A Bird In The Stove is Worth Two In The Bush

Gets a bit boring in NW NoCar, hey??!!

 

Nope, not bored. I just make sure I notice every living thing and terminate with extreme prejudice any animal or insect that is a threat to me or my property. If you've ever been stung by dozens of bees in one attack for just mowing your lawn or weed eating, you might be singing a different tune.

 

While I may not have been stung dozen of times at once, I have gotten stung multiple times in one attack. However, bees perform an important function and I welcome them to my gardens. It is not just the honey bees that are important. I left a hornet nest on the side of the house and only removed it when the nest had been vacated; the nest was well out of the way and no harm to me. I was out hiking once and got stung as I went under some low hanging branches. I looked to see what had stung me and found a red wasp nest hanging under the leaves. I had never witness that before and thought it was interesting and just left it be. I like having a garden that is full of life; a silent spring is not something to welcome.

 

Been there several times before. One time the "ground bees" got me almost 30 times. Run into them a fair bit where we do our retriever training.

 

Ground hornets around here, black with white rings. They die with gasoline, then they die again with fire.

 

We have yellow jackets here and I usually find at least 2 or 3 nests each year. We also have skunks and it is a great pleasure to see when the skunks find the nests and destroy them in the dark of night. I don't know how the skunks find these nests, but I often think it would be great if I could find a way to attract the skunk to the nest opening so they can do their work ... without of course first attracting my dog there with whatever bait is needed for the task.

 

If you find out what to use, let me know cuz I can use it at the cottage when the drunk neighbors get too loud!!

 

Leave the bees alone. If everyone thought the same as those in this thread, there would be no food.

 

Bees and hornets are not the same.... and don't do the same jobs....

 

Have you ever noticed, the intelligence of a rock remains the same no matter the angle?

 

I had a friend that was deathly allergic to bee stings. But most people never took her serious. I also understand bee stings are cumulative. I'm not sure for how long, but for those who are allergic to them, they could easily be killed if there were multiple stings. While visiting the friend I just mentioned, I had to end up destroying a yellow jacket nest of thousands that was inside one of those decorative pillars on her front porch. There was another much smaller nest at her back door, so basically she was a prisoner in her own home.

I still have a 'Thank You' card from her for releasing her from her prison. She lives about 65 to 70 miles away.

I can't like your post because bee stings or stings of any kind are a ^%$#$%

 

Very unlady like!
I too have been bit by those lady bugs.

 

Quite possibly it was a swarm and they were just resting there for a bit the sugary water/syrup in hummingbird feeders probably made it a very enticing place to stop and rest.

 

I wonder if running two caps would be an option. Like one without the spark arrestor during the heating season, and one with for the rest of the year.

I currently run one with a spark arrestor, but have considered running one without for the heating season. If a bird drops down the chimney during that time, it would be well done, even crispy by the time I discovered it. IF I discovered it.

I do clean the spark arrestor twice a year, the same time I do the chimney itself, and have noted there is some accumulation of creosote on it. It's probably because that is the coolest portion of the chimney and prone to condensation which is one of the main catalysts for the formation of creosote.

 

Kimberly i cannot find the chimney cap but I know it is out there somewhere in one of my extremely messy barns. I will look for it and see if I can get you a picture of it if you're interested.

 

$10 at the Depot. Or just deal with the occasional bird and wasps. You probably have some time before it's really needed anyhow.

Crown Bolt 24 in. x 1/2 in. x 12 in. Plain Metal Expanded Sheet 45830 at The Home Depot - Mobile