Identification

If you have not already done so, please first confirm that you have bumble bees via our identification page.

Bumble bees are very docile

They're extremely docile and it requires significant effort to make them want to sting you. They'll die out at the end of the summer. Therefore our recommendation is always to....

Leave them alone

Our first recommendation is always just to leave them alone. This is the particularly true if you have just noticed the bees without having done anything to uncover them like lifting a shed/decking. If they're been there for weeks without you even noticing, do you really need to move them?

Bees recently disturbed

If the bees have recently been disturbed, such as by removing a shed or by undertaking other building works, it is more likely that the bees will need rehoming, as their shelter may be gone. Note, we cannot excavate or dismantle brickwork, etc, to go hunting for bees.

Peacefully nesting

When bees are harmlessly and peacefully nesting, such as in your eaves or chimney, we refer you to the first point above - it's far better for you, them and us if you just leave them alone. They won't hurt you. They won't damange your house.

Bees in a bird box

We can rehome these for you. If the bird box can be easily lifted off its hook in one swift motion, we can rehome for you in just one visit (taking the birdbox away). If it requires unscrewing, it's likely to be a two-visit operation, and the fee will be slightly higher for petrol.

Where do you take the bees?

Home. The bees will live in my garden. As above, they're docile and short lived.

How it works

• We speak on the phone and encourage you to leave them alone, often successfully. You convince us that it's necessary to remove the bees.
• For scenarios other than removable birdboxes, it's a two-visit process.
• We come in the day and investigate, for which there is a small call-out fee (see below). Usually we can move the nest into a cardboard box, which remains adjacent to the old nest until dusk. This allows the bees that are out foraging to return (if we took the nest away immediately, the foraging bees would return later and be very confused).
• Then at dusk we return to close the box and take it away. There's a second small fee for that.
• Note that this means the bees won't be gone until the night of the day we come - we cannot remove bees instantly.

How much does it cost?

We are careful to ensure that removing bees is cheaper for you than calling an exterminator (not that reputable exterminators will kill bees, but disreputable ones might). But we also need to make sure that our team are not called out frivolously.

We are fully insured but can only charge "reasonable expenses". Beekeeping is a hobby, not a business, and the following fees only cover our expenses; we do not profit.

• Advice on the phone where we encourage you to leave them alone - FREE
• Call out to come and have a look, and if possible box the bees for later collection - £15
• Second visit at dusk to collect the bees - £10, making it £25 in total
• Single-visit bird box removal - £10 to £15 depending on distance

Discretionary discounts are usually applied for households with an excellent attitude towards the bees. Households that use certain phrases of the bees will exempt themselves from consideration for a discount.

Contact us via phone

You can use WhatsApp or a voice call.

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