LETTER: Don't spray bees with pesticides

Beeswarms have been happening for a good month now. People need to call a beekeeper and not spray the bees.

Chances are 50-50 that some have already gone into the walls and weepholes of their homes. No beekeeper should be expected to work with poisoned bees. The poison gets on their equipment and taken back to their apiary and poisons more beehives.

Every beekeeper we know is pretty disgusted with homeowners that spray. Don't call beekeepers if homeowners decide to spray. It costs us …. gas and time and possible contamination and death of our bees.

Swarms will return year after year to homes that have had bees and have been sprayed. Bees smell the wax left in the walls and pheromones bees leave behind. Tearing apart walls for bees is time consuming and it will cost homeowners for which insurance usually doesn't cover. It's an act of God. It's what bees do to continue their species.

The excuses we hear are we don't want to kill the bees, but we are allergic or we are worried for our grandkids. Come and get them or we will have to spray. And then we find out they've already sprayed and created a worse mess for themselves for which we are not responsible. Learn about bees. They only want a home to make babies, collect nectar, pollen and water for their family. Think twice about picking up the spray can. Protect our wonderful pollinators. Fruit, veggies are so much bigger with bees allowed to do their job.

Thank you.

Bill and Kathy Blankenship, Milton

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: LETTER: Don't spray bees with pesticides