Warmer weather has bees are on the move in the Permian Basin.
Pest control companies are responding to calls throughout the area to take care of beehives that are too close for comfort.

For workers in the oilfield, swarming bees aren’t merely a buzzing pest. In the oil patch, the presence of these tiny honey-producing bodies can force big rigs to shut down, shutting down the flow of oil — and money.

The insects have become a problem for Odessan Rance Carnes, a junior partner in Adobe Services and La Mission Rentals. Carnes works with more than 80 active drilling sites and has 121 trailers on locations in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.

Carnes called Mikey Milam, owner of Marvin’s Pest Control, to eradicate bees at a work site near Kermit recently. A large group of bees had made a honeycomb in the insulation at the bottom of one of his rental trailers.