Glover’s plan was to remove the bricks, one by one. The smoke served to stun the buggers while he dismantled their home. The first brick he removed was the one closest to the weep hole. It did not take long before Glover and the Tennessee family saw what they were up against.
The first thing Glover did after smoking the entrances was to spray some Honey Bandit in the small hole you see him drilling in this photo. He did that to help keep the bees from running up the wall when he started working with the hammer drill. Once he pried the first brick off, he knew for certain what sort of pest problem this family was dealing with.
The Bartlett Bee Whisperer Digs Into His High-Tech Toolbox
No one cares too much about a tiny, little dark spot on their brick wall until, that is, it turns out to be an open door to unwanted visitors. Glover had all the tools he needed to discover exactly which kind of unwanted visitor lurked inside. To see what was going on, he used an infrared camera.
The camera detects heat and creates a visual picture of how the heat behaves. With this specialized camera, he took a thermal scan of the area between the entry points. Glover was stunned. The size of the infrared imaging showed a larger infestation than even he, with all his experience, could imagine.
The Smoker
The next tool he pulled out from his toolbox was an old-fashioned pest control device called a smoker. It's an old machine, but it does the trick, so it's not going out of style anytime soon. It's well known that smoke drives bugs crazy, so any insects hiding out should be no match for this machine. Hopefully, this would drive some of the visitors away.
He was being very cautious, especially because of the size of this thing. Plus, these bugs might sting! He covered himself in protective clothing, while everyone else vacated the property. A job like this is only for experienced pros, so the Bee Whisperer needed to tackle this one alone.
Busy, Busy Bees
With the brick removed, a clear sign of bees was revealed. A honeycomb. As an expert, he knew an entire hive of honeybees was in there. The infrared camera indicated that the hive was very large, larger than Glover had ever dealt with in all his years removing bees.
His service includes relocating the hive to local bee farmers around the state. Glover is proud of his work saving honeybees. He says they are vital for crops. The Bartlett Bee Whisperer told local news WREG, “One-third of what we eat comes because of pollination. 85% of the plants in the world exist because of pollination.”
Bees, Bees, and More Bees
One at a time, Glover removed the bricks. Several minutes later he had successfully chiseled out two rows of bricks. His work seemed to hardly put a dent into the complete job. With the size and thickness of this honeycomb, he realized why the original pest control company failed to exterminate the bees.
Glover said the heavy layer of wax prevented the pesticide from spreading. That was a good thing! While many pest control companies exterminate bee hives, he doesn’t believe in killing honeybees. Meanwhile, he wondered, ‘Exactly how much bigger is this thing?!’ It just seemed to keep going and going.