It takes 10 bee stings for every pound that you weigh, to kill the average non-allergic human. If your child weighs 85 pounds and gets 850 stings, it could be fatal. There are an average of 10,000 to 40,000 bees in the typical hive. If they are Africanized bees, they would be more aggressive and more likely to inflict the maximum stings possible, even if seemingly unprovoked.
At Florida-Bee-Removal.com our certified Africanized Honey Bee (AHB or “Killer Bee”) removal technicians have been removing bees, wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets from residential & commercial properties, both interior and exterior. For over the past 10 years we have been servicing the west centralcoast of florida.
Offering the latest and most innovative methods for removing the bees and hive from any structure. We are fully Licensed and insured to handle all of your needs. Please let the professionals handle your potentially dangerous nuisance wildlife removals. If you’re experiencing any other wildlife problems, please visit our Nuisance Wildlife Removal, Inc. website for more details.
Bees swarm when it is time to find a new home because of overcrowding, or other undesirable conditions. Swarming bees are loaded with honey and are not inclined to sting. If left alone, they will probably move on within a day or two.
If you see a swarm, please do not try to handle it yourself. There is no way to visually determine whether it is Africanized or not, and it is not worth getting seriously injured or injuring innocent bystanders. Please call a certified professional to handle the swarm / colony.
Please call us for a humane solution to your bee problems!
by Russ Frank
Honey bee removal in Florida has changed a lot in the last few years. South Florida and parts of Central Florida have seen an increasing number of Africanized bee colonies become established. Even North Florida is beginning to see some colonies being established. Public safety has become a priority.
The behavior of African bees is the cause of this rather sudden change. Unlike European honey bees, which are rather mild mannered, Africanized bees are easily provoked and attack in large numbers. Although they don’t deserve the “killer” title, bee removal experts recommend they receive a heap of respect and a wide berth to prevent any nasty surprises.
Even if a nearby bee colony consists of European honey bees, danger exists. African bees can easily take over. Queens live between 6 months and one year. New queens leave the hive temporarily to mate. If an African bee colony is nearby, and if the queen mates with one of their drones, the existing European hive could rapidly become Africanized.
In the Southwestern U.S. Africanized bees have been well established for many years. Records show that one-half of all Africanized bee attacks occur after the victim was aware of the nest. In those situations, removing the bees would be the right thing to do. If the nest had been removed when discovered, those attacks would not have happened.
In the past bee hive removal that consisted of eliminating a nest rather than simply relocating it was frowned upon because bees are endangered. Because bees are needed to pollinate our food crops, we encouraged the bee experts to save the hive. The invasion of African bees however, has increased the risk associated with wild bees. Beekeepers are reluctant to keep African hives.
Florida officials are quick to point out that they are NOT trying to eliminate all wild bee nests, or even all killer bees. The fact is that Africanized bees may have 100-200 colonies per square mile where they have become established. Removal of one or two colonies does have much impact on the overall population of bees. The State of Florida does recommend removal of bee nests found near people. Be sure to use only state certified Pest Control Operators for bee removal.
A trained and certified Pest Control Operator should 1) recognize whether the bees on your property are a swarm or a colony and be able to explain the difference to you 2) discuss the removal procedure with you before beginning the honey bee removal 3) wear a veil, sting suit and gloves to perform the bee removal, 4) remove all dead bees and all combs associated with the colony, 5) discuss bee-proofing.
Bees invade a Kissimmee yard
Approximately 10,000 bees invaded a tree in the middle of a Kissimmee neighborhood. The
swarm arrived in just a matter of hours. The problem was buzzing in Zachary Gammage’s Kissimmee backyard. There were honeybees by the thousands.
“Who knows the danger of those things, especially when they multiply so fast,” Gammage said.
On Sunday, Gammage cooked out and there wasn’t one bee buzzing. However, by Monday the backyard was a no man’s land. A neighbor decided to take a look for himself, but wisely decided the swarm was too much to handle with bug spray.
“I come with the spray and see there’s so many, this is not going to work,” neighbor Willie Ojeda said.
Entomologist Richard Martynak said it’s likely all that spray would’ve done is agitate the bees, and they’d come out stinging. When he found out that Gammage needed help with his honeybee problem, Martynak volunteered his services.
“We have Africanized bees and European bees in the area,” Martynak explained.
Just by looking, you can’t tell which is which. But even as managed bee populations struggle, the aggressive Africanized bee population is booming in Central Florida. Martynak says you can tell by the weight; there were
approximately 5,000 bees per pound.
The bees will be brought to a quarantined apiary and re-queened with a European bee. If it turns out the bees are too aggressive, they will be destroyed because aggressive bees are not just a threat to more docile bee populations but to people as well.
Martynak used a special vacuum to gather up most of the bees. He said swarms like the one in Kissimmee are becoming more common as Central Florida’s Africanized bee population grows.
Africanized bees are over taking the wild populations of Florida’s domestic honey bees. Thats why the state advises residents to exterminate feral honey bee colonies found on their properties.
“Public safety is ultimately our goal,” said Jerry Hayes, chief of the apiary section of Florida’s Department ofAgriculture and Consumer Services.
“Three or four years ago, the bees we were finding might show 20 to 30 percent Africanization. Now it’s 60 to 80 percent.”
Southwest Florida has a higher density of the bees than other parts of the state, he said. That’s probably because the area resembles their native climate. “Beekeepers are not part of the problem,” Hayes said. “We don’t want them zoned or ordinanced out of being. But having more managed colonies will not stop Africanized bees from expanding.”
