nf6x
Feral Engineer
- 1,630
- 50
- 48
- Location
- Riverside, CA, USA
I have an unusual and annoying problem: A family of bees has decided to move in to my M543A2 wrecker. The front door to their hive is a hole where one of the mounting bolts passes through the wrecker body, right behind the center left wheels. To make matters worse, I have a flat tire right there that needs fixing, and I don't think the bees will appreciate me working on that a couple feet away from their home!
Those must be some smart bees, because they've built their home in a steel-armored bunker. I have not been able to figure out how to get at the hive itself yet, as it's surrounded by steel with a very small opening for access, I haven't been inside that portion of the wrecker body before so I don't know what might be going on in there, and I haven't been able to build a good mental picture by studying my manuals.
I don't think that calling a bee keeper to help me will work, for a few reasons: I've already tried poisoning them, so no bee keeper will want the guts of that hive now. Even if I hadn't, the hive would most likely be contaminated by hydraulic fluid, CARC paint residue, etc., and thus would not be fit for human consumption. Finally, from what little information I've gotten off the internet, when there's a hive inside a wall any bee keeper will expect the owner to cut into the wall for them so they can remove the hive, and I haven't even figured out how to get at this hive yet. There won't be any cutting involved unless I give up and decide to torch my wrecker... which isn't too likely!
I tried hornet/wasp hive spray several times with no luck. It just makes foam on the outside of the truck, kills a few bees who were loitering around the outside, and makes the rest of them mad. It can't soak into the hive because it's protected by nice, thick steel.
I tried a different approach yesterday evening. I used some copper tubing to build a long wand with a corkscrew at the end and plumbed it into a garden sprayer. My idea was to stick the end into the hole, give it a twist to lock it into place, lock the sprayer valve open and then run like hell while a couple gallons of poison is pumped inside the hive area. I picked up a head net from a local surplus store, put on my mechanic's coveralls and some gloves, and went to battle with the bees near sundown. I used a strong mix of Sevin pesticide, because I had read somewhere that its active ingredient will kill bees.
Unfortunately, the hole turned out to be too small to cram in the 1/4" tubing. I propped the wand in place with the end pointed upwards against the hole, in hope that some poison would make it in there... no luck. It just ran down the side of the body and frame, and this morning I see no reduction in bee activity.
So, I need to find some way to kill enough of the bees to be able to work around there safely, then find some way to gain access to the area of the hive, then get the hive out of there. Then I can repair my spare tire and regain use of my wrecker. I need to do it very soon, because I need that wrecker to be mission-capable to get it and a bunch of other junk out of the way so I can begin grading for my new house construction!
I can think of ways to kill those bees for sure... something involving my oxygen and acetylene tanks comes to mind. I'd like to keep my wrecker intact, though.
Do any of y'all have any suggestions for battling these entrenched bees?
Those must be some smart bees, because they've built their home in a steel-armored bunker. I have not been able to figure out how to get at the hive itself yet, as it's surrounded by steel with a very small opening for access, I haven't been inside that portion of the wrecker body before so I don't know what might be going on in there, and I haven't been able to build a good mental picture by studying my manuals.
I don't think that calling a bee keeper to help me will work, for a few reasons: I've already tried poisoning them, so no bee keeper will want the guts of that hive now. Even if I hadn't, the hive would most likely be contaminated by hydraulic fluid, CARC paint residue, etc., and thus would not be fit for human consumption. Finally, from what little information I've gotten off the internet, when there's a hive inside a wall any bee keeper will expect the owner to cut into the wall for them so they can remove the hive, and I haven't even figured out how to get at this hive yet. There won't be any cutting involved unless I give up and decide to torch my wrecker... which isn't too likely!
I tried hornet/wasp hive spray several times with no luck. It just makes foam on the outside of the truck, kills a few bees who were loitering around the outside, and makes the rest of them mad. It can't soak into the hive because it's protected by nice, thick steel.
I tried a different approach yesterday evening. I used some copper tubing to build a long wand with a corkscrew at the end and plumbed it into a garden sprayer. My idea was to stick the end into the hole, give it a twist to lock it into place, lock the sprayer valve open and then run like hell while a couple gallons of poison is pumped inside the hive area. I picked up a head net from a local surplus store, put on my mechanic's coveralls and some gloves, and went to battle with the bees near sundown. I used a strong mix of Sevin pesticide, because I had read somewhere that its active ingredient will kill bees.
Unfortunately, the hole turned out to be too small to cram in the 1/4" tubing. I propped the wand in place with the end pointed upwards against the hole, in hope that some poison would make it in there... no luck. It just ran down the side of the body and frame, and this morning I see no reduction in bee activity.
So, I need to find some way to kill enough of the bees to be able to work around there safely, then find some way to gain access to the area of the hive, then get the hive out of there. Then I can repair my spare tire and regain use of my wrecker. I need to do it very soon, because I need that wrecker to be mission-capable to get it and a bunch of other junk out of the way so I can begin grading for my new house construction!
I can think of ways to kill those bees for sure... something involving my oxygen and acetylene tanks comes to mind. I'd like to keep my wrecker intact, though.
Do any of y'all have any suggestions for battling these entrenched bees?
