The fuzz

There was much excitement with this recent swarm removal. This one was the 7th call and the 3rd successful removal. I got to try out our new swarm boxes from Mannlake which worked out pretty good for this one. The box is a little small but it has some nice features. It keeps everything nice a ventilated and has a plug for the bee entrance once I get it home. It even has places I can hang 5 frames to make it a temporary hive. On to the removal!

I get a call from bee control again and he puts me in touch with Sergeant Tom from the Carnegie police department. These bees had landed on a road barrier in the middle of a small neighborhood in front of an apartment complex. This would be the first time the swarm ended up on an object rather than in a tree or bush. The fun thing about this removal was the special police treatment. They blocked off both sides of the road with their cop cars and got their lights blinking. I felt like a super hero! As luck would have it the swarm wasn't that large and they were very easy to work with. The barrier wasn't secured together so I could easily lift it from the legs and lower it to the box. A few shakes and a few brushes with some weeds and we had the majority of the swarm. 15 mins – wham bam thank you mam’m!

This was the furthest I've driven yet and it was during very bad traffic conditions so more than an hour each way. No donations for this one so I had to fit the gas bill, which was a good 15$ or so driving the SUV. From this one I learned that it’s not at all out of the question to ask for a small donation $20-$40 bucks is fine and helps to cover initial hive expenses and most importantly the gas!

As far as a name, we really didn’t think that far ahead. Sticking with the Dr. Seuss theme we thought “Horton” would be fitting. Otherwise “The Fuzz” in honor of the police escort.