Amateur bee removal 2 July 2009

Bees had invaded a crack between the stucco and the chimney flue. Starting a fire in the fireplace didn't drive them out, nor did bug bombs in the fireplace. Finally we resorted to some amateur bee removal techniques: a $10 painter suit from Home Depot, $5 worth of screen door screen and a roll of masking tape. I poured about half a cup of Sevin insecticide powder down the crack, stuffed it with steel wool, and caulked over it with a whole tube of caulk.

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[cmahar3]

It was a Tyvek suit, not a kevlar suit. LoL

[cmahar3]

The chimney was masonry, made of cinder blocks. WE couldn't hardly tear the cinder blocks apart to get the bees and honey out. What were we supposed to do? I killed the bees and plugged the hole.  No more bees, and so far, 6 months later no problems with honey or dead bees or smell or anything.

[cmahar3]

I bought a kevlar suit at Home Depot. $10. Leather gloves I already had. Bought mesh for screen doors. $4. A whole tube of caulk, $3. And a bag of steel wool. $5. Wore good boots. Taped up all openings. Used about a cup of sevin dust my dad had. So for $22 I solved the bee problem. Poured the dust in, then stuffed steel wool into the crack, which bees can't chew through. Caulked up the opening. Took longer to get dressed than to fix the problem.

[joby613]

@Duboisi Yeah, the wax and honey and bee carcasses will cause problems later. The honey is hygroscopic, which means it'll absorb moisture. As it does, it will start to stink as it molds. It also can leave stains that are unpaintable. Not to mention the fact that the bees, honey and wax can attract vermin.

[Duboisi]

What happened to the wax and honey trapped inside the hive?

Did they find any alternative entrance?

Guess the honey might have been eaten out by the bees trapped inside. But the wax may melt and create problems later on.