Pest control, bees

[LDNBKK86]

Hi All,

I have a restaurant here in Bangkok, located in a nice leafy area. Since opening about 3 months ago, each night at about 7pm a number of bees, +20 are hanging around the doors, eager to get in. They don't seem to have much trouble getting in due to customers walking in an out of the doors. Upon each open / close, a handful of bees creep in.

Until now, there have not been any stinging incidents, but they are driving us mad as they are pushing away customers. Luckily we are mainly a take away place, but the bees are not helping at all.

We have located the nest, it's across the road about 20 ft up a large tree in the property adjacent to our restaurant.

We called the pest control guys, they came down and they gave a number of excuses why they wouldn't do it.

1. It was too high

2. They didn't want to kill the nest as it would be inhuman......

The second one threw me as I often see them spraying that toxic smoke into all the drains in the neighbourhood bot giving a rats ass about the damage it's doing to the environment.

They suggested that we waited until September when the bees would leave the nest. Then we should call them up and they would be happy to overcome the height issue and destroy the nest.

We called 2 pest control companies, I sense they were related as they both gave the same reasons for not wanting to help, and also suggests about waiting until the bees went to their holiday home in September.

What can I do?

As a temporary measure there are a number of non toxic items I can use to distract them, marmalade is mentioned on various articles online. Has anybody had any success using particular methods.

[mogandave]

Put on sleeves and a mask, and get a long stick of bamboo.

[impulse]

Pest control guys are not the ones you want.

You want beekeepers who will come and take the bees alive for their own use.

If they don't want to come get them (or know anybody that will), ask them how you can get rid of them.

[CharlotteU]

[farang000999]

Really not rocket science. Go to the motorbike stand and offer a reward for killing the bees. Or do it yourself. 20 ft is basically nothing.

Very unusual that the pest company turned you down.

[h90]

bees aren't pest.

[mogandave]

Ever been bit by a dead bee?

[humbug]

dont kill bees

just find beekeepers or wait till september when they leave their nest

the world needs living bees for polon in the eco system

[LDNBKK86]

I don't want to kill them, I just want them to leave our restaurant alone....

We have come to the conclusion that we will wait until September, then see what happens.

[LDNBKK86]

By the way, where do all these bees go in September?

[bina]

they are a commodity; find beekepeers , there are some on our forum, perhpas they woudlnt mind coming when the season fits to move them... here in israel hives get stolen!!! and honey is an expensive commodity on equal with goats, horses and cars among thievery gangs...check in the farm forum for the beekeeprs...

[mogandave]

If you knock the hive down, they will move.

[Ricardo]

Ever been bit by a dead bee?

yes, the sting still contains poison, so when you accidentally tread on a dead bee lying on the ground, you can still sting your bare foot.

[AyG]

The bees are being bothered by the light from the restaurant; normally bees don't fly after dusk.

Marmalade will do no good - they simply won't go for it. (Good for killing wasps, though - I've used it myself to protect my bees because wasps like ripping the heads off bees.) Bees will go for dilute honey or sugar syrup solutions, but you'd have to put the solution in the light, so that's just going to attract more bees to the restaurant.

Not sure why the bees should move on in September. Usually bees stay put in one place of years - until there's a problem with the location. They send off occasional swarms to reduce overcrowding and to start new colonies, but each time typically about half the bees remain behind.

As others have said, a beekeeper is the way to go.