Honey Bee Obscura Podcast
177 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 100 ratingsShort, in-depth, plain talk discussions of all things honey bees, with Dr. Jim Tew
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Episodes
Dealing With Feisty Bees (075)
May 26, 2022 10:00 - 18 minutes - 26.2 MBJim’s beeyard is the center of attention this week, because his bees were bothering his wife and a very patient, longtime neighbor. That’s not a good thing. So, exasperated, Jim asks Kim for his ideas about all that was going on and to help figure out why. Two of his colonies were swarming or at least it looked that way. Plus, he is experiencing a nectar dearth at the moment. Is robbing part of the problem? Regardless, his bees are feisty and others are paying the price. It was a mixed b...
How To Plan Raised Pollinator Beds (074)
May 19, 2022 10:00 - 18 minutes - 26 MBIf a pollinator garden is in your future this summer, constructing a raised bed is one way to keep it under control and is a much easier approach to providing food for your bees, beauty for your yard and not an aching back for you. There are all varieties of raised bed gardens. The one pictured below is made of metal, purchased from a gardening company that specializes in these and will last years with little maintenance. Simpler models have only metal corner posts, the gardener supplies...
Final Thoughts on Package Bee Season (073)
May 12, 2022 10:00 - 16 minutes - 22.8 MBSo you have already put in your two packages (you did get two, right?) and a few days, or maybe a week later you checked them and…..something’s wrong! What can go wrong with a new package? Kim and Jim chat a bit about the things that can and for some, will go wrong with new packages. First check, the queen’s dead in her cage. Get a new one, find some brood from another colony, join with another colony? All work, but which is best? After a week you check and…..no bees! They all left! W...
Installing Package Bees in Inclement Weather (072)
May 05, 2022 10:00 - 20 minutes - 29.1 MBPackage season is about over for 2022. Perhaps thankfully too, depending on where in the country you live. Installing packages does not always go well or as depicted in bee books or Internet videos. Sometimes, the weather just does not cooperate. In this week’s episode, Jim talks with Jeff Ott from Beekeeping Today Podcast about installing packages in bad weather. When you order and pay your deposit in January and February for your packages later in the spring, you envision they will show ...
Planning A Successful Bee Association Meeting (071)
April 28, 2022 10:00 - 21 minutes - 30.4 MBHave you ever been involved in planning and carrying out a beekeeping meeting? If not, there are a host of things to consider that you may have missed when you simply ‘attend’ a meeting. Kim and Jim have attended probably thousands of meetings, and over the last 30 plus years, have seen everything that can go wrong, go wrong, and what those who make good plans did to fix it. They’ve seen lots of meetings run as smooth as glass. Plus, Kim has served as President of both the Connecticut and ...
Finding Bee Yards (070)
April 21, 2022 10:00 - 18 minutes - 26.3 MBWhat are the important considerations for finding a new bee yard? There are a whole lot of right answers to this question and Kim and Jim explore almost all of them. For starters, year-round access, locked gates, dangerous animals, safety, and liability (yours and the property owner)? There are many questions you should ask. The answers, of course, are going to be all over the map (sorry) and you will need to know (and probably have in writing) the answers to all of them. Plus, talk to a...
Supplemental Spring Feeding of Honey Bees (069)
April 14, 2022 10:00 - 20 minutes - 28.6 MBIf your colonies make it through the winter, or if you simply purchased more bees as a package or nuc, their next challenge is making it through the changeable spring weather. (Especially this year, it seems.) Your management challenge is deciding what and how to feed them. In this episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott discuss supplemental spring feeding. Specifically, they discuss the feeding of carbohydrates or sugar water. (The supplemental feeding of protein (pollen) will be covered in a futur...
Adding Package Bees to Deadout Equipment (068)
April 07, 2022 10:00 - 18 minutes - 26.6 MBThis time of year, experienced and new beekeepers are receiving their packaged bees and nucs. Only a few of these packages and nucs are going home to new equipment. Many will go home to equipment left over from last year's failed colonies. Is it safe to use this equipment? In this episode, Jeff Ott (from Beekeeping Today Podcast) fills in for Kim Flottum and asks Jim, can he use his old equipment. What about the old honey? Will it hurt if the honey is fermenting or crystallized? What about...
