Bees finally removed from church
Peace descended on the Dutch Reformed Church in Pionierspark again when the buzzing of bees that for the past two weeks hindered parishioners from coming close to the building were finally removed.According to Cornel Corbett, the operations manager at the church on the corner of Redecker and Von Falkenhausen street, the "visitors" were initially a "little hive" on the left side of the church tower's highest window and they were calm and did not bother anyone. Over time, however, their numbers began to grow and their hive became larger and larger.
"The hive was difficult to reach and we didn't know how we were going to get the bees out of there. They become a nuisance and began stinging some of the children and people at the dance school," says Cornel, presumably because the bees were irritated by the noise around them.
The plan was to wait until it got colder when the bees would be less active.
Finding experienced and professional beekeepers was not a problem. The headache was to find experienced persons with the right safety equipment that would get the "catchers" safely to the top of the giant nests.
Emergency Management Training and Specialist Services (EMTSS), which among other things specialises in working at heights, was willing to help and the first attempt was made on 20 July to give the bees a new home.
However, it was unsuccessful, after the bees tackled everything and everyone around them at the church and the surrounding streets the moment the nest was touched.
“There were bees everywhere! The guys had to leave their equipment and everything just like that. EMTSS's people were stung, they went all the way across the road and stung some of the residents and their animals," Cornel says.
With the input of the Bee Society of Namibia, it was decided to review and discuss the situation again before the next attempt at the bees' relocation would be made. On Thursday, EMTSS and a team of eight people went up the church tower again and the entire hive was collected.
But unfortunately, the queen bee and all her followers ended up in the church!
"The building is 54 years old and some of the putty in the windows is already brittle. The queen was now in the window and all the bees, 80 000 of them, surrounded her.”
The bees had suddenly found a new home inside the church.
"What made it difficult is that there is no space next to or inside the church for the fire brigade to park or to set up scaffolding."
By this time, some of the bees were heavily encumbered and invaded the neighbourhood last Friday and again stung people and animals, so much so that Cornel had to call the ambulance twice for help.
On Tuesday the team was back again and the window was taken out and the queen and the majority of her loyal guards were removed. According to Cornel, the few bees still buzzing between the church's walls are now "homeless but not aggressive".
Even though no one could come to the church for two weeks, services such as providing meals and sandwiches for the elderly and children Monday through Wednesday continued.
Cornel and the rest of the staff worked from home and last Sunday's service was held at the Dutch Reformed Church in Academia.
Two columns outside the church also each have large nests and the plan is to remove them next Tuesday, a process that will be considerably easier.
In the meantime, a funeral service takes place in the church today and parishioners can return on Sunday for the normal services. – [email protected]