Why haven't I been blogging? BEES!!!!

Well, actually Wasps! However, Bees just sounds like a better title… Attack of the Killer Bees…

Let’s back up

We came home from Gatlinburg a few weeks ago.  It was a great vacation, but so good to be home.  The kids came running into our room, while I was beginning to unpack and said, “There are bugs everywhere on the stairs!”  I assumed they meant the basement stairs.  No… they meant our main stairs, and they weren’t just any bugs, they were wasps.  We found them everywhere!  Mostly on the stairs and in the front landing, however, we ended up having to vacuum out the couch cushions and all of the Littles toys.  The important note here is they were dead.  We found maybe 3 live ones, but we assumed they came through a window and Orkin’s spray had done the job.

Fast-forward to Labor Day (yes, the day before school began!)

I am relaxing for my final day, knowing that I will spend it building a backpack stand with Mark and my dad and then planning for my first day with students.  I was just getting out of the shower, when the girls came running into my room yelling, “BEES!!!!”  Out I went, following behind them.  There in our landing (2 stories up) were about 30 wasps circling and buzzing.  My heart raced, my boys and Littles were still up there!  The only way up is this staircase.  (Later I found out that the boys told the girls they had to come let me know before someone got stung and then shut their door and hunkered down.  Yup, brave boys! )

I ducked, covered my head, and ran upstairs.  I told the boys to go and go quick.  Grabbed a Little under each arm and ran down the stairs.  Mark and I put all of the kiddos in our bedroom, safely in the back of the first floor and farthest from Waspegeddon. 

We armed ourselves with Wasp Spray I had purchased about a year ago and unloaded on the ceiling.  We realized the dot we thought had been the beginning of a hive, was actually a hole.  They had since chewed a second hole and were coming through both in droves.  You could hear the hum of buzzing through the ceiling!  There were about 75 now.  We called everyone we could.  No one could help us, they were all closed for Labor Day.

My mom and dad had come to attempt to help out.  Mark was hitting them as they fell from the ceiling and mom and I were attempting to calm kids down.  We decided that we needed to get the kiddos out.  So, I dodged the falling wasps again and ran back upstairs, trying to pack for my kiddos first day of school.  Tears welled up in my eyes as I began to realize that I would not be getting my work done or helping my sweet kiddos look perfect for their first day of school. 

Mark had taken a trip to Darrell’s and picked up a plastic drop cloth and painter’s tape.  We worked to seal off the upstairs/stairwell.  Then, mom and I set off for her house in DeWitt with all the kiddos.  Mark and my dad went upstairs to attempt to spray directly from the second floor attic access. 

I got my kiddos settled in at mom’s and realized that it was best for me to spend the night back here and get some work done.  After watching a few wasps attempt to get in through our plastic shield to no avail, I was ready to hit the hay.

The next day, I was happy to get an email of my kiddos’ first day pic from Mark.  They made it on time from DeWitt to catch the bus (a 35 minute trip).  Mark checked in and said that Orkin had come to spray, but they couldn’t remove the hive, so we should have decreased activity in 1-2 days and none in 7-10 days.  I called to see how mom was doing, as she still had the Littles.  No one had slept really well at her house (not built for this many people, as I am an only child).  

We decided the kiddos would have to sleep here.  We put blankets on the living room floor and the kiddos camped out for a few nights.   We would go outside to enter the house through the front door in order to go upstairs and pick out outfits for the next day, dodging the dropping wasps and collection that were wiggling on the floor.  This went on for the next couple of nights.

We finally had it!  The kids needed to be in their beds.  Thursday, Mark aired out the upstairs and we worked that night to clean up all of the dead wasps we could.  We took down the plastic and cleaned up the railings and tile that were soaked in spray.

So… we are sleeping in our beds.  We all are used to the check for wasps during the day and in the mornings (how many have dropped, how active are they, etc).  Mark will be making some calls to see if someone is willing to come and remove the hive.  We will need someone to repair the hole in the roof (small hole near a dormer).  Finally, our drywall on the ceiling of our stairwell will need to be replaced.

This has been slightly overwhelming, however, there are praises.  It happened just before school started.  My parents were able to take the kiddos home and get them back for school.  NO ONE (not even dad who went into the attic and had a wasp in his collar) got stung!!  And, according to Jayson, camping out in the living room during school is the BEST! :)