Honey Bees - legal protection?

[benedmonds]

Please only answer if you can back up your answer or are sure you are correct!

 

I am pretty sure there is no legal protection for honey bees, I have done a google search and not found any evidence to the contrary. But 3 separate people including someone told by a council pest controller have said that they are..

 

I know that they are under threat.. This particular nest is 9 ft up a rotten poplar so we could try and seal off the nest and crane the whole thing off but I reckon the cavity will run to the base so we will end up with some angry bees..

 

Also bee keeper has said they are unlikely to survive being moved at this time of year!

[Stubby]

Please only answer if you can back up your answer or are sure you are correct!

 

I am pretty sure there is no legal protection for honey bees, I have done a google search and not found any evidence to the contrary. But 3 separate people including someone told by a council pest controller have said that they are..

 

I know that they are under threat.. This particular nest is 9 ft up a rotten poplar so we could try and seal off the nest and crane the whole thing off but I reckon the cavity will run to the base so we will end up with some angry bees..

 

Also bee keeper has said they are unlikely to survive being moved at this time of year!

 

Like you I have had a good look all over and can only find some , and only some , states in the U.S. Nothing in the U.K.

[SteveA]

I keep a few hives and had a general interest in bees, also collected a number of swarms in various scenarios.

I've not heard anyone mention that honey bees are protected before so this would be news to me.

 

Sounds like an ideal opportunity for somebody to get their own natural log hive.

I'd be interested in seeing photos of this job!

 

In theory you could cut it into sections to make lowering more manageable and stack them back together in the same order at ground level .... but in effect it would be similar to moving a hive a short distance and the bees won't like that!

 

cheers, steve

[Two Acres]

I had a honey bee nest in my house. They were getting in under a facia board. I had a private pest control company come out and take a look (the council don't do it any more). He told me that honey bees have legal protection but as I had young children and the bees were a danger to them then he could destroy the nest. Unfortunately there was no other solution (we did consult a local beekeeper). Hope thats helpful.

[Stoatally]

This is quite interesting

 

It seems that Bees aren't protected per se, but there may be some kind of ownership issue if its a swarm from an owners hive.

 

There's also a code of practice for dealing with feral bees

 

http://www.bbka.org.uk/local/lincolnshire/bm~doc/living-with-bees.pdf

[benedmonds]

...I had a private pest control company come out and take a look (the council don't do it any more). He told me that honey bees have legal protection .....

 

It's statements like this from "professional pest control companies" that are confusing the issue.. I can find no legal protection in the UK...

 

Apparently there could be 60kgs of honey in this nest!

[Stoatally]

One of the larger pest control companies state categorically there is no protection

 

Are Bees Protected by Law

[SteveA]

It's statements like this from "professional pest control companies" that are confusing the issue.. I can find no legal protection in the UK...

 

Apparently there could be 60kgs of honey in this nest!

 

It's not been a good year for honey flow so chances are they would need whatever stores they have to see them through the winter.

cheers, steve

[Robbo90]

Just found this. It might help

 

 

 

Swarms

 

The BBKA is a small charity with limited resources and it relies on a dedicated team of volunteers to collect swarms in public areas. In the office we have just four members of staff, and receive up to 300 phone calls a day asking about swarms. Around 75% of these are about insects other than honey bees, so please go to our Do You Have a Swarm page to check whether the insects you need advice on are actually honey bees.

 

Please do not call our beekeepers about bumblebees or any insect other than the honey bee. They are unable to help you with these and will not collect/remove them.

 

Our speciality is the honey bee. For information on other insects and bees the organisations listed on the Do You Have a Swarm page are better placed to help you.

 

Head Office

 

British Beekeepers Association, National Beekeeping Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG

 

Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.00pm

 

Telephone: 0871 811 2282 or 0871 811 2337

 

Phoning 0871 from a landline

 

Caller pays 24p for the first minute then 9p per minute thereafter,

 

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Emails

 

Please send emails to [email protected]

[Two Acres]

It's statements like this from "professional pest control companies" that are confusing the issue.. I can find no legal protection in the UK...

 

Apparently there could be 60kgs of honey in this nest!

 

Hello Ben, to try to clarify my statement I've remembered who I used, it was a company called Abate. They charged me £100. Heres what the say about honey bess on their website:

 

Honey Bees

The honey bee is the only bee in this country that swarms and this is usually from mid April until early August with May and June being the months with the greatest activity. A bee swarm will only leave a nest in bright sunny weather and when there is little wind.

 

'A swarm, when settled, will hang in one mass from the branches of a tree or shrub, garden furniture, hedges, walls of buildings or inside chimneys. Bee swarms that settle in chimneys may after a couple of days start to build a nest. The nest will survive until the winter, but due to lack of food or disease, may die before the following spring.

 

If a bee swarm is easily accessible then Abate can appoint a Bee Keeper who may be contacted to collect the swarm to establish a new colony. It is not recommended that the householder attempt to treat a bee swarm or nest. Honey Bees are not considered as pests and are very beneficial to the environment. Abate does its utmost to avoid destroying any bees nests and will only do so as a last resort. Due to legislation, costs to destroy a bees nest can be very expensive.'