Have two questions.
The first is a problem with bees in the house. We have some bees that seem to have made a nest in the house. They found a small crack at the top a door that goes through a block wall. The problem is that we can't see the nest. It may be in the wall of the house or in the block portion. I would almost have to rip out the door to find it. So far we've been reduced to standing at the door and spraying as they come back to the nest. It takes a lot of time and spray to kid the buggers in ones and twos. So the big question is, does anyone have any suggestions how to get rid of them?
Second question is running related. We're headed to Outer Banks next week, Kitty Hawk to be exact. Anyone know of a good place to run in that area other than the beach. Any experiences with biking in that area. At this time we are thinking about leaving the bikes at home.
some call me Tim
Well, my experience with bees/wasps/etc is that they're usually not far in, and if you haven't already I'd get one of the sprays that you can attach the little straw to and spray a bunch of it in there and see how you do. Usually the residual spray will take care of a bunch of em, too. Apart from that, a couple of times I've plugged the hole they're coming out of real good. They'll find another way out and it's usually instructive as to where the nest is. Stinging insects and I go way back, and having spent several years in remodeling and landscaping, I've been stung dozens of times and have started many a nest on fire, taking out the stragglers with a piece of perforated soffit. I like to think I've elevated it to the level of sport, so may the odds be ever in your favor. :-D
ME WEBLARG
I have two suggestions regarding the bees; both will work.
1. Once they get back into the nest, pour gasoline into the hole and set a match to it. This method never fails to kill bees, yellow jackets, and wasps. Unfortunately, this method will leave you homeless. If you don't want that, see the second method.
2. Call a bee keeper or pretty much any pest control company. They normally have methods to take the bees out without burning down your house. This problem is fairly common from what I hear. My ex-wife had a huge bee hive at her place. I'm sure that was a tough bunch to get rid of since they lived at the very edge of Hell. Hahaha. But seriously, she had a guy who had bees come get them. I would be a little concerned about them being in that block wall, but those guys have probably seen things like that before. I guarantee that either a bee person or a pest control person can take them out.
Next question:
I have spent a great deal of time on the NC coast. I am not sure about any trails in the area, but I imagine you can get some great beach runs, flat but far.
LB2
Spectracide carpenter bee & ground-nesting yellowjacket killer foaming aerosol.
Put the red staw deep in the hole at night or early morn. Push down and empy can.
The foam will expand and fill cavity. Plug hole.
DD-
cannot comment on the bees, but I can give suggestions for running in the outer banks as we get down there at least once a year. Since you're staying up around Kitty Hawk, the nearest trails are at Nags Head Woods Preserve (part of the nature conservancy, Kill Devil Hills). You won't rack up tons of miles on the trails, but it's a pretty site and very different from the beach- lots of swamps, woods and forested dunes. We've also stayed in Southern Shores north of KH. There is a nice hiker-biker path heading north, and I've headed into the neighborhoods to the west of Rte 12 for some slightly hillier and less trafficked road miles.
Best option, imo, is to head to Buxton for the trails at Buxton Woods Coastal Reserve and the Cape Hatteras LIght NPS site. The reserve is quiet, in my experience (except for snakes,including cottonmouth), but if it has been dry, you'll have lots of options, including an old fire road trail that goes along from the lighthouse to the campground. Might hit some sandy areas, but that goes with the territory. If you have time to go south for a daytrip, it's worth checking out.
I suspect the road biking is best on Hatteras Island-- Pea Island Refuge to Hatteras Village. It's much quieter here than Kitty Hawk and north, but that is our preference and I think it is worth the extra drive.
Have fun!
DW just came home with some of the Spectracide. I hadn't seen that stuff before so I'll give that a go tonight.
I was looking at the map of OBX and it seems like running options are limited. I had seen Nags Head woods. I'll have to look into Buxton Woods, that sounds interesting.
I think we are leaving the bikes at home. Not a lot of places that DW really wanted to bike.
Fine. You don't want to take my 1st suggestion. Go ahead and take the easy way out.
I wanted to but DW wouldn't listen. I told her to stop at the camper place and pick one out. Once the embers of the house were cool enough I was going to pull the camper in and live in that while I built the house of our dreams, one that would be bee proof of course . She wouldn't listen. Now I'll crawl up a ladder trying to get to another place they are at and fall, killing myself and she'll collect my life insurance and build the house of her dreams . Wives .
I used to live in a house that had a large crawl space underneath it. We had a serious cold snap coming, and I hadn't wrapped my pipes. I was talking to a guy at work about it because he was in the same situation. We were talking about past pipe episodes, and I told him I was thinking that it might be easier to build a fire under the house to keep the pipes from getting too cold and freezing. The look on his face was priceless.