I had honey bees in my bin last month! What an experience for me. It began on a Sunday afternoon when I noticed a few bees, which I thought were yellow jackets, hovering over one of the bins. I thought for sure there was something tasty in there, and they would hang out for the day and be gone by evening. That was definitely not the case! By nightfall, I went to check on the bin and was sure they were gone. I lifted the lid to hear a humming sound. I was freaked out. There was a swarm on the bedding. I quickly slammed the lid and ran inside, realizing I have a phobia. My heart was racing and I was sweating. With the help of my husband, we put up yellow jacket traps, a lot of them! Come Monday morning, I thought they would be gone for sure. Instead they were busy working on making bin number 2 their home, by developing a hive. I called an all natural type exterminator, and they were here within a few hours. He examined the bees and was rather excited to tell me I had a swarm of honey bees. I knew I could not kill them but needed to have them gone! I discussed various options with friends and family, searched the web, and made many, many phone calls. Then by early evening, I had my solution! I found a bee keeper in Bend who was looking for a swarm. She came with her gear, white suit, mask, box and dust pan and broom. I was so happy to see her!!! She charmed the bees into the box by using an old honey comb. After an hour, she had them and was on her way. To see more images click on the image.
Honey Bees in my Worm Bin
by Wonder Worman | Aug 28, 2008 | Red Wiggler World | 2 comments
Does the beekeeper in Bend have contact information? Or could you let her know I’m interested?
After the horrible bee denuding that’s been taking place all over the country for the past couple of years, first i want to say THANK YOU for not killing them. and THANK YOU SO MUCH! for getting them to a bee keeper to nurture and flourish. This is just fabulous news! Yay for you and your experience and your level headedness and your perserverance and for doing the right thing.
— Noni