helping out – Company Bee Blog

Tornado Bees

Rolling Fork, MS, was hit by an EF4 tornado. The town is destroyed. Cars on top of houses. Tractor trailers thrown through houses. Houses on top of trucks. The entire town looks like a Hollywood set for a post-apocalyptic thriller. Three days after the storm, one of my co-workers, a lovely woman who works asContinueContinue reading “Tornado Bees”

Love on the Battlefield

The setting of the National Cemetery at the Vicksburg National Military Park is one of the most peaceful ones imaginable. The rolling loess hillside, graves in neat rows, each section terraced to provide a continuity among the gathered dead. Oak trees, expanded to their full canopied width. Magnificent magnolia trees, filled with heady blossoms. AncientContinueContinue reading “Love on the Battlefield”

Duff Green Removal, Part 2 (Or How I learned to avoid the sting and love the bomb.)

So most of the time, when I get a call to remove bees, it is because the bees have begun to migrate inside the house.Not this time.This was the second hive removal from Duff Green, and the one that I was most worried about. With the first removal, I was able to stand, kneel, sit,ContinueContinue reading “Duff Green Removal, Part 2 (Or How I learned to avoid the sting and love the bomb.)”

Taking, Pried In my Work, with a Stinging Postscript

Back at it.(If you just want to read about me getting stung repeatedly, skip to that part of the story at the bottom of the entry, under follow-up:)I was determined today to remove the eave bracket and get at the honeybees inside. Suited up, grabbed the crowbar, and started crowbarring.The first part of the removalContinueContinue reading “Taking, Pried In my Work, with a Stinging Postscript”

First Job – FAIL (for the moment)

Last Monday I set aside the time to remove the bees from Duff Green. Quick in, quick out, two hives of bees to relocate.The result was awful. An unmitigated failure.The space is not enough to get the hydraulic lift in, said Harley. But, she said, we have some really long ladders – 60′ or so.OK.AboutContinueContinue reading “First Job – FAIL (for the moment)”

First Job of the Season

I feel a little rusty. For a while last summer, I was doing honeybee hive removals pretty regularly, and I had my toolkit together, and knew what I needed to do, and in what order. Each one presented new challenges, but I had the pieces covered.Now it has been months, and I have a littleContinueContinue reading “First Job of the Season”

Late-Season Removal

The bees were pretty aggressive. That was a change.The lift. Bees were located betweenthe two windows on the rightSeveral months ago, Mrs. Joyce Clingan called me and asked me to remove the bees that were in the corner of her home. We had planned to schedule the removal to coincide with the fixing of herContinueContinue reading “Late-Season Removal”

My "Not Bees" Contract

“I have a large cone of bees on the window of my house, and I need someone to remove them. Can you come?”I don’t know how Ms. Eloise found me. It doesn’t matter. I love getting out and finding out where bees have showed up and invaded people’s personal space. She sounded concerned. A littleContinueContinue reading “My "Not Bees" Contract”

Vacuuming the Bees

You meet with the person in charge of the auditorium, and are immediately put at ease by his easygoing demeanor and easy smile. After showing you how to find the ladder, Mr. Artiss opens the door to let you hook up the vacuum. You have coordinated with a co-worker to meet you and hold theContinueContinue reading “Vacuuming the Bees”

Cone Trap – Brushy Mountain Bee Farms

So you have decided to buy a commercially produced product. Great. It is even inexpensive. $2!But they charge $14 shipping. For an item that is literally the size of a matchbox.Undaunted by their exorbitant shipping costs? I mean, you are going to spend money on screen wire, unless you cut it out of your neighbor’sContinueContinue reading “Cone Trap – Brushy Mountain Bee Farms”