Hello,
As I do every few months, I opened the front of my bluebird house
to see if the flying squirrel were still a resident. The door was
bulging out more than usual from all the nesting material in there.
Instead of a little pink nose and big black eyes, I heard a steadily
increasing angry sounding BZZZZZZZ. I left.
From a safe distance I saw several insects flying in and out the
door, but I have not since observed any activity there. Too far away
to identify, but they were fairly small.
These were not wasps, that create those pancake shapes hanging in
your eaves. They were not carpenter bees that destroy your facia
boards. They were not yellow jackets because they make their hives in
the ground. Not the evil black with 2 yellow spots, who make the big
hanging basketball hives (I think). Could they be honey bees? They
seemed to be yellow and about honey bee size.
Could they have killed the flying squirrel? Or could it be in
there dead from natural causes? Or gone entirely, thus giving a home
to the insects? I guess I could just let it be, and post a sign for
everyone to stay away. But I'd prefer to have a bird or flying
squirrel take up residence.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? (No comments on flame-throwers,
please.)
Kira

Kira Dirlik wrote:
snip
These were not wasps, that create those pancake shapes hanging in
your eaves. They were not carpenter bees that destroy your facia
boards. They were not yellow jackets because they make their hives in
the ground. Not the evil black with 2 yellow spots, who make the big
hanging basketball hives (I think). Could they be honey bees? They
seemed to be yellow and about honey bee size.

Could be honey bees. There's a man made bee hive in Bond Park just off the
trail. I first thought it was a really strange bird house (because the hole
is way too low), but after looking at it I really think it was made just for
honey bees. Here's a photo -
http://img.groundspeak.com/cache/26348_400.jpg. You can see the cross bars
that go through to the other side. I'm assuming that has something to do
with helping them start combs.

I don't know how you'd evict them. I'd be tempted to just leave them be.

I first thought it was a really strange bird house ...

It might be a bat box.


Daniel B. Martin

From The Birdhouse Network at Cornell University
http://birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/:
WASPS and BEES
"Seldom do wasps and bees usurp boxes from nesting birds. They are mostly
found in empty boxes. If these insects are found in a box, it is best to let
them be and not take any active measures to exterminate them. Instead, wait
to clean them out in the fall when the weather is cooler and their activity
is halted. You can prevent wasps and bees from establishing themselves by
applying a thin layer of soap (use bar soap) onto the inside surface of the
roof. This will create a slippery surface between the insects and the roof
of the box."

This does not address the issue of the flying squirrel, though........
Maybe you could leave the door of the birdhouse open and shine a flashlight
into the box?

Anne Lurie

"Kira Dirlik" !! wrote in message
...

Hello,
As I do every few months, I opened the front of my bluebird house
to see if the flying squirrel were still a resident. The door was
bulging out more than usual from all the nesting material in there.
Instead of a little pink nose and big black eyes, I heard a steadily
increasing angry sounding BZZZZZZZ. I left.
From a safe distance I saw several insects flying in and out the
door, but I have not since observed any activity there. Too far away
to identify, but they were fairly small.
These were not wasps, that create those pancake shapes hanging in
your eaves. They were not carpenter bees that destroy your facia
boards. They were not yellow jackets because they make their hives in
the ground. Not the evil black with 2 yellow spots, who make the big
hanging basketball hives (I think). Could they be honey bees? They
seemed to be yellow and about honey bee size.
Could they have killed the flying squirrel? Or could it be in
there dead from natural causes? Or gone entirely, thus giving a home
to the insects? I guess I could just let it be, and post a sign for
everyone to stay away. But I'd prefer to have a bird or flying
squirrel take up residence.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? (No comments on flame-throwers,
please.)
Kira

Daniel B. Martin wrote:
I first thought it was a really strange bird house ...

It might be a bat box.

Could be. I googled for bat and bee houses and found nothing like it. The
bat houses all had either horizontal slots or open bottoms, the bee houses
were all for solitary bees (just holes drilled in wood), butterfly houses
had vertical slots. I asked at the boat house (at Bond Lake) and no one
knew what I was talking about, but ~someone~ put it there. There was a
little ledge for landing and and those dowels going all the way through (as
far as I could tell from 15' anyway). And lots of bees!

