Phil O'Keefe Posted August 19, 2005 Posted August 19, 2005 Bees. Lots of bees. I mean, LOTS of bees. Aggressive, swarmed bees. There's a clump about twice the size of a basketball located at about head height, in a tree on the side of my house, and there are literally hundreds more flying around the area. 50 feet away from where they're clumped, and they're still flying towards me aggressively. And yes, I'm allergic to bees. After about an hour of searching and calling, I finally found the correct number for the county vector control (after being told the county no longer does bee removal by another "helpful" county employee ). But they usually take a week - or more - to come out and remove them. I was told that the colony may decide to move along of their own free will - in the next two to three days. But I put in a order to get them removed anyway. If they do decide to relocate on their own, I can always cancel the order. I appreciate that bees are useful and important, and I'm glad they exist... I just don't want them deciding to take up residence on MY property. And you thought YOU had it bad Lee.
Members blue2blue Posted August 19, 2005 Members Posted August 19, 2005 I probably don't have to say this but -- please -- be very, very careful!
Members boosh Posted August 19, 2005 Members Posted August 19, 2005 Burn the suckers!!! And the Tree and the backyard!!! Or maybe just play them something I recorded,...Yeah that'll scare the black stripes of their backs
Members Lee Flier Posted August 19, 2005 Members Posted August 19, 2005 DANG... that sucks Phil! But I didn't call no steenking county to remove my wasps, I hadda do it myself, AFTER getting stung by a buncha the little bastards... least I'm not allergic to them though. Hope they're gone soon. But hey, I'm doing a session tonight and I guess you're not, so can you go slap some people around in the political forum for me?
Members gearmike Posted August 19, 2005 Members Posted August 19, 2005 Good thing we didn't have a BBQ or anything scheduled... Actually, you should try putting your BBQ near the clump and making a lot of smoke...if you could get close enough... Phil, if you want me to come and play bee keeper tomorrow let me know...
Members Johnny Storm Posted August 19, 2005 Members Posted August 19, 2005 Yikes. What a bummer, Phil. Bee careful, man. Maybe you could call a beekeeper to come out and take them away, oar something. (??)
Members Robman2 Posted August 19, 2005 Members Posted August 19, 2005 Phil, Call a bee keeper, it will cost more if you lose consciousness, studio fees and a weekend with the kids. Rob And we do have th Afrikaner bees out Phil's way now days.
Members Rabid Posted August 19, 2005 Members Posted August 19, 2005 Hope they do not move into a wall of your house. If they are domestic you might find a keeper willing to come and get them. My dad used to have 10 hives and gave away a lot of honey. One night a bunch of boys got drunk and turned them all over. Distroyed every bee house and ended the free honey for a lot of people. Robert
Members Counterpoint Posted August 19, 2005 Members Posted August 19, 2005 Phil, Aren't there any private exterminators who can take care of this problem?
Members franknputer Posted August 20, 2005 Members Posted August 20, 2005 Originally posted by gearmike Actually, you should try putting your BBQ near the clump and making a lot of smoke...if you could get close enough... Even better - get Fox & Bunny to drive down & make a lot of smoke. Then you can clean them up with a broom & dustpan.
Members skunky_funk Posted August 20, 2005 Members Posted August 20, 2005 I guess Steve Vai can have a good conversation with you... http://www.vai.com/AllAboutSteve/bees/
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 20, 2005 Author Posted August 20, 2005 Originally posted by franknputer Even better - get Fox & Bunny to drive down & make a lot of smoke. Then you can clean them up with a broom & dustpan. No... they'd probably raid my fridge. The bees, the Bunny AND the Fox. Not that I don't enjoy it whenever the guys come down to visit.
Members Tedster Posted August 20, 2005 Members Posted August 20, 2005 A local beekeeper explained the use of smoke to me...if I remember correctly, it doesn't make the bees lethargic. It scares them. Bees' natural enemy is forest fires, and when they sense smoke, they go into a non-aggressive state of trying to protect their honey, not by stinging, but by consuming it. That's what makes them seem lethargic. I believe I got that correct. BTW...you're certain they're bees and not yellowjackets, right?
