aggienaut: (snail piracy)

   Today Jeremy and I were called to a house where we'd removed a colony about a month ago. It appeared to be being scouted out by a new swarm of bees. When we informed the homeowner that these were different bees than the ones we got rid of a month ago she responded "oh I know, I could tell they looked different."
   Keeping in mind it takes professionals a large sample of bees, several hours, and a microscope, to determine between different subspecies of bees (noteably between normal Italian bees (Apis melifera lingustica), and Africanized bees (Apis melifera adansonii)), I doubt there's any way to determine between different swarms of the same kind of bee except maybe intensive DNA analysis.

   Shortly thereafter we stopped at a park because Jeremy needed to use the restroom. While I was waiting by the truck this old loon came and started asking me to verify all his preconceptions about Africanized bees. After I attempted to politely set him straight on a number of these he asked me how long I'd worked for the company. After I said "two weeks" he responded with "oh, thats why" as in, thats why I foolishly disagreed with him on his bee trivia. I was too shocked by the saucy idiocy of his statement to get appropriately mad until it was too late )=< (Jeremy came back at the moment, politely told the man he was completely wrong about the latest thing he brought up and we were off)

   Jeremy almost called off a swarm removal on account of the danger it would pose to a nearby birdnest. The birdnest turned out to be abandoned however so we continued.

   Later on Bobby got a call for yellow jackets, the most fearsome best in our jurisdiction. Consequently he called Jeremy for backup, so the three of us converged on the target area. When we arrived it turned out to be regular wasps. Lady didn't even know what a wasp nest was. How can you grow up anywhere in the northern hemisphere and not know what a wasps nest is?!
   Anyway we told the lady she was watering her lawn too much and Jeremy and I bugged out. The lawn had gone mad with water and become a lush mini-jungle in which the wasps were joyfully frolicking.

   And then there are mud daubers, a harmless sort of wasp that makes its nest out of mud. We get calls for these every day or so -- these calls invovled reaching up and pulling off the mud nest, taking more or less thirty seconds.. and people pay like $70 for us to do it! People are so silly.


   Flogging Molly tomorrow!


Picture of the Day
   I discovered the other day that flickr is not in fact perfect. Unless you fork over $25, it will only display the most recent 200 pictures you've uploaded -- so I can no longer access the earliest pictures I put up there. )= Today there will be no picture of the day in protest!

Previously on Emosnail
   Two Years Ago Today:
Drunken Antics - Mike Kemp attracts the cops to Diedrichs, Cool Kyle get clobbered by a soccer net.
   Year Ago Today: Reminiscing With Kyle About the Above - and I don't think we even realized it was exactly a year later.

aggienaut: (star destroyer)

   Today at work I marauded around the county with a different technician, Jeremy. He's around my age as well. One of the homeowners asked if we were brothers.

   Our first job this morning was this obnoxious Indian lady who had like seen four bees and called us. I don't think I saw a single bee at her house. Jeremy tried to tell her the only bees he saw were just randomly flying around (she'd made him climb onto the roof to look). She told us to spray them. We told her there was nothing to spray. She told us to spray them. We did some spraying. She told us we had not sprayed.

   "I'd rather have fifteen bees stinging my face than have two cockroaches on my foot" - Jeremy, on why he would never do generic pest control.
   We ran into some generic pest control guys in Carls Jr. Cue western music.

   Had my first yellow jacket nest today. After countless bee colonies and wasps, we finally actually got out the full bee suits for these guys. From all accounts yellow jackets are by far the most belligerent and unpleasant to deal with. After we turned the yellow jacket nest into Halabja we removed the comb and wrapped it in plastic because people back at central command wanted to see what yellow jacket comb looks like. It looks like bee comb without honey -- and the grubs squirm a lot.


   Report on the weekend adventures not ready yet, hopefully tomorrow.

Picture of the Day



Previously on Emosnail
   Two Years Ago Saturday:
Ashlee & Diedrichs - & Cool Kyle gets wailed on by a soccer net. At the time I wrote about it as if it was a lame evening but really it was all such good times. I remember that day like it was yesterday.
   Two Years Ago Sunday: You Know Its Not a Party If It Happens Every Night - A very astute observation. I survived the summer but for many other people involved it was only the beginning of things spiralling out of control
   Two Years Ago Monday: The Diedrichs Lifestyle - Suzanne is addicted to the Diedrichs kids, Shalane and I break up, and I crave a sandwich.
   Year Ago Today: Kristy Visits! - Strong sauce! Once again photobucket has murdered the photo quality, but you can view many of the photos on flickr.

July 2025

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