The battle of the bees

We've had a little battle raging in our back yard. It appears some bees decided it was a good place to live!
Bob noticed there were bees flying around one particular spot in the back. When he got closer, he saw a hole in the ground with lots of bees swarming around it.
Hmmm... This is a problem! We can't enjoy the yard, and it would be really difficult to mow the grass. So...
Bob tried to burn them out.

It was an adventure to even get close enough, but he did, pouring some gas down the hole, and then lighting it on fire.

It burned for some times

leaving this lovely spot in the grass.

However - within a few minutes, bees were coming back. It appeared that they had another hole to exit from, but we couldn't find it.

This was the next plan. My sister Cheri heard that if you covered ground hives with a tarp and secured it, the bees wouldn't stay because of the heat and lack of air.
This tarp stayed out there for a week.

And it seems to have worked! It's a good thing it's Fall though, because it left an ugly spot in the grass. Guess it's worth it though to avoid bee stings!