Bee Whisperer goes viral after removing huge honeycomb
A Shelby County man is going viral online after posting photos of himself removing bricks at a Germantown home, revealing a huge honeycomb that bees built behind it.
David Glover, 53, also known as the Bartlett Bee Whisperer, posted the photos Sept. 28 on Facebook, and they had been shared more than 100,000 times less than a week later. His story went international and was published by the London-based Daily Mail, which proclaimed “He hit the honeypot!”
Glover has removed honey bees since 2009 from homes, but this was the largest single piece of flat comb he’s seen. He immediately sent photos to friends and family to tell them, “Check this out. This hive, is this not cool?” he recalled. They agreed, but none expected it to come to, “Dude, you’re going viral,” he said.
Glover explained how over the last couple years, the Germantown homeowner had difficulty with bees. Pest control sprayed, but honey bees were still getting inside her house. She then called Glover, and he went to check it out.
Using thermal imaging, he could see the red outline of where the brood nest
was. Brick by brick, he opened up the wall. “The bees were extremely cooperative most of time,” he said.
Now they are living in his backyard. That’s what Glover does. When called to a residence, he removes and relocates honey bee colonies, usually to his property, until they recover from the move. Then they can live either at the property of one of Glover’s mentees or go to a honey producer for free.
In an interview, Glover emphasized that honey bees are essential to the ecosystem.
“We need them working for us,” he said.