Hub City Times

Top Menu

  • Contact Us
  • E-Editions
  • Subscribe

Main Menu

  • News
    • Around the County
    • Arts & Ent
    • Education
    • Government
    • Local
  • Covid 19
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Coming Events
  • Business
  • Obits
  • Classifieds
    • Place Ad
    • View Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • Senior Photos 2021
  • Contact Us
  • E-Editions
  • Subscribe

logo

Hub City Times

  • News
    • Around the County
    • Arts & Ent
    • Education
    • Government
    • Local
  • Covid 19
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Coming Events
  • Business
  • Obits
  • Classifieds
    • Place Ad
    • View Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • Senior Photos 2021
Opinion
Home›Opinion›Sting or bee stung

Sting or bee stung

By Hub City Times
May 10, 2015
1042
0
Share:

My war against bees


By Patricia Baer

Featured Columnist

I would like to confess something. I am a murderer. I have killed and will kill again. I wish I could say they had it coming, but I do not feel that is true. Not really. It is a sting or be stung world out there, so I am trying to convince myself it was an act of pre-emptive self-defense. Fate dealt this hand to me, and I had no choice but to play the cards I was given.

A quartet of hornets or wasps or yellow jackets—I refuse to get close enough to learn which—took up residence in my garage this weekend. This should not have surprised me as much as it did since I had seen a few flying around the backyard along with some ground bees earlier in the week.

This really would not have surprised me if I had known what I know now about their behaviors and that they build nests out of leaf debris, something I have an abundance of due to my inability to clean up my yard properly last fall. The back of my property is basically the Home Depot of the wasp world, conveniently located for all their nest construction needs.

I do not recall being afraid of insects as a kid. Creepy crawly things were “gross,” but I was never jump-on-the-furniture terrified of things, that is, with the exception of bees. I blame this completely on a 1970s made for TV movie titled “The Savage Bees,” a movie about killer bees from South America traveling to the United States.

After watching the broadcast of this flick rumored to be inspired by true events, I became convinced any spotting of multiple insects with a stinger was a sign that a swarm of killer bees had made its way to the Great Lakes region. (According to the movie, the only way to kill the aggressive monsters was by freezing them in an enclosed stadium with air conditioning like the Superdome, the location of the final action scene. Nearby Soldier Field was open air. I was doomed.)

This weekend’s discovery left me with a bit of a moral dilemma because in my advancing age I am less inclined to kill pesky house insects. Do not get me wrong, I will. My house is not a refuge for centipedes and Asian beetles, but I find myself wishing I could follow a live and let live philosophy. I mean there are some humans who annoy me more than spiders, yet I do not go around trying to squash them with paper towels, so why does an arachnid that wandered into my home deserve the Bounty treatment?

Which brings me back to my melodramatic opening. I felt a little conflicted researching ways to rid myself of hornets just being hornets, but the fear of anaphylaxis shock and a trip to the emergency room swayed me in the end. Now armed with hanging traps and a can of Raid, my spring killing spree begins.

TagsbeesFeaturedfeatured columnistmurderopinionpattipatti baer
Previous Article

Prevent drug misuse and protect the environment: ...

Next Article

Featured MAPS pet of the week: Peanut

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • LocalNews

    Marshfield man struck by train

    July 30, 2014
    By Hub City Times
  • Photo Gallery

    Photos from Relay For Life in Marshfield

    August 2, 2014
    By HubCityAdmin
  • News

    Cancer gets lapped at Relay For Life

    August 2, 2014
    By Hub City Times
  • Business

    Hotel Marshfield combines sophistication with comfort

    August 6, 2014
    By Hub City Times
  • Arts & Entertainment

    New Visions Gallery fundraises in style

    August 8, 2014
    By Hub City Times
  • BusinessFood

    Marshfield Farmers’ Market in full bloom

    August 9, 2014
    By Hub City Times

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

About Us


Hub City Times is published by Multi Media Channels LLC, N2919 County Road QQ Waupaca, WI 54981.

Copyright © 2020 Multi Media Channels, All Rights Reserved. Designed by MMC Team Awesome
×