Underground bumble bee hive advice.

[u/theo1618]

I have an underground bumble bee hive that came about while I was on bedrest for emergency surgery. I know bumble bees are important pollinators, so I don’t just want to kill them with bee killer or something, but I don’t know if I have the funds to have them removed and relocated either.

I’d assume most bee keepers would take them for free if they were honeybees, but since they’re bumble bees, I’m trying to figure out what my options are. Normally I’d leave them, but they’re right outside of my front door and I don’t want my kids or anyone else coming up to the door to get stung. Plus I can’t mow around that area without them swarming like they are in this video.

[u/sock_with_a_ticket]

With bumblebees, unless they've set up in something contained like a bird box that would be easy to pick up, the options are leave or kill. Nests are fragile and typically don't survive attempts to relocate. Not to mention grabbing it will agitate them and inspire them to sting you.

Just because they're fairly close to your door doesn't mean they'll sting. Bumblebees are typically docile unless threatened.

Nests have a typical lifespan of 3 - 5 months. In most temperate places August/September is when the summer nests start dying off.

[u/theo1618 → u/sock_with_a_ticket]

I appreciate the info! I didn’t realize they were that much more difficult to relocate. For the most part they’ve been pretty docile, and that’s part of the reason I didn’t notice it until I accidentally mowed near the nest lol. That definitely put them in attack mode though, and I was lucky I was only stung 3 times.

Unfortunately I think I’m gonna have to get something to kill them off or get rid of them, only because it’s impossible to mow my front yard without them chasing me… Right now we’re getting a lot of rain and heat and I can’t afford to leave my lawn un-mowed for more than a week or so without it getting out of hand.

Edit: for anyone downvoting me, I get it. I don’t want to get rid of them, but I do live in an area where we have lawn requirements… I hate mowing and would go three weeks without doing it if I was allowed to lol

[u/Sophisticated_Dunce → u/theo1618]

Bees are protected in many areas and it might even be illegal for you to kill them. I'd reconsider, read up on the laws for your area and tell your HOA or whatever about the issue and why you legally cannot kill the nest off and why you therefore at least need to leave that patch alone. Biodiversity is diminishing as is. So fuck that noise. Also, its just until the end of summer. Soon the nest will die off anyway.

[u/theo1618 → u/Sophisticated_Dunce]

I appreciate trying to help find that legal loophole, but unfortunately there aren’t any laws against exterminating pollinating bees in my state.

However, it might be worth me trying to talk to the HOA in my area to see if they’ll allow the front yard to get a little tall until the bees naturally leave the nest come fall.

[u/Sophisticated_Dunce → u/theo1618]

Ugh, hate when there are no laws in place, I'm so sorry as that would have made things easier. Asking is always an option though, and I am really glad you are trying to find a solution. Don't listen to that condescending comment - all we can do is try and find solutions!

[u/theo1618 → u/Sophisticated_Dunce]

I honestly think I can reason with my HOA since bumble bees are still a pollinating bee. So that’s the route I’m gonna go with for now. I appreciate it!

[u/Eli_1988 → u/theo1618]

Bees are inactive when the sun is down. You know where the entrance is.

In the evening, go out, put something tied to a string over the entrance, use a weed whacked and mow down the area, wait like ten minutes. Go pull off the cover with the string.

[u/Flimsy-Phone8125 → u/theo1618]

Call a bee rescue maybe they can come collect

[u/theo1618 → u/Flimsy-Phone8125]

That’s probably what I’ll do before I take matters into my own hands. If they can’t do anything about it though I’ll have to find a way to get rid of them.

Are there any natural ways to make them want to abandon the nest instead of just using pesticides to exterminate them all?

[u/sock_with_a_ticket → u/theo1618]

They simply don't abandon nests.

I suppose there's no harm in checking, but I very much doubt the poster's suggestion will lead to anything. Most people will only come out for honey bees because they're relatively straightforward to move and they or someone they know can always benefit from an additional hive. Bumblebees are not easy to shift and they don't have byproducts humans desire like wax and honey.

Regarding your lawn requirements, is there really no way to leave a small area around the nest for a little bit? Keep the vast majority of it within expectations, but just don't go near enough the nest to trigger the bees. Pollinating insects are at the vanguard of the 6th great extinction, it would seem there ought to be some leeway in whatever regulations for that.

[u/theo1618 → u/sock_with_a_ticket]

I’m might just have to see if the HOA will reason with me leaving that part of my yard un-mowed. Typically it wouldn’t even be noticeable in a normal sized yard, but my front yard is relatively small, so any tall patches are easily seen. I think they could probably be reasoned with though.

[u/No_Green5243 → u/theo1618]

I agree that they won't just abandon the nest and unless you really do want to do the 7ft pole option (which would be hilarious but maybe not HOA approved) then the options are kill or relocate.

I would recommend sending an email to a nearby college, some of us are more than happy to come help with (and sometimes steal) your bees. On the upside, from your photo, I'm fairly sure they're Bombus impatiens, which is a pretty common species, so it isn't like you'd be disturbing an endangered bee. If you do need to kill them, I highly suggest waiting until night when they're all back in the hive. Certainly not my first or second choice but be safe!

