Comments on: How To Build A Bumble Bee Nest

By: Thomas W.

Thomas W. — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 10:06:41 +0000

@Brenda: I hope you’ll attract some bees for your peach trees then Check out Thomas Winther’s post too: http://www.renewablesathome.com/ecology/how-to-build-a-bumblebee-nest

By: BRENDA

BRENDA — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:54:51 +0000

Thank you so much. I’m trying to save some peach trees.

By: Thomas W.

Thomas W. — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:46:42 +0000

@Anthony: We actually have a wasps nest right outside our bedroom windows. The windows are often opened a bit in the top but the wasps stay outside.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:17:35 +0000

Yeah the bee is no problem mate, they just go about their business and love the plants in the garden. Because the house is old and needs repairing in places they find places to nest and even though i’m not keen I let them live wherever they build a nest. On the plus side it’s good for my garden!

As for wasps, well 1 thing is for sure, I keep well away from them!! But not to be outdone I have a nest in the loft (seen them going under a slate on the roof) There is NO WAY I am going up in the loft anytime soon I can tell you!!!

By: Thomas W.

Thomas W. — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:56:22 +0000

@Anthony: Thanks I hope I’ll be able to build a box and attract bees deliberately some time in the near future, but of course it’s nice that they find places to live anyway. Bees near a bedroom window shouldn’t be a problem, but wasps would probably be quite irritating. I think the wasps around here are aggressive this year. I don’t know if it’s the same in Sweden, although it’s close to Denmark.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:32:06 +0000

Interesting post mate and i’ll bookmark it as the other half keeps going on about building a box for bees.
At the moment though I don’t need it as a bee has made her nest under the spare bedroom window of my house in Sweden!!

By: Thomas W.

Thomas W. — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:19:42 +0000

@ang: As I see it the reason for cleaning the nest is to prevent the bees from getting sick, but in your case the bees are thriving, so I guess there’s no problem to fix.
Good luck attracting bees to your condo

By: ang

ang — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 03:32:50 +0000

I have a bee condo that was filled up last spring. The new bees are emerging. Will other bees use that condo again? I can’t very well wash it, it’s either being filled or is filled at all times. I see that other people say to scrape it clean but I don’t see when there is an inactive time for it.

By: Thomas W.

Thomas W. — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:19:39 +0000

@Thomas Winther: All great ideas, thanks

By: Thomas Winther

Thomas Winther — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:58:05 +0000

Your box looks sturdy and good, but I think bumblebees might not realize they can nest there.

One of the bumblebees’ favorite nesting spots is in old mouse nests, so you could try to a few things to imitate those:

1. Lower the box, so the entrance is closer to the grounds. Most bumblebee species prefer entrances close to the ground.
2. Attach a footlong garden hose length to the entrance, bury the mid-section and let the end peek out of the dirt. This makes it resemble a mouse nest more.
3. Claw away plants near the hose entrance, mice do this around their nest entrances.
4. If you can find some mouse droppings, scatter them around the entrance.
5. You should make at least two or three ventilation holes (cover them with plastic netting to keep ants out), especially if your box receives any amount of sun during a day. Bumblebees need a particular temperature range, and with only one hole it might be hard for them to maintain this.

I made my own bumblebee nest from an old flower pot a little while ago, check it out if you’re interested:
http://www.renewablesathome.com/ecology/how-to-build-a-bumblebee-nest