A customer sent in a few photos of mason bees for advice.

They were going in the weep holes of his windows to nest. They are often found in some numbers but are solitary bees meaning they act individually and each female bee is fertile and produces its own egg and young.

They use small gaps in mortar and brickwork to lay eggs. They will lay one at the bottom and place a pile of pollen next to it for the grub to eat when it hatches. They then put a small clay cap and repeat the process. There can be 7 or 8 eggs arranged down one hole.

As the bees are not protecting a queen they are non aggressive and can be carefully handled. They do have the ability to sting but the sting is very light and not especially painful.

Treatment for them is simple. Insecticide is put in to each hole the bees are going in.

The bees don’t cause any property damage so they can be left to complete their lifecycle. The adult bees are the only part which can be disconcerting for the homeowner and that part of the cycle is usually done within a few weeks.

Pest Control Liverpool

MerseyPest

0800 206 1905