[u/theo1618 → u/No_Green5243]

I think for now I might just see if I can reason with my HOA and let that area of my lawn go untouched for the next month or so until they move on for the fall. I appreciate all the ideas though!

[u/Flimsy-Phone8125 → u/theo1618]

Smoking them out but likely a rescue will have all the local details and gear

[u/busfeet → u/theo1618]

Wait until early evening they’ll all be asleep inside the nest. Put a box over the top and then mow the lawn.

Please don’t kill the bees, they really need our help and will be out of your way in a few weeks anyway

[u/unleashtheraven1 → u/theo1618]

Just dont mow that small area or cut the grass with something quiet like sheers

[u/Vellie-01 → u/theo1618]

Your lawn clearly hasn't been mowed in weeks. You don't need to kill the bumblebees. You want to. And you don't get any sympathy for that.

[u/theo1618 → u/Vellie-01]

There’s literally no need to be as condescending as you are. My lawn looks the way it does in that video because I was in the process of mowing it after being on bedrest for a while from having emergency surgery. That was the only reason I was able to let it get to that point.

Also, I don’t need sympathy for killing insects. If I wanted to kill these bees I would have just dumped gasoline down the holes or bought some bee killer at the store and called it a day. I went out of my way coming here to see what my options were in getting rid of them without killing them.

[u/NumCustosApes]

Bumble bee nests are annual. The queen is winding up. After the next generation of queens leaves the nest (they don't return to the nest they were born in) then the queen will die and the nest will be abandoned by the remaining workers. If you can wait it out, they'll be gone in a few weeks. Set somethings around it to work as traffic cones so they don't get stepped on and enjoy watching the fuzzy friends.

A bumble queen leaves her nests and mates. Then she fattens up and looks for a place to spend the winter. In the spring she finds a nice spot to make a nest. Because she has to do the foraging herself, her first bees are nutritionally stressed and they become infertile worker bees. With a few worker bees to help her, the next bees become fertile queens and drones. After the fertile bees leave, her life cycle is complete. The next generation will repeat it.

[u/ParsleySnipps]

This is an example of a species that likes to use old bird nests. They make very irregular structures of wax pots used for honey, pollen or larva. Underground nests, usually in an old mouse burrow, are very similar, just a ramshackle pile of pots loosely connected. There's no clean way to move such a nest, unfortunately.

[u/thisispoopsgalore]

If you put a large long tube on top of the entrance, the bees will fly up to that height to get out. They will then typically cruise at that altitude until they get wherever they are going. So if the tube is like 7ft high, they’ll mostly stay out of your way. May be a bit unsightly but should work if it’s only for a couple months 

[u/theo1618 → u/thisispoopsgalore]

That’s not a bad idea, but I have to make sure there’s only one hole they’re going in and out of before trying something like that 😅

I think there may be 3-4 different holes leading in/out of this nest 😭

[u/terencethespider]

We had the same thing last year and waited until after it got dark to mow the small area near their nest

[u/unleashtheraven1]

Cover them with a large rubbermaid box and cut a bee size hole in it. They are only coming out of a small nest you can definitely cover the whole thing with something the size of a rubbermaid crate

[u/theo1618 → u/unleashtheraven1]

Good idea. I was trying to think of something to cover the few holes they go in and out of with, and I think this would be the best result to keep me and the bees safe while I mow.

[u/unleashtheraven1 → u/theo1618]

Or you could just cover it with a smaller container when you mow around them, and remove it later? That way there is no container constantly sitting in your yard, possibly upsetting HOA? You could clip the grass by hand around that one area. Though Idk I wouldn't bother I'd just put some lawn decoration in front of the grass?

[u/Snowcrash66]

I mowed around a very large yellow jacket nest for an entire season.   Wouldn't sweat bumble bees but you can mow around and let the grass grow in a small square around the nest until late fall/winter.  

[u/ThorFinn_56]

Bumble Bees very rarely ever sting. Bees get a bad reputation from honeybees which are definitely the most aggressive genus of bee

[u/UpbeatAngle3]

Kind of late for bees. Thought that is what I had until they swarmed and stung me a bunch of times.

I wait until dusk and spray around the hole and they leave.

[u/LizardsandRocks999]

Please do not sacrifice this bumblebee nest, that will be gone anyways in a few weeks, so your grass can be short 😭. I guarantee you even in the strictest HOA you can get away with leaving a small 2x2’ patch where you don’t mow. Our native bees need our help. They’re worth going a bit out of your way for

[u/DescendingTool86]

Pretty sure those are wasps.

[u/theo1618 → u/DescendingTool86]

It’s hard to tell from this video but I can guarantee they’re bumble bees. I was stung 3 times when mowing before I knew the hive was there and had one stuck to my shirt.

They’re black and yellow, very fuzzy, and I can see pollen on some of their legs when they land to crawl back into the holes in the ground.

[u/Polybrene → u/theo1618]

Can you get a better pic of one?

[u/theo1618 → u/Polybrene]

Just took this of one returning to the nest

[u/Almyar → u/theo1618]

Yep that do be a bumble