Remove the bee nest from the roller shutter box

Many wild and honey bees, as followers of cultures, seek proximity to humans in order to nest here. The dark cavity in the roller shutter box is just right for the insects to build their nests. Affected residents are now faced with deciding the right course of action, beyond irrational fears. This guide will familiarize you with various options for safely removing a bee nest from the roller shutter box without harming people or animals.

Are bees dangerous?

Can they sting? – This question immediately goes through the heads of the residents of the house when the buzzing of bees sounds from the roller shutter box. However, this question is just as paradoxical as the question of whether dogs bite. Here it is suggested that the four-legged friends only run around to seize every opportunity for a hearty bite into human legs or arms. This is of course not the case any more than wild bees and honeybees fly around in a bad mood looking for people to sting them.

In fact, bees are equipped with a defensive spine that has developed from former laying tubes. Since males did not have a burrow at any time during their evolution, they do not have a defensive spine and cannot sting. Female bees never use their stingers against humans out of sheer aggressiveness, but only in dire need, when there is no possibility of escape. With the sting of the skin, the end of the bee is sealed. The stinger is barbed so the entire stinger is ripped out of the insect and the bee dies. As long as bees and bumblebees don't feel threatened and see a way out, people will be spared their stings.

From this point of view, there is no reason to panic if a bee's nest is discovered in the roller shutter box. The bees do not pose any immediate danger. You can wait in peace until the incubation is over and the bees leave the nest. If there are small children, elderly people in need of help or allergy sufferers in the house, continue reading these instructions. In the following you will learn sensible procedures for removing a bee nest from the roller shutter box.

Bees are protected

The global insect die-off continues to pick up speed and does not spare wild bees and honey bees. Since 1952, the number of domesticated bee colonies has almost halved from 2.5 million to 1.4 million. More than half of the 560 wild bee species in Europe are endangered. The dramatic decline has prompted legislators to place bees under nature protection as a specially protected species.

Specifically, it is illegal to catch bees, kill them, damage their nests or even just disturb the insects. Violations will be punished with fines of up to 60,000 euros. Therefore, if you want to remove a bee nest from the roller shutter box, special procedures are required that are in line with the Nature Conservation Act.

First point of contact for beekeepers

It is up to the expert to tell the difference between wild bees, native honey bees and bred high-performance bees among the many hundreds of bee species. If a colony of bees has obviously chosen your roller shutter box as their nest, contact the local beekeepers' association. Here you can find out which beekeepers in your area are relocating a swarm of bees free of charge. The experts are also at your side with advice and action on the correct way to deal with wild solitary bees.

Relocate instead of destroy

Bees only nest in the roller shutter box when they are denied species-appropriate and natural options. In most cases, these are wild bees or solitary bees that prefer to be in security of rotten tree trunks would make their nest than in the unsafe and noisy surroundings of one shutter box. This is especially true if the roller shutter is raised and lowered every day. If you offer the insects an alternative nesting place outside the home, the workers will quickly discover it. After a thorough inspection, the little people resettle. With this strategy, you can get rid of the bees' nest in the roller shutter box without coming into conflict with the Federal Nature Conservation Act, harming the insects or being stung.

You can build species-appropriate nesting aids yourself or buy them in specialist shops for little money. In the following, we present recommended models that motivate bees to move out of the roller shutter box:

nesting sticks

Well-seasoned hardwood of any kind is perfectly suited as a home for cavity-dwelling wild bees. Beech, oak, ash and the wood of fruit trees can be transformed into an enticing nesting place in just a few simple steps. In contrast, softwood is too soft to work with and swells when wet, potentially crushing larvae or cocoons. How to build a nesting aid yourself:

• Use pieces of logs, thick branches or beams that have been dried and debarked for several months
• Use a wood drill to drill holes with a diameter of 2.5 to 8 mm
• Depth of the drill holes up to the drill chuck of the drills
• Do not completely pierce the piece of wood
• Each hole is at least 10 times longer than it is wide

Please make sure there is a sufficient distance of 1 to 2 cm between the drill holes so that no cracks form. Move the borer back and forth until the walls of the nest hole are smooth. Sand off any sticky wood fibers at the entrance. Residual drilling dust has disappeared after a light tap.

hollow stems

Bees leave the inhabited roller shutter box in no time if there is a vertical nesting aid made of hollow stalks nearby. Elder sticks, bamboo tubes, blackberry tendrils or mullein stems are excellent for this purpose. How to construct an enticing bee hotel from stalks:

• Cut the selected plant stems into pieces 15 to 20 cm long
• Place the stems upright in a container that is open at one end and closed at the other
• Remove any mark beforehand with a cordless screwdriver or a screwdriver

To prevent the plant stems from being pulled out of the container by bird beaks, coat the lower end with wood glue and press it against the back wall.

interlocking tiles

If there are interlocking tiles nearby, bees quickly turn their winged backs to the uncomfortable, noisy nest in the roller shutter box. The bricks are made of fired clay with about 10 to 12 parallel hollow chambers. These run through the flat longitudinal axis and have a round access at both ends. With a diameter of 6 to 8 mm, the tubes for cavity-dwelling wild bees are just right for raising their offspring. This is how a bee hotel is constructed from interlocking tiles:

• Integrate bricks upright into an existing insect house
• Alternatively stack in a tower on a pallet or joist or incorporate into drywall
• Close the tubes on one side with plaster, untreated padding wool or organic cotton

Sharp-edged or deformed openings can be shaped with a stone drill. Commercially available interlocking tiles are 40 cm long and can be divided into two halves with an angle grinder. The tiles are available from roofing companies, on the Internet or from the manufacturer Creaton.

Set up nesting aids - tips for protection against predators

A sunny, warm spot on the south, west, or east wall of the house is a good spot to attach a nesting aid. Ideally, the location is well protected from wind and rain. Shady locations are unsuitable for a bee hotel. Nesting aids that are hung in the tree, shaded and dangling in the wind leave bees on the sidelines and prefer to stay in the roller shutter box.

To prevent birds from attacking the bee nursery, equip the nesting aid with protection. In practice, blue plastic nets and wire mesh with a mesh size of 3 x 3 cm, which are attached at a distance of 20 cm, have proven their worth. The very close-meshed bird protection nets, on the other hand, are woven far too finely for bees to be able to pass through the mesh to reach their nest. Moreover, the green nets have proved to be death traps for birds and hedgehogs.

 Tips for Prevention

Bees don't even consider an insect-proof roller shutter box as a nesting place. Therefore, subject the roller shutter with box to a close inspection in March, in good time before the queen bees start looking for resistance. You can carry out the following preventive measures yourself:

• Provide the stop strip on the roller shutter with a brush strip or profile rubber seal
• Replace roller shutter stoppers with brush strips
• Seal up possible loopholes with plaster, silicone or adhesive tape

Clove oil has a repellent effect on bees, bumblebees and wasps. Coat the roller shutter box, the window frame and the joints with essential oil and refresh the paint regularly until July. Please note that according to the Nature Conservation Act, all defensive measures must end once bees have started nest building.

Learn more about wasps & hornets