Bees

[bookslover]

I awoke this fine Saturday morning to discover two or three bees in my kitchen, and I heard what I felt was significant bee-buzzing in the air vent over my stove. Called Orkin, the exterminator. Guy shows up, checks out the house (inside and out), front yard, back yard, garage. No bees.

His best guess: a colony was flying on the "bee highway" in the sky when the Queen got tired (women; go figure) and alighted atop my air vent on the roof. Of course, the colony gathered to her there and a couple of the dumber bees got caught in the air vent, thus finding their way into my kitchen.

Best part: since it was an inspection, with no action taken: no charge! I'd been warned that it could cost about $300 to get rid of bees.

Bees.

Ick.

 

[Jeri Tanner]

I've had two family members who had to hire a bee keeper to come and capture the queen, and do whatever else you have to do when removing a colony of bees from a building. It was pretty expensive! Glad your bees were just hanging out for a while.

 

[Tirian]

Wherever possible don't kill bees! So important to our food production globally! Bless them

 

[Jerusalem Blade]

What's happening to the bees in the US is really serious. It will greatly impact our food supply.


2013: Scientists discover what’s killing the bees and it’s worse than you thought – Quartz

2015: Honeybees dying, situation ‘unheard of’ - The Washington Post

 

[bookslover]

I asked the Orkin guy what his opinion is of the killer bee situation. He thinks (and he's worked for Orkin for ten years and has had three encounters with killer bees in his work) is that the standard European honey bee is slowly taking the ferociousness out of the killer bee population through interbreeding. Not sure I believe him. It might be a line he's been told to tell the public so as not to overly alarm them about killer bees (though I think the "overly alarming" horse left that barn years ago).

 

[LightBringer]

Excessive use of pesticides not only hurts us, it hurts the ecosystem. I remember how it impacted the Stork populations in California when I was a kid. These bee colony deaths is the same kind of thing. Humans are being effected by pesticides too. They spray RoundUp on Wheat and Soy to kill off the green part of the plant a few days before they harvest the seeds. Some people are getting health problems from wheat and soy products now.

 

[yeutter]

It should not cost $300 to get rid of honey bees. I know bee keepers in Michigan that would be happy to come and capture the hive.

 

[bookslover]

It should not cost $300 to get rid of honey bees. I know bee keepers in Michigan that would be happy to come and capture the hive.

Except it would cost them at least $300 to come to California and back!