I think if any bird was to go in it would swiftly get rid of the bee! I don’t think it would put them off, but I know how concerning it can be! I absolutely love bees & encourage them to the garden, but don’t want them near my nestboxes Maybe someone more experienced may be able to help. I do know, there seems to be a lot of bees hanging around my nest boxes too, every time I hear one on the tv audio I do panic a little. i think a few people on the forum have had these visitors, if the box is low enough maybe you could open it up and let it fly away.
Hi Phil....I have had bees checking out all of my boxes but they haven't stayed long. I had one in my roosters box today and as it left the force from its wing beats lifted all the feathers off the floor and sent them flying about. I'll see if I can post the picture tomorrow. It was quite a sight.
Dust if you must but wouldn't it be better To watch the birds ...........
There have been no avian visitors to the box for a week now, and it's unlikely there will be this late into the season. Ah well, at least the box is ready extremely early for next year ;-)
That's a bummer Phil. I'm in the same boat, as is Karen and maybe a few others? Seems to me we that have had a lower success percentage overall than last year, but perhaps my memory is skewed because I can only remember the successful nests from 2018?
Hi, Phil, I had same problem, what is it with all the wasps this year!?.??? I blocked mine up after Bluetits stopped visiting because of wasps. Male started coming back flapping his wings furiously at entrance hole, so took tape off and got one of those fake wasps nests and put it about 3ft away from nestbox. Wasps stopped coming, Bluetits returned awhile later and 1st egg today after starting nest late last Monday 15th
A great tit took a peek at the box yesterday but jumped away after looking inside. I suspect the wasp was in there at the time and spooked the GT. I've never heard of using a fake wasp nest before. It looks like some people have had success with something as simple as a brown paper bag. Worth trying!
This is what I use, I bought in my local big Hardware store, you get 2 in a box. It’s also supposed to keep wasps away so recommended round BBQs etc.,. Can’t swear that is what stopped the wasps visiting, could have been a total coincidence...but who cares....I’ll try anything
I think I'm going to try one of those as I too have been getting interest by wasps. They do seem to be having bumper year don't they? I also heard or read somewhere that they don't like mint. Maybe throwing a few mint leaves in might keep them out? I once had bluetits that added a few bits of mint onto the top of the nest. I wonder if they had the same idea?
Dust if you must but wouldn't it be better To watch the birds ...........
I decided just to seal the entrance. The wasp was still inside, so a quick tap to disturb it. After it flew out (and I may have ran away a bit :-)) I plugged the entrance with a coke bottle lid. It was the perfect size.
The box has been without a nest twice before, but those years I also had active swift nests. I moved a few years ago and have never got the swift boxes up at the new place.
From a visit this morning, this bird seems to be tapping the entrance - something I've only seen them do in early spring. I wonder if it's thinking about roosting here. I've never had a winter rooster in any of my boxes before. I can't quite make out the species.