SOUTH SOMERSET NEWS: Busy summer with bumble bee problems!

SOUTH SOMERSET NEWS: Busy summer with bumble bees problems!

PEST control officers at South Somerset District Council have been busy this summer dealing with a 23 per cent increase in calls for help and advice with bumble bees.

The team believe the increase is probably due to higher numbers of the Tree Bumble Bee, originally from mainland Europe but now found in most of England and Wales.

The Tree Bumble Bees are a bit more active and nests are probably more obvious than those of other bumble bees, which is why the team is getting more calls. The bees will often set up home in empty bird boxes.

The council’s principal environmental protection officer, Vicki Dawson, said: “The bees are not aggressive and are vital for helping pollinate our garden plants, so our advice would generally be to leave them alone and let them do their work.SOUTH SOMERSET NEWS: Busy summer with bumble bees problems!

“However, we recognise that some people are allergic to stings, or that in some cases the bees have nested a bit too close for comfort. In these situations our officers have tried hard to re-home the bees, mostly with great success, as we do not want to see any bees destroyed.”

Officers from South Somerset District Council have also worked alongside the beekeeping association who do great work picking up swarms of honey bees where they can.

An example of this was a recent swarm that had settled on a bench in OakTreePark at Abbey Manor.

A local beekeeper was contacted and was able to safely collect the bees and take them to a more suitable place. The Bumble Bee Conservation Trust has more information on their website at www.bumblebeeconservation.org/about-us/.

Cllr Peter Seib, speaking about the recent swarm at OakTreePark, said: “The first I knew of it was seeing some temporary fencing around the seat and a sign warning about the nest.

“I'm pleased we have so much experience in the council's environmental health team. We aim to protect the public but in this case the bees needed protection too.”

Since January 1, 2014, the environmental health department has received a total of 2,315 calls. A total of 1,063 of those calls were pest control related and 149 of the pest control calls were bee-related.

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