balderon
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Two years ago I had a swarm of honey bees invade one corner of my roof (right above the master suite). At the time I had the bees exterminated as it's not practical to attempt to harvest the hive plus most wild bees here are Africanized. The bee guy said he saw a hive just inside my roof next to the vents. At the time I couldn't afford to have the hive removed so I decided to leave it there. BAD mistake (read on).
About a year later I started being bothered by an annoying woodpecker. He keeps pecking on my home usually at 5am for at least a half hour. I didn't realize it at that time but the woodpecker was trying to get to the honey. I tried everything I could think of to scare away the bird. Woodpeckers are a protected species and I could not find any company willing to obtain the special permit needed to trap the bird. Each time I heard the bird pecking I went outside to see if I could do something to scare it away. But as soon as I got remotely near, it would fly away.
Eventually he made a hole large enough to gain access to my attic.
I would hear him scratching and pecking at my rafters where the old bee hive was. Fortunately there was a few very hot days when my attic temperature becomes very uncomfortable. Usually a bird will seek a cooler environment. That was my chance! One day in the afternoon it was very hot out and I knew the woodpecker was not in the attic. I covered the access hole with heavy mesh wire and secured firmly. I thought to myself "Peck through that you [insert numerous expletives here] bird". The woodpecker continued to peck on my home. At this point I was getting desperate. I knew the bird would do major damage to my home if I didn't do something.
I placed two large old fashioned rat traps (large mouse traps) near the point were the bird was pecking. This also happened to be the closest to the old bee hive. The traps were never triggered but the frequency at which the bird would visit my home was slowed down.
For the last two weeks I have been hearing weird noises in the bedroom at night. Last Sunday, I checked outside and discovered a swarm of honey bees once again making a home inside my roof.
I found a bee guy to come out Tuesday to exterminate the bees. Joy Joy even more lost work plus the expense.
Two days later, even more fun. The bee guy killed the bees but he said they did build a hive. He told me most likely the old hive attracted the bees to my roof. It was like an invitation for another bee colony to take up residence. You may ask, how do you get rid of the hive. Well that sucks too. The bee guy cut a 4 foot hole in my roof to extract the hive. There was about 5 pounds of fresh honey and wax in the new hive. He also was able to gain access to the old hive. He estimated there was close to 20 pounds of old honey under my roof!!! I am getting really cranky for my stupidity two years ago!
To complicate matters, there was a different area of my roof that had bees 2 years ago and I didn't want to have the bee guy cut another hole in the roof but common sense told me to bite the bullet. I asked the bee guy to open up the roof at that old site and remove anything he found. Well there was no hive but he did find about 150 dead bees under the roof. I suppose that was good news
So far the cost for exterminating the bees and cleaning out my roof was a mere 500$. Another company then repairs the roof after the bee guy is done. (I decided to go with the recommended repair company because I didn't have the time to shop around). To repair the roof they have to square up the hole and cut it larger to certain sizes due to some sorta building codes. To cost to repair the holes was another 1000$.
I was told by the contractor that he would be unable to make the repairs on the roof until two days. This is not what I understood when I agreed to have the holes cut in my roof! The contractor covered the holes with plastic and secured with roof tiles.
To add insult to injury there are dark storm clouds in the area and there is a 30%+ chance of rain today and tomorrow. The contractor stopped by today (at my request) to ensure the plastic is adequately attached to the roof to protect my home in case of rain. At the time of this post, no rain has fallen! Tomorrow the contractor should be here in the morning to fix the roof!
About a year later I started being bothered by an annoying woodpecker. He keeps pecking on my home usually at 5am for at least a half hour. I didn't realize it at that time but the woodpecker was trying to get to the honey. I tried everything I could think of to scare away the bird. Woodpeckers are a protected species and I could not find any company willing to obtain the special permit needed to trap the bird. Each time I heard the bird pecking I went outside to see if I could do something to scare it away. But as soon as I got remotely near, it would fly away.
Eventually he made a hole large enough to gain access to my attic.
I placed two large old fashioned rat traps (large mouse traps) near the point were the bird was pecking. This also happened to be the closest to the old bee hive. The traps were never triggered but the frequency at which the bird would visit my home was slowed down.
For the last two weeks I have been hearing weird noises in the bedroom at night. Last Sunday, I checked outside and discovered a swarm of honey bees once again making a home inside my roof.
Two days later, even more fun. The bee guy killed the bees but he said they did build a hive. He told me most likely the old hive attracted the bees to my roof. It was like an invitation for another bee colony to take up residence. You may ask, how do you get rid of the hive. Well that sucks too. The bee guy cut a 4 foot hole in my roof to extract the hive. There was about 5 pounds of fresh honey and wax in the new hive. He also was able to gain access to the old hive. He estimated there was close to 20 pounds of old honey under my roof!!! I am getting really cranky for my stupidity two years ago!
To complicate matters, there was a different area of my roof that had bees 2 years ago and I didn't want to have the bee guy cut another hole in the roof but common sense told me to bite the bullet. I asked the bee guy to open up the roof at that old site and remove anything he found. Well there was no hive but he did find about 150 dead bees under the roof. I suppose that was good news
So far the cost for exterminating the bees and cleaning out my roof was a mere 500$. Another company then repairs the roof after the bee guy is done. (I decided to go with the recommended repair company because I didn't have the time to shop around). To repair the roof they have to square up the hole and cut it larger to certain sizes due to some sorta building codes. To cost to repair the holes was another 1000$.
I was told by the contractor that he would be unable to make the repairs on the roof until two days. This is not what I understood when I agreed to have the holes cut in my roof! The contractor covered the holes with plastic and secured with roof tiles.
To add insult to injury there are dark storm clouds in the area and there is a 30%+ chance of rain today and tomorrow. The contractor stopped by today (at my request) to ensure the plastic is adequately attached to the roof to protect my home in case of rain. At the time of this post, no rain has fallen! Tomorrow the contractor should be here in the morning to fix the roof!