Capturing and Hiving Swarms (067)
March 31, 2022 10:00 - 22 minutes - 31.8 MBA beekeeper's most exciting moment is undoubtedly, capturing and hiving a swarm... especially when it is someone else's bees! In today episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott - who is filling in for Kim Flottum this week - discuss capturing swarms and how you can be prepared this year. How can you be prepared? Get some basic equipment pulled together. A container of some type (preferably bee-tight), such as a hive body with a frame or two of brood comb foundation, pruning shears, a tarp - white is ...
Swarm Traps aka Bait Hives (066)
March 24, 2022 10:00 - 16 minutes - 23.9 MBIn today's episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott (who's stepping in this week for Kim Flottum) discuss their experiences using swarm traps - sometimes called "bait hives". Swarm traps are used by beekeepers to lure the scout bees looking for a new home. There are multiple types of swarm traps from the commercially available 'flower pot' type traps, to home-made traps to simply setting out old hive bodies with a frame or two of brood comb or foundation. Jim and Jeff talk about what they've used, wh...
More Listener Questions (065)
March 17, 2022 10:00 - 22 minutes - 31.1 MBThis week, Beekeeping Today Podcast's co-host, Jeff Ott sits in for Kim Flottum and joins podcast regular, Jim Tew to answer listener questions. Kim and Jim have often discussed the pros and cons of using all medium equipment. Today, Jim and Jeff answer the listener question about how to move from deeps to mediums (or 'western') boxes for the brood boxes. What do you use? What do you like? What don't you like? What is your favorite beekeeping tool not found in a beekeeping catalog or you...
Mind Your Bees Wax (064)
March 10, 2022 11:00 - 16 minutes - 23.1 MBSo, what do you do with your old wax? For some of us, as little as possible, but for others, there’s money to be made. There are different kinds of wax based on a couple of factors, including how long it was in the hive and how it was used by the bees. Bees wax from the brood area tends to get dark fast, in a couple of years, it’s nearly black from old cocoons, pollen, uneaten honey and the like. In fact, after a couple of years those old combs will have enough dirt, grime, propolis and ...
Dealing With Old Equipment (063)
March 03, 2022 11:00 - 14 minutes - 21 MBWhat can you do with all that old beekeeping equipment you don’t need, don’t want and is in the way most of the time? There are several ways to look at this, and the first way, of course, is to simply trash it, burn it, bury it. That works, but there’s maybe a better way. In this week’s episode, Kim and Jim discuss how they deal with old equipment! First question to consider: Is it clean? In some states, you’ll need an inspector’s seal of approval if you’re giving it to someone so you do...
Make Money with Honey Bees! (062)
February 24, 2022 11:00 - 17 minutes - 25.2 MBIn today’s episode, Kim and Jim discuss making money with honey bees. Almost every beekeeper has had someone (usually a spouse…) say, “I thought you were going to make money as a beekeeper.” Well, it is possible to make money with bees, but you have to put some thought into it. Do you have the time for the extra work required and can you afford to spend less time with your family? Do you have the equipment you’ll need to do the things you can do to make money? Do you have the energy? ...
Raising Non-Graft Queens (061)
February 17, 2022 11:00 - 15 minutes - 22.5 MBA good rule when raising a few queens is to keep it simple. And not having to graft larvae from one cell to another is as simple as could be. So, how can that be done? The Hopkins method is one way, where you simply put a frame with eggs and larvae in a queenless colony and let them do their thing. You even have some controls of the genetics that way, depending on where that frame comes from. Or you can simply do a split, remove the queen from one or both and get out of the way and let t...
Late Winter Colony Management (060)
February 10, 2022 11:00 - 17 minutes - 24.8 MBIt’s early February and it’s winter. But winter in northern Ohio is a lot different than winter in the south, where bees are flying, foraging and raising brood. And where it’s cold, you can’t be doing things with your bees, but you can be doing things for your bees: Getting ready for spring. Food can be a problem right now. How much did you leave last fall? It’s tough to look, but if you can get a glimpse inside, how would you feed them if you had to? Fondant works, usually, by cracking a ...
