Drive away bumblebees – gently remove the bumblebee nest

The fat and cozy bumblebees are not considered aggressive. They only use their stingers in extreme emergencies and are anything but dangerous to those around them. Due to their great benefit to nature, the small insects are protected. If you find a bumblebee nest in an unsuitable place, you may want to gently remove it and drive away the insects. If nothing happens to the animals, they can move under certain circumstances and under certain conditions. However, care must be taken with the nest and its inhabitants.

Gently remove bumblebee nest

Early summer brings it to light when bumblebees have moved into the house or garden. Not everyone is happy about a bumblebee nest on the terrace, under the roof or even in the garden in the ground. Because there are different designs of bumblebee nests, which like to hide in old bird nests or in a hole in the ground. Even if the Bombus is considered to be far less aggressive and quite friendly than bees or wasps, they can still sting if they feel extremely attacked. Especially when children like to populate the garden, coexistence between bumblebees and humans is not always easy. Therefore, everyone involved must be told beforehand that the insects must be left alone.

Since the animals are under nature and species protection, the nests cannot simply be removed and various conditions must be observed:

  • if there is an allergy in the family who would be extremely endangered by the bumblebees
  • for example because in this case the nest hangs directly over a terrace and this would therefore no longer be usable for the allergy sufferer
  • this must be medically proven
  • redness, swelling or pain after an insect bite does not indicate an allergic reaction
  • this usually manifests itself in extreme shortness of breath, life-threatening circulatory disorders or swelling of the entire body after an insect bite
  • The fire brigade only helps in emergencies, such as a bumblebee nest at a kindergarten, retirement home or hospital
  • Never fumigate or use poison on a bumblebee nest
    • Regulation on this in §20 of the BNatSchG – Federal Nature Conservation Act
  • anyone caught doing so pays a hefty fine
  • never remove a nest yourself, because the bumblebees react defensively in such a case
  • the removal is carried out by a specialist
  • ask the responsible district office, which can appoint an expert
  • the nest is gently relocated, for which a small expense allowance is due
  • gently removing and relocating the bumblebee nest may only be done with official approval

Since the season of inhabited bumblebee nests usually lasts from March to August, the nests can simply be removed after moving out. To ensure that there are no Bombus left in the nest, it is best to remove and dispose of them in late autumn or winter. The old nest can be easily disposed of in the compost.

Tip: Since bumblebee nests are abandoned early in summer, fill them up with earth. Elsewhere in the garden, away from where you sit, set up a bumblebee nest box to give the insects their usual habitat.

drive away bumblebees

If the animals should not appear in a certain place in the garden, they can be prevented from doing so with smoke. Because bumblebees don’t like smoke and they avoid this place. So a Bombus will never get lost in a barbecue area and disturb a party there. If you are in the garden, you should not put on flowery perfumes or wear colorful clothes. Because both attract the bumblebees. However, anyone who wants to drive the insects out of their nest, for example by fumigation or with insect spray, is also liable to prosecution here. Because these measures destroy the animals. Due to the Species Protection Act, not only the bumblebee nests are protected here, but also the bumblebee colony itself.

Live with the bumblebees

Learning to live with them is better than driving bumblebees away or gently removing bumblebee nests. Because these animals are important for nature and pollinate the blossoms of the fruit trees and other fruits. So anyone who has a bumblebee nest in the house or garden in the ground should be happy about it. The right behavior towards the friendly insects makes living together much easier. Therefore, the following measures should be taken if the bumblebee nest is not to be removed:

  • do not wear bright colors when gardening or on the patio
  • avoid wearing floral perfumes
  • Fly screens prevent bumblebees from flying into the apartment
  • if one has lost its way, then it usually sits by the window
  • Put the glass over the bumblebee and slide a piece of cardboard or paper between the pane and the glass
  • so spend the Bombus outside and released into freedom
  • remember that these insects never sting in flight
  • never hit at the bumblebees, because if they fly around people, it does not mean an attack
  • if you feel threatened, warn before you sting
  • in the nest, bumblebees stretch out the middle leg as a warning, then the area around the nest should be left quickly
  • even if the bumblebee is lying on its back, pointing out its sting and buzzing loudly, this is a sign of defence
  • rapid withdrawal can thus avoid a stitch
  • if you take all this into account, you can live well with a bumblebee nest in your environment

