PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — There's a thief in Frankford who may be feeling the sting of guilt after lifting a shop vac from the pickup bed of a pest control professional.
Last week, Don Shump was in Malvern removing a nest of European hornets from a customer's tree. He is the owner of Philadelphia Bee Company.
"My company does removals of anything that flies and stings."
Shump contained the hornets in a shop vac. Then he drove home to Frankford and left the vacuum full of insects in the back of his pickup truck overnight.
"When I came back at 7 a.m., the vacuum was gone," Shump said. "So whoever had taken it, took not only the vacuum cleaner but 400 European hornets — and probably over 1,000 yellowjackets."
The invasive European hornet can grow to be up to an inch and a half in length — as big as a wine cork.
"They are the largest social wasps that we have in the region. And so if one of them flies into you it's going to feel like you got hit by a paintball. They are large insects, and getting stung by them is not a pleasant experience."
He says a sting from one of these wasps would likely cause a fair amount of swelling. "If you took more than 10," he said, "then maybe a hospital visit."
Shump says he would love to get his property back, "but at this point they can keep it — and good luck with the presents inside."
Shump has this advice to the thief: "Take some ice, take some Benadryl, and don't take other people's things."
