Stung?
Scrape a bee sting out with a fingernail or the edge of a card; don't pull it, which may squeeze the venom sac. Wash it, then hold a cloth wrapped ice pack on it for 15 minutes. If the person has an adrenaline autoinjector for anaphylaxis, use it straight away, then call 000. Call 000 too for noisy breathing, a swollen tongue or throat, a wheeze or collapse.
Whose bees are they?
In your house or yard
The City of Greater Geelong says owners and occupiers must remove pests from their own property, and the council doesn't do it on private land. Bees in your wall cavity are yours to have dealt with.
In a park, reserve or on a footpath
The council puts bee and wasp problems in public open spaces first, and asks for a call between 8am and 5pm when someone finds a beehive on its land.
On the Barwon River tracks
Bee and wasp nests turn up often along the river walking tracks, the council says. North of Queens Park Bridge they're the council's to handle; south of it, they belong to the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority.
A cluster on a branch, or a colony in the wall?
A ball of bees hanging from a tree, fence or letterbox is a swarm on the move, with a queen, looking for somewhere to build. Victoria's Department of Health tells pest businesses to pass bee enquiries like that to a beekeeper or the Victorian Apiarists Association, and anyone keeping a hive in Victoria has to register as a beekeeper.
Bees flying a steady line in and out of one gap in the brickwork, eaves or roof have already built comb inside. Some beekeepers will collect a colony from a wall; when that isn't possible, it becomes a pest business job. Our bees page covers both in more depth.
When they've moved into the house
The technician first finds the entrance and works out roughly where the comb sits. Treating the colony is the start; what happens to the comb afterwards matters too, so ask whether it will be taken out or left in the cavity, and whether the gap gets closed once the bees are gone so another swarm doesn't move in.
The job grows with height, how hard the comb is to reach, and whether a section of lining or roofing has to come off. A written quote should spell those out.
Making a Geelong yard less inviting
- Pick up fallen fruit, which the council calls a major food source for bees and wasps.
- Keep sweet drinks and food covered outside in the warmer months.
- Check eaves, vents and wall gaps, and have them closed once any colony is gone.
- Keep children and pets away from any cluster or busy gap until it's sorted.
Where we'd start with bee removal in Geelong
A swarm hanging in the open: ring a beekeeper while it's still there. Bees going in and out of the house: keep everyone back, don't spray the gap, and tap Bees with your postcode.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
