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News > Visitors on flightline create buzz for JBSA-Randolph pest control
Visitors on flightline create buzz for JBSA-Randolph pest control
Posted 7/3/2012 Updated 7/3/2012 Email story Print story
by Robert Goetz
Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs
7/3/2012 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- When 902nd Civil Engineer Squadron pest control technicians were dispatched for an unusual mission on Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph's west flightline the afternoon of June 13, they weren't surprised.
A swarm of honeybees buzzing around on the flap of a T-6A Texan II trainer is an odd - and perhaps scary - sight to most people, but not so to the 902nd CES' Steve Kelly and Mike Lloyd. For them, removing the hard-working insects was just another day at the office and a task for which they are ably prepared.
"We've done a handful of those," Kelly said. "It was a swarm looking for a place to make their hive. They're always looking for a suitable place."
The way Kelly and Lloyd handled their assignment reflected the Air Force's kinder, gentler approach to pest control, especially when dealing with a beneficial creature like the bee.
"Most of the time we don't do anything," Kelly said. "They realize the top of an airplane wing is not a good place to make a home, so they move on."
But in this case, the pest control experts were directed to remove the bees, so they donned their beekeeping suits and went to work - not destroying the bees with chemicals, but simply using a piece of cardboard and a broom to gently brush them off the wing and scoop them into a specially designed box that served as a temporary home until they were given to local...