but also attract predators or other vermin. Fancy cockroaches?

Thirdly, to all those who say just leave them/ be kind/ whatever. My honey bees were very aggressive even without being provoked. I couldn't go anywhere near the entrance in my garden - anything in a 1.5m radius and they'd start attacking. They stung the guy in his protective suit multiple times when they were being removed.

@Gotabadfeelingaboutthis Sorry to say you'll have to keep ringing around. You're not too far away from my guys, perhaps they'll make the trip, but they, too, took a few weeks before they could come. Much, much cheaper than the 2.5k you got quoted, though (unless this also involves building materials); mine got removed from a space underneath my floor boards in the end and it only cost around £250.

No it's not

@Pepsipepsi what about the Asian Hornet specifically?

@Pepsipepsi

Besides I stand by my point that just because several posters on this thread hate honey bees doesn't mean the bees in the chimney don't have a right to life. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Yes I'm one of those that values all lives of living things, not just humans who are similar to me. ☺
You clearly have no idea how conversation works.

Invasive or overrun species decimate notice wildlife. Feeling sorry for something that is decimating native and important species is NOT how conservation is undertaken. It's what bleeding heart people with no idea of the dangers of invasive species say.

Sadly I agree. A few years ago I would have probably been able to find the £2k so save them. Now I just couldn't stretch to it!

Honey will not leak out of your walls if you kill the bees. What shit stephen king fanfiction are some of these posters writing.

The faster you do it the better.

If there's anything lift in the chimney, being as it's a chimney, you can pay somebody to sweep it. Which won't cost 2k.

I don't know how any of the posters have survived the real world. Either DH or DDad probably come and sort their issues. I bet they still think their childhood dogs went to live on the farm.

The honey and wax are being kept cool by thousands of bees continuously fanning it during the day. Honey gets much runnier when hot, so of course it will leak through. And attract vermin. Wax melts and greases. It doesn't take much of a search to come up with evidence.

Another thing I've learned is that an empty hive easily attracts new scouting bees. Pheromones are left behind and can last quite a while.

Honey bees in brickwork also don't go away on their own. Once a swarm gets too big it splits (with a new queen) and only part of the swarm leave.

Some of us in the real world have had to deal with this recently, have spoken to beekeepers, pest control and their variants.

I find it strange that the previous poster states that they are trained in ecology yet views invasive species as "ok to leave to get on with it". Baffling.

Post on local community group. A beekeeper will happily come and take them off your hands. A friend has five swarms in his hives this way. Didnt cost the person a penny.