Arizona

Today I looked out my patio window and saw a massive swarm of angry bees buzzing around the patio. The buzzing sound was loud enough that I could hear it from inside my home. I quickly made sure that my dogs were all inside and closed the doggie door so none of them would venture outside. I was very relieved to see that my pets were all still inside. Early this morning one of my dogs was snooping around the area where I had spotted a few bees. I knew these bees were most definitely Africanized bees by their attack. They are fiercely defensive and will leave a hive in swarms to attack a person or animal that disturbs them. Africanized Bees are also known as ‘Killer Bees’ due to their aggressive territorial gang up defensive behavior. Africanized bees are an extremely vicious type of honeybee when it comes to protecting their hive. I was extremely upset to see the bees attacking some baby doves that appeared to have just fallen from a nest. In a matter of minutes the poor little birds were stung to death. I felt so helpless that I couldn’t rescue them.

I do know that disturbed colonies may remain agitated for as long as 24 hours, attacking perceived threats up to a quarter mile from the hive. Once disturbed, colonies may remain agitated for 24 hours, attacking people and animals within a range of a quarter mile from the hive. As the number of Africanized bee colonies increases in an area, so, too, does the likelihood of human and animal encounters with them. I will stay inside today, a prisoner in my own home until the bee service arrives to fumigate them.

Every year I have to deal with this problem. I try to be very vigilant in sealing outside openings in my home and walls. Last year they came and nested in my meter box. The year before, they entered a tiny crack in a block wall. A lot of my neighbors have had problems with the bees as well. One of my neighbors even purchased a beekeepers suit to try and take care of the problem. This is certainly a bad idea if you are not experienced. People in Arizona have died as a result of an attack. It is not necessary to disturb the hive itself to initiate an African bee attack. The bees do not like loud sounds such as lawn mower. They do not like perfumed smells or dark colors either. The best method of escaping a bee attack is to cover your head and run for shelter.

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