I can’t remember if I told you that we have honeybees that come to our house every year…but we do. Twenty-eight years ago we found a swarm of bees outside at the top of our chimney. We have a two story house so it was WAY up there. We contacted a bee keeper to come get them, but they were too high up. So, we had to resort to an exterminator. They killed the bees…leaving hundfreds of dead bees in our attic. The most horrible odor filled our house as the honey fermented.
The next spring, the bees came to the other side of the house outside the laundry room.
The next spring, the bees came to the other side of the house outside the laundry room.
This is a picture of a swarm of bees from last year. They were outside our house.
Yesterday, I was outside with Ginger Grace and Mr. Marty (my boyfriend {:]) came up to me and said: I don’t want you to freak out. HUH! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME??!! He then told me that the bees were back and the swarm was IN THE HOUSE! So, we closed the door to the laundry room qnd called a beekeeper. Beekeepers keep hives of bees to collect and sell honey. So the guy shows up with a funny looking head covering. HE DID NOT HAVE ON GLOVES! Shocking. Well, Mr. Beekeeper Guy proceeds to vacuum those bees right up. He said these were very docile bees—meaning they were calm. He told us that he felt sure he got the queen. He told Mr. Marty (my boyfriend) to buy some foam insecticide and spray outside the house where they were coming in. He said the rest of the bees would get the message and move on. We have a few bees coming it this morning, so we have killed those.
Honeybees are fascinating and helpful so we don’t want to kill the swarm. Beekeepers are happy to get the bees and don’t usually charge to remove the bees. It is a win/win situation.
I am going to show you a video of a beekeeper vacuuming bees.
Honeybees are fascinating and helpful so we don’t want to kill the swarm. Beekeepers are happy to get the bees and don’t usually charge to remove the bees. It is a win/win situation.
I am going to show you a video of a beekeeper vacuuming bees.
ONE MORE THING…Today is Earth Day. This is the 50th year that we have had a special day to stop and recognize our planet and think of ways to preserve Earth. This is also Mr. Marty’s birthday. He remembers the first Earth Day. He was in the 7th grade. He had a wonderful science teacher that helped him understand how important it is to be aware of the environment. At that time, the two biggest problems were air pollution and trash. A lot of laws were passed to change those problems. Here is the thing—Mr. Marty is now an Environmental Protection Specialist. It is his job to help take care of the Earth. My son, Charlie went to college and got a degree in Environmental Science. He works in a lab to be sure his company is not polluting our Earth. Listen to the cool book about Earth Day, Birthday.
