Bee Report

The bee guy came today. He surveyed the situation and asked me, "Have the bees been bumping you or acting in any aggressive manner." "No," I replied. "Shouldn't be too bad then," he said. He then proceeded to suit up for the "extraction". He put on light colored coveralls, heavy gloves and boots. Then he tucked his sleeves into the gloves and his pant legs into the boots. And, for good measure wrapped these areas with duct tape. Of course he wore the traditional bee keeper hat with the netting which I think he tucked in also. I wanted to stay and take pictures, but I was wearing short sleeves and flip flops--not a good idea. I went inside and watched from the window. The "extraction", as he called it, is really just another way to say extermination (sorry, all you bee lovers). It took about 30 minutes of spraying before he knocked on the door to say he was through. He explained that since a lot of the hive was out foraging that I would still see bees because they would naturally be returning to the hive, even though it no longer existed. The spray he used deters as well as kills, so most of the bee activity should be gone in a couple of days. He'll be back then to caulk up the space so this won't happen again. In the meantime, he left me with a bee fact and some advice, "Bees are attracted to the output of carbon dioxide from a person's breath. So if you are ever attacked by angry bees, just hold your breath and run. That usually gives you enough time to escape." "Thanks," I said, "I'll try to remember that."