Bumblebee nest – correct behavior

Anyone who discovers a bumblebee nest in their garden should be happy at first. Because such a nest means that the garden is ecologically sound. Due to the protection of species, such a bumblebee nest must not be destroyed under any circumstances, not even thoughtlessly and due to gardening work carried out. Therefore, if a bumblebee nest was discovered, the following initial measures should be taken:

  • Mark bumblebee nests lying in the middle of a bed with small flags or sticks that are stuck in all around
  • Educate children about the nest and explain that the bumblebees should not be disturbed or even teased
  • Like their inhabitants, ground bumblebee nests are under nature protection and may therefore only be moved in the last emergency
  • this implementation may only be carried out by experts, if only for the reason that a hobby gardener could find himself in a dangerous situation
  • the animals feel threatened in such a case and can then react very aggressively together
  • have the family tested for possible allergies to be absolutely sure

If you don’t know exactly how to deal with a bumblebee nest and its inhabitants, you can also contact a beekeeper. These men of the trade know exactly how to behave when bumblebees want to defend their nest in the garden. Since they have learned how to deal with these animals correctly, they can give helpful tips and tricks on how the garden lover should deal with a nest and its inhabitants in the garden. In doing so, he will learn that it is not a problem if there are bumblebees around.

Tip: Especially when children are part of the household, it is a great experience for them with nature when they can watch the busy fat fellows around their nest from a certain distance.

Other Measures

Once the bumblebees have made themselves comfortable in a roller blind box, they will quickly get into the apartment through the open window. To prevent this from happening, it is advisable to put a mosquito net in front of the window. The window can be opened, but the animals cannot find their way in. If the nest is under a stairwell, then it is also possible that some insects will get lost through the front door into the apartment. You can remedy this with a flower pot that blocks the direct approach to the house. Unfortunately, there are no direct measures to drive away the little animals. But you can take precautions in advance:

  • In winter, seal off all places where bumblebees could nest
  • these include: cracks in the wall, blind boxes, old bird nest boxes near the house and holes in trees
  • Sow flowers far from the patio
  • Only cultivate green plants on the terrace that do not interest bumblebees
  • Keep an eye out in spring when extremely fat queen bumblebees are looking for a suitable nesting site
    • this is usually the case with the first rays of sunshine and on frost-free days

Another help is to set up a so-called bumblebee boarding house in winter in a far corner of the garden where the fat fellows do not disturb. This can be an old aviary or simply a wooden box into which the animals can slip through cracks. However, care should be taken here that the holes for the inlet are not so big that even small birds can fit in. Otherwise tits or sparrows use the place as a nesting place, which is not wanted in this case.

A nest box for a bumblebee nest can also be built in a far corner of the garden. With a flower pot, hose and nesting material, which can also consist of dog or cat hair, this is quickly done. If you don’t want to build one yourself, you can also buy a bumblebee nest box in stores.

Tip: If you behave calmly and don’t make any hectic movements when one or more bumblebees fly at you, then the insects will fly right past without bothering about the person who was standing in their way.

Conclusion
Bumblebees are leisurely insects that don’t bite for fun. Only when they feel extremely threatened do they bite after announcing it. Therefore, the coexistence between the useful animals and humans is actually quite relaxed, and the cute little animals do not necessarily have to be driven away and the bumblebee nest removed.

Kira Bellingham

I'm a homes writer and editor with more than 20 years' experience in publishing. I have worked across many titles, including Ideal Home and, of course, Homes & Gardens. My day job is as Chief Group Sub Editor across the homes and interiors titles in the group. This has given me broad experience in interiors advice on just about every subject. I'm obsessed with interiors and delighted to be part of the Homes & Gardens team.

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