Florida Honey Bee Facts
The honey bee has been around for 30 million years.
Honeybees are the only insects that produce foods for humans.
Honeybees are vegetarians whose only food source is pollen and nectar, unlike wasps, hornets and bumblebees.
Honeybees can fly up to 15 mph and travel more than two miles from their hive in search of nectar and pollen.
Besides honey production, bees are responsible for pollinating 1/3 of all the foods worldwide that humans consume.
Honeybees are not native to North America. They arrived with the English colonists in the early 1600s and it is estimated that it took them half a century to make it to the West Coast.
“The Native Americans called them the white man’s flies, when they saw them coming, they knew the white men were coming right behind.”
Bees maintain a temperature of 92-93 degrees fahrenheit in their central brood nest regardless of the outside temperature.
The average honey bee will actually make only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
Honey bees are entirely herbivorous when they forage for nectar and pollen but can cannibalize their own brood when stressed.
A healthy colony may contain 40,000 to 60,000 bees during the late spring or early summer.
A honeybee is the only species that dies after stinging. They have a barbed stinger which pulls away from their abdomen, along with a poison sac, as they leave the victim, killing the bee.
The brain of a worker honey bee is about a cubic millimeter but has the densest neuropile tissue of any animal.
Honey is 80% sugars and 20% water.
Honey has been used for centuries as a topical dressing for wounds since microbes cannot live in it. It also produces hydrogen peroxide.
Honey bees communicate with one another by “dancing”.
Honey is not actually made by bees. It is the product of nectar being regurgitated and dehydrated by the bees several times, giving it the thick and potent consistency.
Bees do eat their own honey for nourishment. One teaspoon of honey packs enough energy for a single bee to fly around the world.
Honey is the only food which contains every nutrient that a human needs to survive, including water content.
Florida Bee Removal
With the encroachment of Africanized Honey Bees ( AHB ) in Florida over the past few years, the rules for dealing with wild swarms of honey bee are changing. We used to do our best to capture and relocate the honey bees we were called to remove, but now we just eliminate them. We can’t take the chance that they are the killer bees that you read about every so often. It is just prudent to destroy the nest and the bees, and move on.
If you encounter a wildhive of honey bees on your property, you should think twice about trying to deal with it yourself. First of all, just spraying is likely to agitate the whole nest at once, putting not only yourself, but your neighbors at risk. The ones you miss are going on the war path. If these are the africanized bees, thats double the trouble.
If you do manage to kill the whole hive, make sure that you remove all traces, especially if the hive is in a wall. If there is honey still in the hive, it could run down the inside walls and make a mess, or even attract honey robbers. Honey robbers are attracted by the scent of the honey, and come to claim it. They may even take up residence in their newly found hive. Now you have the same problem that you started with.
Of course the best course of action in the first place is to call Nuisance Wildlife Removal. We are the Florida bee experts. Call us at 941-729-2103, or in the Orlando area you can call us at (407) 859-9453 for all of your wildlife interaction problems.
Africanized Bees in the Tampa - Orlando area.
According to a 2005 public advisory from the Florida Department of Agriculture, Africanized Honey (AHB) have been present in the Tampa Bay area since 2002. They probably arrived through ports, on ships from Guatemala.
Over the last several years, numerous attacks on humans and animals have been reported in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Emergency response agencies in these states have implemented first responder training programs as well as public education efforts. While there have been no attacks on humans reported in Florida, farm animals have been attacked.
Future encounters between AHB and humans is considered inevitable, so the best course of action is the education of the public, especially as we move into warmer weather when outside activities are more frequent.
Here are some AHB safety precautions suggested by the FDOA:
Be attuned and alert to buzzing in your environment – this may indicate a nest or swarm of bees.
Use care when entering sheds or outbuildings where bees may nest.
Examine work areas before using power equipment such as lawn mowers, weed cutters, and chain saws – the noise excites bees.
Be alert when engaged in all outdoor activities.
Do not disturb a nest or swarm of bees, leave the area immediately, and contact Nuisance Wildlife Removal Incorporated or your county extension agent.
If attacked by aggressive bees, run as fast as possible to a safe area. Aggressive AHBs may pursue for up to ¼ of a mile.
If stung:
Go quickly to a safe area.
Remove stingers by scraping – use a flicking action with a finger nail or credit card. Do not squeeze or the stinger may stay in and get infected.
Apply ice.
Seek medical attention immediately if breathing becomes labored.
Nuisance Wildlife Removal Incorporated is your source for experts in Florida Bee Removal. Call us at 941-729-2103 to have your bee or wasp problem taken care of.
Bee removal in Bradenton and Sarasota.
What if I disturb a nest of stinging bees?
The best choice of action is to RUN. Bees tend to sting the face and head, so try to cover your nose and mouth with your hands while running. Never stand still or get yourself boxed into a place outdoors where you cannot escape the attacking bees. SEEK SHELTER. Run for an enclosed building or vehicle. Bees that do get inside usually become disoriented and go to the light at the windows. Never jump into water to try and escape angry bees. They can wait longer than you can stay under water.
The main difference between the European Honey Bees and the AfricanizedHoneyBees is that the AHB’s have more guard bees looking for threats, they patrol further out from the nest, and they will travel further to attack you if you are considered that threat.
residents to exterminate feral honey bee colonies found on their properties.
According to a 2005 public advisory from the Florida Department of Agriculture, Africanized Honey (AHB) have been present in the Tampa Bay area since 2002. They probably arrived through ports, on ships from Guatemala.