Going Big Time - Large Observation Hives (059)
February 03, 2022 11:00 - 18 minutes - 26.4 MBManaging large observation hives is very different than working with those small observation hives that you can take to a school or county fair. Very different indeed. Especially if you are going to keep this hive in your home or classroom. To begin, there’s really no standard design. They can be a single frame wide or 2 or more frames wide. And how tall? Two, three frames tall? More than one frame wide and you’ll probably never see the queen, if only a single frame, the bees never get to ...
Let's Discuss Small Observation Hives (058)
January 27, 2022 11:00 - 19 minutes - 27.5 MBSmall, portable, usually single frame observation hives are ideal for meetings, demonstrations, lectures and even for study. They can be homemade or produced by bee supply companies, but there are a few things to keep in mind when using them…. especially when children are your audience. Kids are full of energy and accidents happen. Make sure you observation hive is rough and tumble ready, securely held in place for when kids are pointing, showing and asking questions. How many bees should ...
Bee Beards - Part 2 (057)
January 20, 2022 11:00 - 17 minutes - 25 MBIn today’s episode, Kim and Jim continue their exploration of Bee Beards… though this time… they go big… really big bee beards you see in the movies, where they use 20 maybe 30 pounds of bees, and the person is covered from the top of his head to his shoe laces? How can they do that? You have to start with that many bees that have been queenless for up to a couple three days. Queenless packages work well here. Then, you put them all in one big box, and using a piece of screen, with Vasel...
Bee Beards - Part 1 (056)
January 13, 2022 11:00 - 19 minutes - 26.8 MBReally? You want to do a bee beard? OK, let’s think this through. How much do you know about bees and bee beards, and why do you want to make a bee beard anyway? Some people will think you are as crazy as a loon to try this and that you will die. But others think bee beards are a great way to demonstrate that bees are gentle, safe and actually fun to work with, if you know what you are doing. In today’s episode, Kim and Jim start a discussion on… Bee Beards. First, if your club is doing ...
Flower Garden Site Prep (055)
January 06, 2022 11:00 - 17 minutes - 24.5 MBJim has finally figured out where he wants his flowers to be next spring, so what’s next is getting those sites ready to plant, so that what he plants does the best it can for Jim, the bees and anybody who walks by. In this episode, Kim and Jim discuss the next steps in planning his garden including the time and amount of light the spot receives, soil tests, sod removal options, and… what to plant! Listen and learn as Kim & Jim discuss the ins and outs of flower garden site preparation, ...
New Year - New Equipment... Assembly Required? (054)
December 30, 2021 11:00 - 16 minutes - 22.7 MBYou can buy all of your beekeeping equipment already assembled and if wooden boxes, already painted. They cost more than if you do it yourself, but you don’t invest any time in assembly. Or, you can buy everything unassembled; nail and glue all the parts and pieces together, then paint it. You’ll need the right tools of course, the room and occasionally have to get something that didn’t get packed. Buying assembled boxes can be a good idea, as long as they are put together correctly at the...
Planning your Gardens for Bees (053)
December 23, 2021 11:00 - 18 minutes - 25.5 MBJim has finally taken to heart the old saying, “Plant a flower - Feed a bee” and wants to add some plants to his yard that will not only feed bees, but add beauty to his landscape. But Jim’s a hard-core entomologist and hasn’t spent a lot of time studying the how’s and why’s and where’s of creating his semi-urban plain old lawn into a Garden of Earthly Delights. Lucky for Jim, Kim went to college to learn those exact skills and has offered to give him a hand. He guides Jim in finding out w...
Considering the Bee Culture December Issue (052)
December 16, 2021 11:00 - 16 minutes - 23.8 MBThe December, 2021 issue of Bee Culture magazine arrived this month. In this episode, Kim and Jim look at this special issue and discuss why it’s special every December. Starting right off, it’s the Interview issue, where the regular writers, and some others, introduce the readers to industry people, friends in bees and beekeeping, or just someone they think their readers would like to get to know. The issue includes the annual honey price report too, which shows honey prices for a coupl...
Considering Packages or Nucs for the Spring (051)
December 09, 2021 11:00 - 17 minutes - 24.1 MBWill it be packages of nucs next spring? It’s only December, how do I know what I’ll want, and, if any, how many I’ll want? Getting nucs or packages in the spring has changed a lot in the last several years. The quality of queens has changed. Everybody has varroa, well almost everybody, so how and when do I treat these new entries into my apiary? How many of what I have now will still be here next spring? What if they all are? Or what if none are? And where can I get packages now? The po...
