Every now and then I will get a call from a customer who asks me why we call Jeff Lutz the Bee Whisperer. It started out a few years ago after Jeff went looking to find a hive inside the wall of a home. The customer had called out several bee companies, and none of them were able to locate the hive. When Jeff got to the house, the first thing the customer said was “No one can find the hive”.
Jeff asked the owner to show him where the bees were entering the structure. The customer led Jeff upstairs to show him a window inside a Turret Staircase. As they were walking upstairs, Jeff walked along the wall and noticed a slight odor. “Wait one sec” Jeff said “I think I can smell it”
“Smell what?” the customer asked.
Jeff stopped and ran the palm of his hands along the wall. He knocked softly against the wall in various places and and started sniffing the wall. The customer looked perplexed.
“Right Here” Jeff suddenly announced as he pointed to the wall half way up the spiral staircase.
“Here?” the customer asked in disbelief “Are you sure?”.
“I’m absolutely sure” Jeff replied with confidence.
“OK” said the customer, “How are you so sure?”.
Jeff asked the customer to wait while he retrieved a long screwdriver from his truck. When Jeff came back he pushed the screwdriver through the drywall and swirled it around. As Jeff pulled it out from the wall, the customer looked at him with amazement as he held the screwdriver up with honey dripping on the end of it.
“How the heck did you know” asked the customer.
Jeff replied “I could smell it as we were walking up the stairs”.
“What Smell?” the customer asked in amazement? “I couldn’t smell anything”.
“I know.” Jeff continued, “I have an unusual ability to smell hives in walls that no one else can smell”. “I’ve been doing this for so long that I can actually visualize where the bees are located just by looking at where the bees are entering the structure.” “When I sleep I sometimes get visions of where a hive is located the night before I have a big job that is scheduled in the morning.””I can smell honey and hives that most people can’t smell”
The customer was stunned. The next day he called the office and said “Thanks for sending out your Bee Whisperer” …and the name has stuck ever since.
Jeff Lutz is The Bee Whisperer