Beth

"Daniel B. Martin" [speaking about the image
at
http://img.groundspeak.com/cache/26348_400.jpg]

It might be a bat box.

Daniel, I don't think it's a bat box because [I think!] the entrance is
usually at the bottom, and batbox entry holes are almost slits, rather than
being round.

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh

If they are honey bees, there are lots of local bee keepers who will come and get them and transplant them into a "proper" home.

Ask some of the folks who sell honey at the farmer's market on the weekend... my dad does this but he's in Alamance county, not
local.

"Kira Dirlik" !! wrote in message ...
Hello,
As I do every few months, I opened the front of my bluebird house
to see if the flying squirrel were still a resident. The door was
bulging out more than usual from all the nesting material in there.
Instead of a little pink nose and big black eyes, I heard a steadily
increasing angry sounding BZZZZZZZ. I left.
From a safe distance I saw several insects flying in and out the
door, but I have not since observed any activity there. Too far away
to identify, but they were fairly small.
These were not wasps, that create those pancake shapes hanging in
your eaves. They were not carpenter bees that destroy your facia
boards. They were not yellow jackets because they make their hives in
the ground. Not the evil black with 2 yellow spots, who make the big
hanging basketball hives (I think). Could they be honey bees? They
seemed to be yellow and about honey bee size.
Could they have killed the flying squirrel? Or could it be in
there dead from natural causes? Or gone entirely, thus giving a home
to the insects? I guess I could just let it be, and post a sign for
everyone to stay away. But I'd prefer to have a bird or flying
squirrel take up residence.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? (No comments on flame-throwers,
please.)
Kira

Seal it in a plastic bag for a few days. Open and clean.
Wilson
"Kira Dirlik" !! wrote in message
...
Hello,
As I do every few months, I opened the front of my bluebird house
to see if the flying squirrel were still a resident. The door was
bulging out more than usual from all the nesting material in there.
Instead of a little pink nose and big black eyes, I heard a steadily
increasing angry sounding BZZZZZZZ. I left.
From a safe distance I saw several insects flying in and out the
door, but I have not since observed any activity there. Too far away
to identify, but they were fairly small.
These were not wasps, that create those pancake shapes hanging in
your eaves. They were not carpenter bees that destroy your facia
boards. They were not yellow jackets because they make their hives in
the ground. Not the evil black with 2 yellow spots, who make the big
hanging basketball hives (I think). Could they be honey bees? They
seemed to be yellow and about honey bee size.
Could they have killed the flying squirrel? Or could it be in
there dead from natural causes? Or gone entirely, thus giving a home
to the insects? I guess I could just let it be, and post a sign for
everyone to stay away. But I'd prefer to have a bird or flying
squirrel take up residence.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? (No comments on flame-throwers,
please.)
Kira

On Sat, 17 May 2003 20:21:36 -0400, "Wilson Lamb"
wrote:

Seal it in a plastic bag for a few days. Open and clean.
Wilson

Ha ha. Would you like to come and put the bag around the box?
Regarding honey bees, I did ask a local beekeeper and he felt certain
it was not honey bees. Several folks in the area thought it was
carpenter bees, but the wood of the birdhouse is not thick enough to
interest the carpenter bees... and I did see something small and
yellow from the distance. As it stands now, I'm just letting live and
let live.
A new posting to follow on my current problem.
Kira

On Sat, 17 May 2003 20:21:36 -0400, "Wilson Lamb"
wrote:

Seal it in a plastic bag for a few days. Open and clean.
Wilson

Ha ha. Would you like to come and put the bag around the box?
Regarding honey bees, I did ask a local beekeeper and he felt certain
it was not honey bees. Several folks in the area thought it was
carpenter bees, but the wood of the birdhouse is not thick enough to
interest the carpenter bees... and I did see something small and
yellow from the distance. As it stands now, I'm just letting live and
let live.
A new posting to follow on my current problem.
Kira