Hi all...I anxiously awaited responses re: the bees-in-the-birdhouse theme
as I too have that "problem", for the second year in a row; the difference
is I knew this year's bees were bumblebees from the get-go as they are
within 3 ft of my computer desk and a window. I have a small homemade
chickadee box hanging under the eaves, usually two broods a year, but
watched as the bees took over this box after the first fledge of the
chickadees. It was comical to watch the bees try to oust the defending
parent chickadees, or was it the other way around....?

Anyway, last year's wren box interlopers were wasps, and no one was
interested in that box this year, so I will take it down, take it apart and
clean it thoroughly. In the posts to Vicki, did anyone happen to mention the
best way to clean it out? I am thinking I may have to quick-burn it on the
interior...like with a small blowtorch...then use a wire brush...then scrub
it....then leave the pieces out during the rainy season. HA! That should do
it!

Dianna Moore
Ocean Shores, Wa.
dlmoor2 at coastaccess.com