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 20, 2005 Author Posted August 20, 2005 Definitely bees Tedster... I took a few good long looks at the cluster - through some good binoculars.
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 20, 2005 Author Posted August 20, 2005 I'd be REALLY concerned if they were Yellowjackets... those things are REALLY nasty!
Members carya Posted August 20, 2005 Members Posted August 20, 2005 Yellowjackets ARE nasty. When I go outside for a smoke, I keep a fly swatter by my seat. After I kill 'em, I line them up as a warning to others. Those guys are really aggressive and like to get right in your face. My experience with them is you can swat them away, but don't mess with their nests. CA
Members LiveMusic Posted August 20, 2005 Members Posted August 20, 2005 To my knowledge, yellowjackets do not swarm. Honeybees do. They usually do not stay there very long. Usually gone in a few hours or maybe a day, the ones I've seen. You wouldn't call an exterminator. Well, I mean you COULD but what a waste. You'd call a beekeeper. Although, we now have had confirmed reports of Africanized "killer bees" being as far north now as where I live in Northwest Louisiana. I don't think I'd mess with a swarm of those guys, assuming they swarm. Which I guess they do, as they are about the same as honeybees except more agressive. Honeybees are not aggressive. Oh wait, you said IN a tree? Or ON a tree? Usually, they light on a limb. The queen lights and all the rest get on top of her. If there are IN a tree, as in a knothole, they might decide to be there permanently, as that's a good place for a home. But a limb is not.
Members Super 8 Posted August 20, 2005 Members Posted August 20, 2005 The way to get rid of bees is to run up and kick the hive really hard. It shows em who's boss. For added effect, try stripping nude and wearing a tiki mask when you charge them. It scares the bejeebus outta them. Oh, and make sure to take pics and put them online when you do this.
Members Lee Flier Posted August 20, 2005 Members Posted August 20, 2005 Yeah Duke is correct, you can call a beekeeper and they will generally remove the swarm for free.
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 20, 2005 Author Posted August 20, 2005 Yup, "live removal" would be the way I would go if they have to be removed. IIRC, the County does live removals. I could call in a beekeeper, but every single one I contacted yesterday was either on vacation, too busy or I got their answering machine. That's okay... I'm willing to wait a couple more days. If they have not moved off that branch (no, it's probably not a knothole or hollow that they could establish a hive in - it's not that type of tree and it's way too small) by Monday morning, I'll try the beekeeper route again.
Members Kendrix Posted August 20, 2005 Members Posted August 20, 2005 Phil, I expect you aleady are aware.. However...Please be careful with your dogs or any other pets on the property. My weimaraner just hates the bees and the jackets. They tend to hang out at my place because my wife maintains a thriving flower garden The buzzing gets to the dog and he goes into "hunting" mode. He's had a number of battles with these insects.He eats them out of the air when he can. Shadow has been stung more than once. One rash of stings landed him at the vet with a very puffy snout.Left on his own he could easily get into real troule with a swarm. Gotta love that animal spirit.
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 20, 2005 Author Posted August 20, 2005 The dogs are staying in the house as much as possible, and we've been escorting them out for their bathroom breaks. The cats I'm a little bit more concerned about, but I think they know better than to approach that many bees, and they tend to stay in a different area of the yard (away from the bees) anyway. I just checked about 15 minutes ago - the swarm is still there.
Members Tedster Posted August 20, 2005 Members Posted August 20, 2005 Originally posted by Super 8 The way to get rid of bees is to run up and kick the hive really hard. It shows em who's boss. For added effect, try stripping nude and wearing a tiki mask when you charge them. It scares the bejeebus outta them. Oh, and make sure to take pics and put them online when you do this. "Our solemn duty is to make you splurf"... - Phil O'Keefe Mission ACCOMPLISHED. :D
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