Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam BEES!!!

I knew a beekeeper years ago who was also immune to the venom. He would actually force the bees to sting his hands to, what he claimed, help his arthritis. Not sure how true that is, but it was pretty freaky as a kid watching an old man force a bee to sting him.

Could he force them to sting with his thoughts?

Now that would be freaky.

I've heard the arthritis thing before too. There's a King of the Hill Episode where Gribble sells bee stings to women for big bucks to stop the effects of aging.

KJM, what's going on with varola mites these days?

He didn't say if he was a Jedi or not. I'll have to look him up and ask.

"These are not the bees you're looking for. Move along."

Nice.

Ground Bees. A quart or half gallon size mason jar. Some knotted up and twisted paper towel or cloth. A couple liquid ounces of something that has an M and K in it. Saturate the media and stick it in the hole. Quickly drive the mason jar over the hole. Bees will all be dead in short order, usually overnight. And you can retrieve the media.

Hive Bees. Two methods that were 100% effective last year were my fork truck (which is another story) and a propane skeeter fogger.

With the skeeter fogger, wait till night. Get it all fired up and spewing out some death. Stick the tip through the hive wall, and just pump it. They wont even know what hit them, then you can play football with the hive the next day

Just what works around here.

Ground Bees. A quart or half gallon size mason jar. Some knotted up and twisted paper towel or cloth. A couple liquid ounces of something that has an M and K in it. Saturate the media and stick it in the hole. Quickly drive the mason jar over the hole. Bees will all be dead in short order, usually overnight. And you can retrieve the media.

Molotov Kocktail?

JKB, are you referring to MEK? I have done the exact same thing but I use laquer thinner, works just as good and I think less hazardous and easier to come by. Any hardware store sells it. For hive bees I found that carburetor cleaner works just as good as the hornet and wasp killer you buy in a spray can. Spray it on the hive and it kills everything on contact.

Methyl ethyl ketone and lacquer thinner have very similar hazardous constituents and should be treated as basically the same material.

My guess would be MEK. I think MEK is a bit stronger than lacquer thinner.

MEK is used in and as lacquer thinner. You buy MEK and buy lacquer thinner and you (or the environment) will not be able to tell the difference.

It is MEK. I am not suggesting anyone do this, and all you need are the fumes to do the job hence the saturated rag.

A saturated rag of MEK will have no adverse effects on the soil and surrounding areas. Pouring gallons down a hole, maybe, but MEK in that small of a quantity will evaporate quickly and not be an issue.

It is amazing how scared people are of pesticides that are well tested for safety, and how cavelier folks are with hazardous chemicals...

I work with hazardous chemicals and the EPA on a daily basis so I can relate. Heard a story just yesterday of a guy who was taking any old paints and other solvents and just stockpiling them. No one knew what he was doing with them. Well, he was slowly, routinely over the years, discarding them down a system of pvc pipes under his garage, that subsequently made it into a nearby river. I couldn't believe that. But I do believe the guy is still incarcerated.

Must have been dumping a whole lot!!!

The shop I owned was registered, and I can say that we never spent over 250.00 a year on liquid waste disposal, and that was the minimum charge. They would take everything, solvents, paints, soluble oils, motor oils, cutting oils... That was pretty inexpensive. When I shut down I had an environmental done and came up clean I just had to cover my backside, cause these things have a tendency to pop at later dates.

I guess he had something like 3 "silos" full. So yeah, a lot. Now, I got this 2nd hand and these sort of things tend to get exaggerated, but whatever the case, his disposal method was terribly irresponsible. At best.

Yeah, dealing with EPA regulations can be a pain, but dealing with them after you haven't recorded things correctly is an even bigger pain. Can I ask what company you use to ship your waste? You can send in a PM if you're more comfortable. Just for my own curiosity. I would imagine at that price you've established yourself as a very small quantity generator and don't have to report to the EPA.

That sounds like a story. Went from a typical garage with a network of pvc pipes to deliberately contaminate the ground water to 3 Silos full.

Show me, US -vs- Them!

He profited by taking his customers junk waste and basically just stockpiling it, and then gradually getting rid of it through this drainage system to avoid the EPA and their fees.

Not to get this into something the PB Powers that be would take offence to ('cept Sunil) (I think he likes Touline as a chaser)

Hey, I did my job, with all the responsibilities, CORRECTLY!

Sure is a headache when you don't. I had a mess to clean up when I started this job and they tried to peg it on me. Not fun.

If you use solvents to kill bees instead of registered pesticides, then you are using things that likely have far more environmental impact. I remember an "organic" neighbor of mine using methylene-chloride stripper to kill Colorado potato beetles that invaded his sidewalk when a close-by field of potatoes were harvested. I guess he avoided those "dangerous" pesticides to rid himself of something that would have disappeared on its own with no damage. My wife won't let me help her sell her vegetables anymore after I was asked if I was organic, and I replied "No, I am Presbyterian.

None of it is really fun if you run off the tangent. But keep it in tow on a proper basis (I mean Laws) And you are good to go!

It is not that hard to comply, if you are Legal. Just a bit of paperwork, and an occasional visit.

Lets get back to Fish and Ponds and Pirates and other Great Things that will drop your blood pressure