@SanDiegoAirport They were wasps or hornets nests in your basement, maybe yellow jackets. This was a bee colony for producing honey. Bees in the wild build hives in trees. Not in basements.

@barjoe It can happen. I've had to deal with it before.

[rootsimple.com]

@Larimar Thanks for the info. I wouldn't attempt that. I'd call Bee Busters. I'd want them taken out alive. That looks like it's loaded with honey as well. I had a wasps nest once, I took that down myself. Sprayed it a bunch, that wasp spray is nasty stuff. Broke it with a shovel, sprayed it some more, they started to fly around. I got stung a bit, ran in the house. Came back out they were gone a bunch of dead ones layhing around the nest was empty. They deserved to die.

@barjoe I am allergic to bee venom. I paid someone to do that and they relocated the hive. Had to put the siding and brick back up after. Wasp spray is actually also a poor person defence system. It will temporarily blind an assailant and it's got long distance. They actually recommended it to poor clients at the Dept of Corrections! Glad you weren't permanently injured by them!

@Larimar I've helped with several swarms. They really are interesting little critters. The honey's not bad either.

@Larimar I'm not sure if I'm allergic to wasp venom or not. My heart was racing and I was short of breath for an hour or so. They shoot a long spray so you don't have to get too close to the nest. I was told the wasp spray is a nerve agent so breathing that along with the multiple stings wasn't great. I should have been smart like you and called a professional. I'm not always the sharpest tool in the shed. You live near St Louis where the lovely couple lives. Am I right? I was there once, I liked it. The Hill, I ate the food, toasted ravioli was great, pizza was made with this weird fake provolone cheese but it was okay. Anyway I wouldn't spray my worst enemy with that wasp spray.

@barjoe I live here, yes, wasn't born here. I know some of the marchers that walked by their home. They were NOT threatened in any way. This is just their nature. It's going to impact their business now because they represented many POC. As Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

Imo's pizza sucks big sweaty donkey balls. I don't know what the attraction of Provel cheese is, it becomes almost liquid when heated in an oven. There is no stringiness which is the one thing good about pizza cheese.

I grew up in Ohio. I need to be a few states away from my mom but close enough that I can get there in a day in an emergency. I'm going to be looking for somewhere cooler in a few years I believe.

Wasp spray is a poor woman's defense mechanism. Probation and Parole will tell women in danger to use it. Can't afford a gun and conceal carry classes (not even required anymore here)? You can most likely afford wasp spray.

@silverotter11, I just can't hurt the little critters...they're too beneficial to the environment!

@Larimar Provel! That's it. The big question is...Why? Mozzarella is cheap enough. Pizza in my city is amazing. I remember they sold Chinese egg foo yung sandwiches on white bread. That was pretty good. Food items you see out there that you don't see anywhere else. Never spent much time in Ohio. I have been to Cleveland. It's a big state. From what part of Ohio do you hail?

I'm curious to know why you'd need to be several states away from mom. That's your business I guess. Your lucky to have her still though. We don't get tons of snow anymore in Philly. It never gets to zero never 100° I'm not sure I'd like a colder climate. I'd like to try warmer maybe. Right now I'm watching Laura about to hit Houston close to Cat 5 at this time. 927 millibars winds 150+ Strong 4. Wow. "Unsurvivable" storm surge. Not good.

Philly is weird about gun laws. PA is open carry state, city only prohibits crossbows, stun guns, pellet guns, and supposedly CS and mace. Pepper spray is legal but you can walk around with a side arm if you have permit. NRA at work. Cans of wasp spray are pretty big so it's hardly concealed. I guess they can't lock a parolee for possession of it. I'm not sure how effective it would be to stop a perp. It's nasty tho. Poor women's? Poor man's as well.

@barjoe St Paul sandwiches! They're pretty popular out here. Their pork steaks here are the best anywhere. I prefer making my own pizza but I used to own a restaurant and know best ways to make it. Mozarella is best in my opinion. But people like what they like.

I'm from around the lake in Ohio but lived all over that state. My mom is entirely different than I am. She's a fan of the orange shitgibbon and is a controlling narcissist. I was fortunate to survive my childhood and remain a thoughtful and caring of others individual. My blood pressure rises precipitously whenever much time is required spent in her company. It's not worth it to me.

Missouri is too frequently high nineties and over 100 degrees with high humidity. I turned on the AC here in March. There is no rarely any snow or very cold days here like when my daughter was born in the area in the mid eighties. Climate change is real and it's going to change everything drastically. I used to like heat, now with age, I'd prefer autumnal weather but we seem to go straight from extreme hot to just cold and the cold only lasts a couple of months with no extremes.

When I refer to wasp spray, I'm referring to in the home. I sure wouldn't carry it about on the streets. I've threatened a man who appeared on my second floor balcony one time with it. He just knocked on the sliding glass door and demanded entry while he was on something and dressed in only cut off shorts-he was bleeding from climbing a brick post to get to my deck. This wasn't in a bad area of town either. Gals just can't be too careful, I called the cops while making sure he didn't break the glass or force entry and they carted him off. I was glad to have it on hand. I now have a pistol but the can works just as well in a pinch.

@Larimar I'm sorry you and your mother don't get along. My mom used to push my buttons but I loved her a lot. She started suffering from dementia. I took her car from her when she was 88. She freaked out. Wouldn't talk to me for months. About a year later my brother thought she should be in a nursing home. She wouldn't have it. I was her caregiver for the last two years of her life. Quit my job. Doctor put her on hospice. I did home hospice. Didn't want to send her off to die. 3 months later I woke up and found her. She was 92. 7 years ago.

Philly is further north than st Louis but it's sea level so not like Ohio. Milder. We've got great food items here too. You might've had scrapple, it's awesome. Cheesesteak, hoagies, roast pork with broccolirabe and sharp provolone. The rolls here are unbelievable. Great old school pizza lots of new yuppie pizza too. So what are pork streaks. Are they big pork chops? Are they a sandwich like a Cheesesteak? I want one.

Wow! That story about the intruder. Did that spray stop him? Did he run away, the cops get him? That's scary stuff. Enough to get a little girl to buy a gun for sure. I could see someone commit burglary when you weren't home. To attempt to force his way into your home while you were there. He had bad intentions. I don't even want to think about it. They say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.