Stung by response to bees nest

9:00am Thursday 3rd July 2008

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By Charlie Crabtree »

WYRE Forest District Council has come in for stinging criticism from a Kidderminster woman left “gobsmacked” by its refusal to act when bees made her family’s life hell.

Debbie Thomson, 42, a mother-of-two, of Kendlewood Drive, explained the bees had only swarmed twice last year but in the past few weeks had swarmed inside the family’s home three times before the nest was finally destroyed by a pest controller.

She said she, her two children, Billy, 12 and Charlotte, 13 and even the family dog had been repeatedly stung, as had many of their visitors.

Miss Thomson said they had kept trying to cover up the fireplace but the bees found a way to escape, whatever she did.

“They would come down the chimney and literally fill my lounge. All the window sills, the carpet, everything was full of bees,” she added.

After neighbours raised concerns over their children being stung, Miss Thomson contacted the council.

She said: “The council told me they do not remove bees – even in very dangerous situations. Fleas and cockroaches, yes, but not dangerous stinging honey bee nests from chimneys.”

She said she was “amazed” when the council’s pest controller eventually came to her house and advised her to remove the nest herself by hiring a cherry picker, putting on a protective bee suit, climbing up the chimney, killing the bees and then capping the chimney.

Miss Thomson said: “I was gobsmacked. I didn’t even know what a cherry picker was.

“I am surprised I wasn't advised to get Winnie the Pooh in to do the job.”

She added she believes many other people in the district were given the same advice but said that a bees nest in the home was an “environmental health” issue that needed to be addressed.

“The council knew about the problem I was facing and wouldn’t do anything. It was awful. I couldn’t get anyone to advise me apart from them and they just told me to take care of it myself,” she said.

Miss Thomson has since had the nest removed by a commercial pest controller based in Wolverley. She said the job took two hours and the chimney was sealed.

Jane Doyle, spokeswoman for Wyre Forest District Council, said: “The council doesn’t treat bees as part of its pest control department.

“We advise customers to contact specialist providers for this service.”