Squatters have been annihilated...

[gcvmom]

The bee guy just finished -- the slaughter is over and the last of the bees are in their death throes...

OMG you would not BEE-lieve the hum from them inside the ceiling and wall!!! He really riled them up. Made the hair stand up on the back of my neck!

About two dozen plus fell to their deaths out of an opening in an old hardwired smoke alarm in the ceiling above the top stair landing.

The guy probably pumped chemical spray in the outside entrance for a good 20 minutes.

He said he could hear them pretty well, too. Said it was a pretty large hive -- at least 3,000 to 4,000 bees in there. You sure wouldn't know it from the outside. It was cold this morning so there was no activity even when the guy got here.

He's writing up the bill now. Ugh.

 

[Shari]

You set up a sting to get rid of some beeeeeeeez?

teehee

Hitmen ARE pricey...

 

[gcvmom]

Oy! You're tellin' me! $195 bucks!

But at least the bee guy was cute in his beekeeper suit!

 

[DammitJanet]

3 or 4K??? oh my! Well glad they are gone. You couldnt live with that many in your house. I get a wasp in my house once in a blue moon and I run screaming from whichever room it is in yelling "kill it, kill it!" LOL.

I am telling you, you are a better woman than I am with all your bees, bugs, and snakes. But of all those things, the snakes scare me the most. I would be hauling a shotgun around with me at all times. I wont even go in the woods here because of snakes. Tony had to move the chickens up to the front yard so I could feed them because I refuse to go into the woods...lol. At least where it is clear I can see a snake and shoot it.

 

[gcvmom]

I bet your chickens would kill the snake before you even saw it! Mine are decidedly vicious when it comes to any other creature that they think is a threat or invading their turf. They've killed mice and lizards, they chase off other birds and they have NO fear of the cats, which now avoid them at all costs!

 

[DammitJanet]

Oh my chickens can take pretty good care of themselves but a chicken snake can slither right in under a hen that is setting on a clutch of eggs and steal eggs. We once saw a snake that was about 12 foot long! Scared the wee wee out of me!!!

As far as the cats, the chickens we raise (gamecocks) really dont mind our two cats too much. The cats have learned not to mess with the BIG boys because they have big spurs...lol.

 

[Star*]

Not to go all Environmental on your bee guy - but.....um.....honeybees are disappearing at an alarming rate - and the beekeepers are supposed to get the queen and relocate the hive? (oky doky I do NOT want that job but)

What kind of bees were they?

If they are Africanized do I get a cookie? - how about a honey maid graham?

 

[gcvmom]

Well, he would've had to tear open either my ROOF or my WALL to get at them! I know, I felt bad about it too, but sometimes you have to resort to drastic measures. And sadly, yes, they were regular honeybees

We've had to "deter" swarms at least once a year here -- they usually try to set up shop in the garage. And I've had two hives removed by a hobby apiarist that were easily accessible in the yard. So for only having to destroy one hive in 18 years, I think we're doing pretty good. We are very bee-friendly here We don't use any pesticides in our yard and we have lots of native and non-native flowering plants.

 

[Hound dog]

I don't think he could've transfered a hive inside a house. Too bad for the bees though. Here they thought they'd found a prime location..........and wham!

The grands planted sunflowers for them last year. And I've got some bee friendly flowers. But Nichole has to go get her epi pen from the doctor. She's allergic.

 

[gcvmom]

DL, my nephew is allergic, too. Bees and fire ants. He found out the hard way when they lived in Texas and he stepped on an ant mound. They got him to the ER in time, and now he carries an Epipen everywhere.

 

[Star*]

I'm more allergic to epinephrine than I am Bees - both cause me to go into shock so the doctor said - take my chances with the sting.

 

[Wiped Out]

Oh my, I probably would faint if I found out I had that many bees in my house. I'm like Janet who goes running from the room if there is even one!

 

[Marguerite]

Um... possible bad news here. If there is any honey left behind, you risk another swarm finding it and setting up house.

We had a hive in a difficult place in the building where I used to work. It was an old Gothic-style sandstone building with a large chimny that strwtched from the basement to the roof, through all floors. We couldn't light fires in it any more because all along the chimney laboratories had used the chimney as an exhaustfor fume cupboards. and somewhere just below the roof line, three metres below the exit to the sky, the bees had built their hive.

We called the exterminators in - our laboratory was three floors down and people were getting stung. The exterminators killed the bees and we were fine for another year, then the bees were back. or to be more precise, new bees had moved in and said, "thank you very much" for all the honey.

I don't work there any more. husband works in the building next door. He heard how just last year they finally got in an apiarist group to remove the hive, honey and all. It was a big job, but worth it. Even if you have to kill the bees first (a pity, but if it's inaccessible...) then you still need to remove the combs.

Sorry about that...

Marg

 

[gcvmom]

The bee guy (I know, apiarist) said it takes 3 days to form comb and 7 before they have honey. Since they only just started swarming last Thursday, and Saturday we think was the day they officially moved in, he felt we were pretty safe and early enough in their setting up house. Plus, he caulked the holes where they'd entered the attic and sprayed a "bee deterent" chemical all around the area -- it's guaranteed for 30 days.

We'll see...

 

[Marguerite]

Sounds good. Fingers crossed that if there IS any honey there, it's such a small amount that ants will clean it up before any bees find it.

The hive I mentioned would have been at least 20 years old from when I first knew about it to when husband says they finally removed the honey. Chances are it was old when I first noticed the bees, I suspect in previous years they either ignored it or smoked them (before the fume cabinets were built). That building would be 150 years old, the hive could have been consecutively occupied for most of that time.

A bit longer than your hive! Unless, of course, your swarm was taking advantage of a previous hive not known to you... or is yours a new house, you the first owners?

I'd be keeping a long-term eye on the integrity of that caulking. You probably have a very inviting house.

Marg

 

[gcvmom]

The house was built in 1987. We are only the second owners, here since '91. I don't think we've ever had a hive in the house before. They've TRIED to set one up in the garage numerous times, but I've always been able to discourage that

We'll keep an eye on it for a while

 

[susiestar]

I am glad you got them out, and out early enough to not have to deal with removing the combs, etc...

I would have been TERRIFIED to hear all the bees in the walls. I have a real phobia about them. I am sorry they had to be killed iwth all the problems bees have been having globally, but you had to keep your home and family safe. Imagine what would have happened if you ever tried to sell and had a hive living there!