Termites and Bees

A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction. Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:23-24 (NIV)

I’ve got bees in my owl house and termites in my attic, but I feel like I have bats in my belfry. First, the bees. I so optimistically put up my owl houses, read the directions and expected owls to move right in. They didn’t even though I have heard them calling to each other at night so I know that I have at least a pair in my neighborhood. Instead of owls, I got bees. Youngest son spotted them a week ago. I don’t just have a few bees. I have a swarm filling up the inside of the box and clinging to all its sides. They must have it full of honey because the sides are dark and wet looking. My friend, Bethany, who is truly a renaissance woman, horse training, master gardener, blacksmith, soap maker and beekeeper came to get them last night, but there are so many in the box that she had to rethink her plan. She had not brought her husband’s bee suit so that they could put up two ladders and use four hands to remove the owl box from the tree and set it gently onto a sheet. They will wrap the whole box up in the sheet and transport them back to her house and a fresh bee box full of sugar water to entice them to leave my box for the owls. Then, termites invaded oldest son’s room and the upstairs bathroom. I have not one, but three kinds of termites in my house. I saw droppings and wings when I prepared for painting upstairs, but tried to ignore them. It wasn’t until a termite fell into my plate one night last week that I decided I had better call an exterminator. I took the one who decided it wasn’t good enough to eat my house, it would help itself to my dinner too, to the office of the company we use at work. They told me it was an extremely rare (at least in a house) kind called a damp wood termite. Great, only I would have a rare termite. We also have evidence of subterranean and dry wood termites as well. Three strikes, you are out! Instead of tenting which would be extremely expensive with our high pitched roof, we are trying a “drill and fill” technique that requires us to empty all our attics and closets as they will drill into the walls and pump termite killer into the walls. And if we pull up our carpets they will treat the floors as well. Since we were already considering installing new carpet, we will probably do that, but not unless I can find a place that sells it for less than $4.00 a foot! I had no idea carpet was so expensive, but then, I wouldn’t since it has been 17 years since we replaced ours! I guess I can look on the bright side in the midst of this attack of the insects, honey and new carpets!