What to do with about 10,000 house guests...

[coppercoins]

Heh...me in a fight with those bees...I would lose for sure. No joke, there are tens of thousands of them. They are currently sleeping, pasted to the outside wall of the house next door. Their swarm measures approximately 4 feet high, 3 feet across, and about six inches thick. They look like a tumor stuck onto the side of the house near ground level.

As for "farms" near where I live...about 20 miles east of here start the Florida orange groves. Hundreds of thousands of orange trees as far as the eye can see. Bradenton is the home of Tropicana, the plant is about five miles from my house. Semi loads of oranges come into town by the dozens during picking season - and the oranges we get from the grocery store are from California - what a hoot! The blossoms are out now, smells like a perfume bottle outside the groves. It's a nectar smell, nicer than honeysuckle and not quite as noxious.

The neighbor has someone called who will remove the bees and give them a good home. I wish I could be around to see it happen, but it will be during the day tomorrow while I'm gone.

[JeanK]

It is fun to watch from inside your locked and bee-proofed house.
As far as the citrus trees... they can be quite odoriferous. You are lucky there aren't any onion fields nearby to add to the odors. It can be quite overwhelming.
Jean

[jallengomez]

Heh...me in a fight with those bees...I would lose for sure. No joke, there are tens of thousands of them. They are currently sleeping, pasted to the outside wall of the house next door. Their swarm measures approximately 4 feet high, 3 feet across, and about six inches thick. They look like a tumor stuck onto the side of the house near ground level.

You'd be surprised at how docile they are when they don't have the instinct to protect a hive. I've captured quite a few swarms, and always did it in jeans and a t-shirt. I was stung occasionally, but usually only when I accidentally smashed one getting them into the new hive. If you had a hive body, you could basically walk over to the swarm and brush them, thousands at a time, off the wall and into their new home.

[liveandievarieties]

That's really cool Chuck. With colony colapse disorder eliminating the vast majority of the world's bee population, most people don't realize how that would effect us, literally the end of our own species.

I was in Phoenix a couple of years ago in March, I've never smelled anything as amazing as the wafting of citrus blossoms, an amazing fragrance that I'll never forget.

[tone541]

wow, we really learn about everything here on LCR.

[wapa]

Yikes Charles that is one big swarm. Move around in the dark and if light out, walk very slowly. You get any pictures of the swarm. It would be neat to see.

[atarian]

What to do with 10,000 guests??

You put something out for your guests. Wheat thins in a. Bowl would be nice. Maybe some spanish dip to spice it up.

Just a few suggestions for ya ;)

[BadThad]

I'm just glad to hear you didn't kill them. Bees are in short supply and VERY important to the ecosystem. My family has strict orders to NEVER kill any kind of bee.....not a single one. Honestly, I've never been stung by a bee, only wasps and hornets. I have a lot of plants that attract bees, they are very non-agressive. I can put my hands all around where they are collecting pollen they could careless about me....I've even had them land on my arms, I just shoo them away, no problem.

This 3 part series is pretty interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL60265xQz4&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLDAB4E1AA9CE389E1

[Maineman750]

Glad to see some education on honey bees getting spread around here...my neighbors were Peed Off when I first got mine...till I clued them in on the importance of bees.I've been stung twice and only because I was digging into their hive and pulling things apart...otherwise they just ignore you.

[pman860507]

Glad to see some education on honey bees getting spread around here...my neighbors were Peed Off when I first got mine...till I clued them in on the importance of bees.I've been stung twice and only because I was digging into their hive and pulling things apart...otherwise they just ignore you.

Are you my boss? If so i guess i need to get off during work hours? oh wait you're on so i can be on right? Just crazy because my boss told me the exact same thing 2 weeks ago about his bees.

[copperlover]

This experience is very interesting and I hope it has a good outcome. Thanks for sharing Chuck.

Lucien

[flyhi3]

The pastor of my church is a beekeper, and he has removed swarms of 30,000+ bees. Too bad he lives so far away from you here in pa, I would like to meet you in person! He has hives all around the county. He'll tell you they arent agressive. it's TRUE!!! I have only been stung 3 times, and everyone was when I stepped on one in the grass. Hornets and wasps are the agressive ones. Last year we had 5 colinies of yellow jackets in holes in our yard, 1 huge nest of yellow jackets in our attic, a huge coliny of bumble bees in a hole in our yard, actually the colony was so big that they were coming out of 3 holes in a 10 square foot + area, and a honey bee swarm. The honey bees and bumble bees were the only non-agressive colinies. In fact, I was attacked by the yellow jackets (when I ran over their hole hiden in the tall gras I was cutting with a PUSHMOWER) I had to leave it running and run AS FAST AS I COULD to the house to avoid getting 50 stings. Luckily, as strange as it sounds, I got stung by one quickly, or I wouldn't have noticed them till there were 50 on me. It was 88 or so that day and humid. When I looked down 20 minuets later, they were all over and around the pushmower which was only being held in place by a bush. Thank god that bush was there, beause at the bottom of the steep VERY steep hill was our pond, and push mower and pond with fish in don't go well together.
I am very happy to hear the honey bees will not be killed, they are much more important than most people know! Kudos to you and your neighbor.

[jallengomez]

What's the daily scoop on these Chuck?

[willbrooks]

Thank god that bush was there...

He's been out of office for years.

[jallengomez]

He's been out of office for years.

We can still blame him though.