<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Dead-beesjul20.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6390" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Dead-beesjul20-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>As my allergic reaction to bee stings appears to be getting worse I've taken the difficult decision that they have to go. I've weighed up all the options and investigated a number of possibilities but sadly I came to the conclusion that I had to kill the colony. After some research I discovered that Rubbing Alcohol or Isopropyl to give its correct name, was the fastest way to kill them. I did all my preparation the night before to close them into the hive and early the following morning I opened them up and squirted and sprayed them before closing them up again. Inevitably some (several hundred out of 40,000) escaped and were all over me. Thankfully my bee suit protected me but I had to use the utility room as an airlock and make sure they were all dispatched before removing the bee suit. All that day the survivors were buzzing around the garden in a very lost and angry manner. I daren't go into the garden unless I was wearing my bee suit.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/last-bee-standingjul20.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-6389" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/last-bee-standingjul20-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>As the last vestiges of daylight left the sky I went outside to see where they were resting for the night. I found them in a honey box which I had cleared down and thought I'd sealed it up but they had found a way in. A few more sprays with the alcohol and very quickly all went quiet.

There are still a few bees looking for their home but they are too lost to bother stinging me so I spent a little while in the vegetable plot. The first time in two weeks when I felt safe.

While the hundred or so escapees were buzzing around they would frequently land on the patio doors if they saw me in the house. I know it sounds ridiculous but I swear they recognised me and there is <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/face-recognition-honeybees/#:~:text=The%20ability%20to%20tell%20individual,can%20learn%20human%20faces%2C%20too." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">scientific evidence to support my observation</a>.

I will now spend the next few months considering whether I should try again in the spring and will consult my GP to get a medical opinion on my allergic reaction.