"James" wrote in message
...

"Dirk Puslich" wrote in message
om...
Hello, I am looking for a few answers that I was hopign you could help
me with.

I live in Ontario, Canada, and have discovered that I have a nest of
bumblebees living in the wall of my house. I am sure they are
bumblebees (not honeybees, carpentar bees, etc.). I am guessing they
are living in the insulation on the inside of of the brick wall where
the basement was finished ( I can hear them buzzing).

Unfortunately, many of them were making their way into the house. I
have a dog, cat, and pregant wife who have never been stung so I had
to call an exterminator.

The exterminator used a white powder called Ficom D and sprayed it
into the hole in the bricks (from the outside) where the bees were
going. After a few hours most of the bees that were outside of the
nest gave up and moved on.

The exterminator (who was not too helpful in the advice department)
used a misting bottle and sprayed something a little bit inside, close
to where we thought the nest is but not right on it. We have a bunch
of openings in the wall for access to the hot water pipes etc. The
exterminator told me to get some screen door mesh and put it over
these openings so the bees can't get out.

Well, I got half way putting up the mesh (about an hour after the
exterminator left) when about a dozen bees came dropping out of the
openings (about 1 every 5 minutes for about an hour). I killed them
and eventually got the mesh up.

Just when I thought the worst was over, I went out for a few hours
this afternoon and found 2 in the kitchen, 6 on the stairwell from the
basement to the kitchen (near the door with a window in it), and
another 5 in the basement.
I opened the door and let the ones by the door fly out, and killed the
other 10 or so. I reinspected the basement and put more mesh up and
plugged a few other possible holes, but I can't be sure where they are
coming from.

In summary I killed about 15 of them before the exterminator came, and
about 30 of them since. Obviously, their hole to the outside is
plugged with poison dust so they are trying to find another way out
and making their way into my house even faster than before, when the
odd straggler came in. It's nighttime now so they are not very
active. Fortunately none of us have been stung.

Here are my questions:

1) It's been about 36 hours since the exterminator left. Have I seen
the worst of the bees inside? How long should it take for them to
die?

2) Is this a normal exterminator experience? I've spent $150 getting
some dust sprayed in the wall, and have had to contend with a bunch of
angry bees in my house, a ruined long weekend. Did I get the shaft?
What does someone have to do or pay to get something done right?

Any thoughts or suggestions??

P.S. I know bees are very beneficial to the environment and are not
aggressive uless provoked, but like I said I had no choice given that
many were coming into my house, and with a pregant wife plus a curious
dog and cat I had to do something. I hate killing them.

Thanks!

My only episode of this type were honey bees who had taken up residence
between the ceiling and second floor. An exterminator passed on the job
and
a bee keeper did no good either. I found the exit/entrance they were using
and every day at dusk I would dust the inside with a garden duster with
Sevin and sprinkle more at the entrance. It took a few days but it worked
and when they dwindled to just a few bees, they left. Lotsa bee bodies on
the ground.

I'm surprised you haven't been stung yet. Are you sure they are not
carpenter bees? The look somewhat alike but carpenter bees do not sting.
Thaey don't even have a stinger.




Sevin does a good job of geting rid of bees and wasp. You can usually dust
it right on a wasp nest without upsetting them. I like the 10% kind when I
can find it.