New Swarms On Deadout Comb? (050)
December 02, 2021 11:00 - 16 minutes - 23.5 MBCan You Put New Swarms on Old Comb? You’ve caught your first swarm. Where should it go? You don’t have any new equipment to put it on, but you have an overwintered colony that didn’t make it. Can you use the combs from that colony? Always the best answer – It Depends! First, ask yourself, why did that colony die? Was it maybe American Foulbrood? European Foulbrood? If you don’t know you need to find out BEFORE you put more bees in those boxes. Have them tested. If the colony went queen...
Artificial Honeycomb (049)
November 25, 2021 11:00 - 16 minutes - 23.8 MBBack about 100 years ago, there was so much adulterated honey for sale that people were reluctant to buy it at all. Comb honey was seen as being different because that couldn’t be adulterated, right? Well, A. I. Root put up an award looking for fake comb honey because he was sure it couldn’t be done. Fast forward 100 years or so and that may not be the case anymore. People can digitally print fully drawn comb for bees to use, from either beeswax, or other edible waxes. Bees seem to like it...
What's That Smell - Part 2: The Good (048)
November 18, 2021 11:00 - 18 minutes - 26 MBBees, honey, smoker smoke, and lots more all have their own aroma. Beekeeping is rich in its own smells. Most are fragrant, rich and a delight to work with. Some, not so much. This is a two-part series, started in the last episode, #47. In today’s Part 2, we spent some time smelling honeys, the types and seasons and sources and times. Then we looked the wonderful aromas the come from beekeeping products. Beeswax being rendered, honey being uncapped, the smell of brand-new wax foundation, b...
What's That Smell? - Part 1: The Bad (047)
November 11, 2021 11:00 - 18 minutes - 26.5 MBBees, honey, smoker smoke, and lots more all have their own aroma. Beekeeping is rich in its own smells. Most are fragrant, rich and a delight to work with. Some, not so much. This is a two-part series. In today’s Part 1, we looked at smells from the smoker, which are many and varied, rich and awful, all at the same time. Then we discussed the smells of bees, the good, the bad and the ugly. Come on along and learn what you can expect when dealing with honey, honey bees and all that comes...
Small-Scale Pollination Contracts (046)
November 04, 2021 10:00 - 16 minutes - 23.2 MBAt some point, whether by design or accident, many beekeepers consider expanding into pollination for hire with their bees. What does that mean and what does it take? What should be considered before undertaking a small-scale pollination job? In this episode, Kim and Jim discuss their experiences and offer their observations. First, start thinking about what you’ll need next spring NOW, so you’re ready next spring! If you wait until the first dandelion, you will be late to the game! If...
Bottom Boards (045)
October 28, 2021 10:00 - 16 minutes - 22.6 MBEvery kind of hive has some kind of bottom board. Typically, Langstroth type hives have a bottom board that is removable. Many are reversible, too. That is one side has a ridge going around three sides that is only 3/8th of an inch tall, leaving an opening so small in the front that a mouse should not be able to get into the hive. These are used this way in the winter. The other side of this bottom board has a ridge that is 3/4th of an inch tall, to be used in the summer for better ventilati...
Preparing for Winter (044)
October 21, 2021 10:00 - 19 minutes - 27.6 MBIf you are comfortable outside on Christmas Day, you probably don’t have to worry about wrapping your colonies for winter protection. Otherwise, this episode is for you! At least put up a windbreak. It’s easy, cheap and it helps. But what other insulation is available? There’s history of what has been used, and what’s available now isn’t much different, but it’s better. Tar paper was common, roofing insulation is often used, already packaged units like a Bee Cozy, or those made by Better...
Beekeeper Waxing & Waning (043)
October 14, 2021 10:00 - 12 minutes - 18.2 MBDo you remember what it was like when you first started keeping bees? Beekeeping was easier years ago, and most of us wanted more bees, more hives, more skills, more of everything beekeeping. But there’s a next chapter. Beekeepers today are better educated because there’s more to do now. So, it’s not wrong to want to take a day, a week, a whole season off. And there will be good times and bad times. And yes, some won’t come back. Sometimes, learning something new will keep you going. Lea...
