In reply to bluebealach:
> Long story but they wont do any harm to me or the house -
yea, that pretty much sums it up.
your bee-keeper's right, I'm not surprised they tried to talk you out of removing them.
there's an ongoing problem with the overall decline of the bee population so you really would be doing you bit for the ecosystem.
unfortunately most pest control companies will kill off anything you pay them to.
bumble bees are totally not aggressive any will tent to just ignore you and go about their business.
they do have a stinger, but they're very reluctant to use it (I think they know it'll kill em), you really have to try pretty hard to get stung.
I'd give them all names and treat them as temporary pets