An un-bee-lievable sight greeted the people of Hertford, when thousands of insects decided to make a woman’s Mini Cooper their new home. A swarm of honey bees created quite a buzz when they set up camp on Victoria Hilton’s car, with the queen deciding to nest in the door handle. The insects had even begun making a hive when horrified receptionist Victoria was alerted by a friend. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, but when I went to see what was happening and I saw my car for the first time I thought it was some kind of plague,†said the Sele Farm resident, who was working at Toni and Guy in Market Street at the time. “Thousands of bees had started to make a nest on the left side of my cream Mini Cooper, after the queen bee started to nest in the door handle.†Victoria had parked her car on the Greencoates estate at 9am on Thursday (July 03), but within 45 minutes was called about the infestation. In a bid to get the bees off her car, the brave 22-year-old got in and drove it around hoping to dislodge them. She said: “A few of them got inside and I was panicking a little bit.†Victoria told the Mercury she didn’t know if she was breaking the law driving around with swarm of bees on the side of her car. But regardless, this did not work, so she parked the car at her home and called for help. She said: “I didn’t want to kill them, so I didn’t call a pest controller, but when I called the county council they said I had to leave them be. “Luckily, a friend of mine knew a local beekeeper and they called him to come help.†The man who flew to the rescue was 65-year-old retired engineer, Dr Michael Cook, chairman of the Hertford and Ware Beekeeping Association. Dr Cook arrived at the scene at noon to find about 3,000 bees on Victoria’s car. He said the bees were attracted to the vehicle because of its light colour. As swarm officer, it is Dr Cook’s job to collect the swarms around the Hertford and Ware area, and since May he has collected 18 swarms. He begun the process of removing the bees by gently brushing them into a box. Dr Cook, who avoided being stung during the operation, said: “When you attempt to handle bees you need to judge their temperament. “Once you’ve realised their intentions you can brush them slowly into a box, using a long or short brush, depending on their mood. “Once you have the majority in the box, you can partially close it, and the others will soon follow, then you can remove them.†There’s no sting in the tale, with the bees removed from Victoria’s car now in a beehive in Dr Cook’s back garden, adding to the 50 or so the association has throughout Hertford and Ware. Speaking afterwards, Victoria said: “I was absolutely relieved to have my car back. “Although the bees did leave some residue, which is like candle wax, thankfully I don’t think they did any damage.†The Hertford and Ware Beekeeping Association offers mentoring services for anybody who is interested in keeping bees. Source Hertford receptionist escapes unscathed after run-in with a swarm of honey bees | Hertfordshire Local News & Hertfordshire Events News | News From Hoddesdon, Broxbourne, Cheshunt, Waltham & Royston
She did it right, eventually. If you need to get rid of bees, look for a beekeeper. Not only will they likely take the bees away, they'll probably be very happy to do so. Wasps, on the other hand, are evil little ba****ds and need to die. Kill them. Kill them all!
I likes em just fine. Love honey! Wouldn't be pleased with a thousand of so making my MINI into a hippy bee comune. :nonod:
I am deathly allergic to them. As in one sting and a 1/2 hour = death for me. (not kidding) P.S. I like honey also.
Funny but I bet you already have without knowing it. Bees Wax is the cheapest wax and it used in almost every Carnauba car wax on the market as a blending agent.
And thats why I keep several cans of spectracide in the garage at all times. I had to kill the **** out of a ground bee nest last summer when I bought my house. They died in a flood of the high pressure spectracide. Yeah buddy, that was fun. I was just sad I couldn't use fire.