Invasive Plants (042)
October 07, 2021 10:00 - 12 minutes - 18.4 MBThere are, in most places, a mix of native and invasive plants that our bees will visit because they don’t distinguish good from bad, noxious from native. They are looking for food, regardless of the source. This week Kim and Jim touch on a few of these, and try and come up with some recommendations and perhaps some plans on dealing with invasive plants and your honey bees. They start with the Chinese Tallow lawsuit going on in the south, with USDA wanting rid of it by introducing a natu...
Fall Feeding (041)
September 30, 2021 10:00 - 16 minutes - 23 MBIf you have to feed your bees this fall, something probably went wrong this summer. Spring feeding, or feeding packages or splits is maybe more common, but there are some things to think about if you have to feed your bees in the fall. Is what went wrong the fault of your bees, your management, or the environment your bees have to live in. Too many row crops, pesticides, too much lawn…is there really any food out there at all? How much food does a colony actually need to get through the ...
Winter Packing (040)
September 23, 2021 10:00 - 17 minutes - 24 MBThink about honey bees overwintering in a tree. There’s 4 to 6 inches of insulation, pretty good ventilation, and it’s lined with propolis. Now think of our bees living in a box with less than an inch of wood for protection. We pretty much don’t think of wintering anymore. There’s lots of bees, swarms, we can replace what we lose easily…. well, it was easy, but it’s not so much anymore. Varroa changed that. We can protect them if we want. Insulated covers, insulated wraps, roofing paper, a...
"Winter Is Coming" aka Planning For Winter (039)
September 16, 2021 10:00 - 17 minutes - 24.6 MBThere’s a saying – Winter Begins in August and it’s already September. It’s time to start thinking about getting ready for winter. What can and what should you be thinking about? Well, if winter is cold where you are, can you move your bees to somewhere that’s warm? If moving bees is at all possible. What about indoor wintering? It used to be popular and it’s coming back, but the indoors are a lot more sophisticated than they used to be. Is that possible? And are your bees winter hardy...
Combining (Joining) Weak Colonies (038)
September 09, 2021 10:00 - 14 minutes - 20.3 MBRight now, you have to make some decisions about how to overwinter your colonies. If you live in the deep south, there probably isn’t much to think about. But if you live north of warm winter weather, there’s a lot that has to be done. One of these tasks is what to do with a couple of small, weak colonies, because they are just not big enough to make it on their own. Several options are available. In this week’s episode, Kim and Jim look at the strengths and weaknesses of each to help you ...
Dealing With Neighbor's Yellowjacket Problems (E37)
September 02, 2021 10:00 - 16 minutes - 23.9 MBBeekeepers are very often asked to help friends or neighbors that have “bee” problems…. honey bees, carpenter bees, yellow jackets, hornets, bumblebees and the like. But most of us aren’t exterminators. We don’t have the tools, the experience, or the time to help. But “can’t you just get rid of them for me?” lets you know they think you know how to do this… and are ‘glad to help.’ Sometimes they are your bees. A colony swarms and if you are lucky lands in a tree or bush and are easy to ret...
Dealing With Neighbor's Yellowjacket Problems (037)
September 02, 2021 10:00 - 16 minutes - 23.9 MBBeekeepers are very often asked to help friends or neighbors that have “bee” problems…. honey bees, carpenter bees, yellow jackets, hornets, bumblebees and the like. But most of us aren’t exterminators. We don’t have the tools, the experience, or the time to help. But “can’t you just get rid of them for me?” lets you know they think you know how to do this… and are ‘glad to help.’ Sometimes they are your bees. A colony swarms and if you are lucky lands in a tree or bush and are easy to ret...
Dealing With 'Wet Combs' After Extracting (036)
August 26, 2021 10:00 - 20 minutes - 28.9 MBWhen you finish extracting your honey crop, you have frames that have sticky, gooey honey in the cells, and on the frame surfaces. There may be some crystalized honey in some of the cells, too. Maybe even some pollen stored there. So how do you clean up this mess so when you go to store the supers with these frames in them for the winter, they will be safe? Kim and Jim take a look at dealing with these wet combs so they get clean and are easy to store for the winter, no matter where you wi...
