Late yesterday I got called into to collect a swarm of bees off the deck of one of my coworkers neighbors. It was not as easy as it should have been. Initially, I was to meet someone that would ultimately take the bees. That person could not be reached so I had to do a lot of improvising. No protective gear or beekeeping equipment of any sort, except for hive tool not used. Bees were mostly on a 4 x 4 post. I pushed a bucket up under them using the open flip phone to push down. Queen and majority of workers went into bucket on first pass. I spent 90% of my time trying to get that last 10% of bees into bucket. The deck was incredibly wobbly and I was 15 feet up. Could not get a good angle on anything. Air was cold making so pheromones did not work as fast. Swarm was 2 lbs at best. I was paid $20 for gas. Not every day is a good one.
