Bees have been sighted swarming the northeast corner of the roof of Founders' Hall. Ant columns extend up there from the ground. A hive was discovered there a year ago by Pinpoint Pest Control, who were instructed to seal the hive but not to remove it, to save money. The honey is now fermenting in the summer heat and needs to be removed. Gardeners reported a swarm of bees on the ground on the south side of Founders' Hall.

Caroline DeMar (B&G Landscape) contacted a pest control company she'd worked with at her condominium complex who submitted a bid of $795 to address the problem. Patricia Weld (Administrator) brought all this to the attention of Stu Anderson (Buildings & Grounds Chair). Stu phoned Bill Tanksley of Pinpoint Pest Control who spoke at length about the issues and his concerns that the hive might have become "hybridized" by more aggressive bees over time.

Stu met with Caroline, Greg Brown and Marie Grady of the nascent Green Sanctuary committee to discuss these concerns. We could not find evidence of bees on the ground. None of us were motivated to go up a ladder to stick our faces directly into the problem at the roof where a handful of bees were roving around. All agreed to give Bill the green light to do what he thought was appropriate.

Bill, his son David and Stu converged on the site Tuesday, Aug 28th. Upon inspection by David (that's right send the kid up the ladder!) it was clear that the hive had not become active again. The bees we had seen were forager bees and swarms looking for a new home, attracted by the aroma of honey. The job of removal was mostly simple carpentry. The location was fairly accessible by standing on the lower roof. Bill described what was required. Stu assumed responsibility for the carpentry and Bill refused any payment for his time and expertise.

	Pinpoint Pest Control Co., Inc.
	Bill Tanksley (owner)
	858-759-1182

There was some urgency to address the problem this week, before Sandy Hill Nursery school resumes on September 4th. The usual suspects (Lou Guttierez and Niel Lynch) were not available on short notice. Stu turned to Tim Swift, his brother-in-law and UU sympathizer.

After delivering our respective sons to the bus stop on Friday Stu & Tim headed to UUFSD, arriving at 8pm and completing the job by 1pm.

We rigged a safety harness to the nearby I-beam, pulled down the 1/2" plywood sheathing and tar-paper to expose the old hive oozing with fermented honey, ants, grubs and what-all (if you are interested, we saved you a sample!) A rope and bucket carried tools to the roof and a couple cubic feet of detritus to the trash can below. Tim scraped out the hive, Stu scrubbed the sheathing, Tim rinsed everything off with the hose.

Stu, with tinsnips and minor medical mishaps, installed "kwik-mesh" (Construction Metals P/N KM625, available at Home Depot - don't let them tell you they don't have it!) above the growing gaps between the warping wood beam and the sheathing nailers. We spray painted the interior to mask the scent of hive and honey, stapled up new construction felt and replaced the sheathing using slightly heavier galvanized nails in the existing holes.

What remains is to reinstall a 1-1/2" x 1/4" trim piece which broke upon removal and to repaint the area. This brings us to a larger issue. All the exterior soffiting and the support beams of Founders' Hall need to be repainted. This is a job that is beyond our amateur scale of operation. The way we accessed this particular piece was by standing on the roof below. Had the bees chosen to invade a different panel we would have needed a scissors lift or scaffolding and these are what the larger painting effort requires.

When the larger painting effort is underway, all soffits should be inspected for openings larger than 1/8". These should be caulked or blocked. These openings are growing over time as the large wooden beams warp and twist. A piece of aluminum angle could be applied horizontally along the entire length of the beam we've been working on.