Ugly (Mean) Bees (035)
August 19, 2021 22:59 - 13 minutes - 18.8 MBWhat do you do about ugly or mean bees? It can be difficult to determine which colony in a beeyard with several colonies is the one, or maybe one of several, that has scouting guard bees meet you at the gate when you go to a beeyard. If you can determine which colony is the one with the problems, why is it behaving so aggressively? Several reasons come to mind – something is bothering it at night, maybe a skunk for several nights, then you come along and they’ve about had it with being dis...
How Are My Bees? (034)
August 12, 2021 10:00 - 13 minutes - 18.8 MBEvery spring we beekeepers buy packages and set up nucs. Come summer, we start to look at what is going right and what may be going… well… not so right. Or at least, something is going but we’re not quite certain just what! In this episode, Kim and Jim discuss the hives they started this past spring and compare notes. They’re only 30 miles apart and you might think weather and time have treated them equally and… you would be surprised. How was the new queen accepted? How has the honey f...
Planting for Bees (033)
August 05, 2021 10:00 - 13 minutes - 18.7 MBBeekeepers talk a lot about not having enough food or enough good food for their bees due to all manner of development, agriculture spread, and agriculture in general. To help fix that problem beekeepers should be looking at doing some planting for bees, which is what Kim and Jim talk about this week. But it’s not as simple as it might sound. If you are planning on something for your yard, the basic gardening techniques can be an issue – dealing with sod removal, local animals that will en...
Troubling Questions (032)
July 29, 2021 10:00 - 15 minutes - 21.7 MBKim and Jim ask some interesting questions this week, maybe some you’ve asked yourself, or perhaps you asked a close friend. For instance, should a colony being used for honey production spend time and energy raising drones? Or should a beekeeper be getting rid of drones? There are some who believe so. And where do you go to get good information when you have a honey bee question? The web? And if so, which websites do you seek out? What about books and magazines? And for what subjects? ...
European Foul Brood (031)
July 22, 2021 10:00 - 15 minutes - 21.3 MBHave you ever had European Foulbrood (EFB) in one or more of your hives? How do you know if it was EFB? What does it look like? What does it smell like? Does it smell like American Foulbrood (AFB), or look like AFB? If you’re not sure, how do you find out? Who can you call? And what can you do about it if it is EFB? Burn, treat, scorch, feed, let it alone because it will get better? And if you need to treat, do you know a veterinarian who can give you a prescription so you can buy an antib...
Hot Summers and Bees (030)
July 15, 2021 10:00 - 15 minutes - 22.5 MBIt’s been hot in Ohio so far this summer (and a lot of other places too) but it’s also been wet. Hot and wet can make keeping bees a lot harder than normal. Kim and Jim talk about hot summers and their bees. Kick the air conditioner down a couple of degrees, pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage and listen in. Jim is visiting up in Michigan this week, and it’s been hot there, too. They share the same loss of enthusiasm and eagerness for working bees when it’s hot and it seems ...
A Close Look At The 2020-2021 BIP Annual Loss Survey (029)
July 08, 2021 10:00 - 18 minutes - 26.1 MBHow many colonies had to be replaced last year? How many in winter, summer, total? How many beekeepers were surveyed? How many commercial operations, how many sideline operations, and how many hobby beekeepers? It used to be called the annual colony loss survey, but even that has changed because one thing they have found is that colony counts aren’t decreasing, because they are replaced, and are now considered turnovers, not losses. The Bee Informed Colony Management survey went looking fo...
Dealing With Neighbors (028)
July 01, 2021 10:00 - 12 minutes - 18 MBA question from a book written 107 years ago comes up for discussion. “How do you keep your bees from bothering your neighbors?” Back then, it was mostly cattle and horses beekeepers were worried about Today? It’s the people in the house right next door, their swimming pool, their bird feeders and waterers and the water for their pooch. First, is it legal to keep bees where you are? Then how do you get along with your neighbors? Where are your bees? Do you have a fence? (It’s still true ...
Euthanizing Honey Bees (027)
June 24, 2021 10:00 - 11 minutes - 16.5 MBIt’s rare, very rare, but sometimes beekeepers have to kill all the bees in a colony. It can be a tragic, emotional and usually it’s an expensive experience. Or it can be a life saving act to save the lives of friends, neighbors and family. At the very least, it will render a box of dangerous or sick bees no longer dangerous or reduce the chance of spreading disease across the county. At any rate, it is painful to have to do this. There are usually only 2 reasons this has to be done. The p...