Oh no! By yesterday, nine tubes in my mason bee nest had been completed and sealed off, and I was feeling pretty chuffed about it. I went to check this morning and found most of the tubes on the ground and all the sealed ones broken into. What makes matters worse is that it has been raining, so the cardboard tubes were wet and presumably could rot; I've brought them into the house with the aim of carefully drying them off but in all probability they're a write-off.
I know woodpeckers can attack mason bee nests. We have woodpeckers in the garden regularly, but until now they've shown no interest in the bee nest and have focused on the peanut holders. I believe it's possible to make a kind of wire netting mask to hang in front of the bee nest to deter woodpeckers, and will give this a try. Any comments?
Red Mason bee disaster
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Garlic_Guy
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Sorry to hear this Ken.
On several times over the past few years, I've come home to find some of the tubes partially pulled out of the outer brown casing.
I've always assumed it was magpies, or somesuch. In warm weather, the insect activity around the mouth of the nest is very obvious and an observant predator might pick this up.
As you say, a "bubble" of chicken wire around the end might be enough to keep varmits off, without affecting the bees' ability to get in & out.
Funnily enough, I always admired the spiders that wove webs outside my mason nests. To the best of my knowledge they never caught anything as the bees just blundered straight through!
Finally, if the dried tubes are still intact and the mud sealing at the end not broken, I think you might still be lucky. Let us know how it goes.
On several times over the past few years, I've come home to find some of the tubes partially pulled out of the outer brown casing.
I've always assumed it was magpies, or somesuch. In warm weather, the insect activity around the mouth of the nest is very obvious and an observant predator might pick this up.
As you say, a "bubble" of chicken wire around the end might be enough to keep varmits off, without affecting the bees' ability to get in & out.
Funnily enough, I always admired the spiders that wove webs outside my mason nests. To the best of my knowledge they never caught anything as the bees just blundered straight through!
Finally, if the dried tubes are still intact and the mud sealing at the end not broken, I think you might still be lucky. Let us know how it goes.
Thanks, Colin. The tubes seem to have dried out OK and I'll put them back in their holder today. Unfortunately all the seals appear to be broken, so I don't think the outlook is good. I'm just hoping it's not too late in the season for the bees to have another go.
I'm pretty confident that woodpeckers are the culprits. We've got at least one family - adults and fledglings - in the garden, and a couple of times yesterday, when one of them was disturbed on the peanut holder, it flew to the post that supports the bee nest, where two espalier apples meet. Also on the now defunct Oxford Bee Company site, they warned that woodpeckers could be a problem. As usual, I've only myself to blame!
I'm pretty confident that woodpeckers are the culprits. We've got at least one family - adults and fledglings - in the garden, and a couple of times yesterday, when one of them was disturbed on the peanut holder, it flew to the post that supports the bee nest, where two espalier apples meet. Also on the now defunct Oxford Bee Company site, they warned that woodpeckers could be a problem. As usual, I've only myself to blame!
