Posted on 04/05/2017 8:39:15 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Battalion chief: Beekeeper was harvesting honey from personal hive
A swarm of bees killed a dog, injured a beekeeper and a firefighter and prompted residents living in a Ceres neighborhood to be under a shelter-in-placer order, according to an official with the Ceres Fire Department.
The attack happened at about 5 p.m. Sunday when the beekeeper, 53, was trying to harvest honey from his beehive in his backyard in the 2700 block of River Valley Circle, battalion Chief Rick Scola said.
There were about 4,200 bees inside the hive, which equals about three pounds of bees, and for an unknown reason, the bees began attacking the beekeeper, who was stung "too many times to count" even though he was wearing protective clothing, Scola said. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and was later released.
The bees also went to another house on a street to the south, where they attacked two large dogs. The owner rushed outside to save his dogs, but was also stung several times in the process, the Ceres Police Department said.
The dogs were taken to a veterinarian, but one of them -- a pit bull -- did not survive. The other dog was expected to live, Scola said.
After sundown, it was determined that the beehive was unsafe to move, and the bees were euthanized to protect the public. The hive was later removed by a professional beekeeper, the police department said.
About 45 houses in the area were placed on a shelter-in-place order for about five hours.
No criminal charges will be pressed against the beekeeper.
A bee specialist company, Bee Free, said there has been an increase in bee-related emergencies in the area over the last few years.
Scola offered a warning from Bee Free:
Any swarm of bees can be dangerous and aggressive and can kill pets and/or people. If you see a swarm, you should avoid them and not try to distract the bees.
You should contact a bee removal specialist to have hives removed and do not attempt to remove them yourself.
Aha. Thanks very much. The queen was probably inside the worm bin.
Your bees will arrive in wooden box about the size of a shoe box covered with screen. The box will have enough bee food (sugar water) to keep them fed for the trip. The queen will be in her own little box. She can’t escape, but the screen on her box is coarse enough so the other bees can feed her.
When you’re ready to introduce the bees to their new hive, take out the the little queen cage. Her cage has a little plug made of sugar that has been covered, take off the cover and hang her cage in your new hive. Then pour the rest of bees into the hive over their queen. They’ll cluster around her and start eating away at the sugar plug, but that’ll take time and by the time they free her, she and they will feel at home in their new hive. Pretty clever, huh?
If you are new to the hobby I understand your nervousness. Keep calm, work slowly and try not to smash any bees as you work the hive. When you smash one they release a pheromone that is a scream for help. They don’t like dark colors and if you can arrange your hive so you can work it from the rear. Casting your shadow at the entrance bothers them. Work your hive on nice sunny day when the older worker bees are harvesting nectar and pollen—they are the ones more likely to sting. Smoke is your friend, but if it doesn’t settle them down, do what you were going to do tomorrow. Hope this helps.
Pull back on your reigns there mama hoss.
Property rights also means your neighbors have a right to use their property without your swarm of bees coming over the fence and killing my kid, my wife, or my dog.
Just like there are limitations on what kind of animals and how many you can have on your property, depending on where you live, there must be limits to having swarms of bees. Obviously in city limits where people are more congested the limits will be different than if you live on your own 50 acres with no one around you for miles.
Isn’t it a little early to be hitting the sauce?
Thanks for all the good info. I have a 2 acre lot and was thinking of putting the hive on the east side of my barn which will minimize foot traffic near the hive and be a couple hundred feet from the house and pool, but I will have to run my lawn tractor past it, will that greatly agitate them?
They might or might not be bothered by lawn mowing—they’ll let you know! You’ll want to have the discharge blowing away from the hive, of course. Of course you could wear your veil and a long-sleeve shirt while in the hive’s neighborhood. I’m getting ready to deal with the same issue. I’m thinking of getting a bunch of carpet samples to keep down the grass in front of the hive
Another year, another swarm of bees question.
The bees have once again set up shop in my worm bin. I guess after this recent situation settles down, that worm bin is going to have to go.
About two weeks ago I noticed a lot of bees going in and out of the worm bin through the little air holes. This worm bin sits right by a patio and I’ve sat out there and they don’t bother me and I didn’t bother them. Yesterday morning I decided to pop off the top of the worm bin because I’d like them to move.
The top popped off and settled on its end leaning against the worm bin with the underside not visible. I thought that was enough annoying them for the day and hoped they’d fly away.
Since they were gathering on the lid in small bunches, I thought I should take the top and move it far away as there seemed to be something on the lid that was attracting them.
Just now I took a stick to lift the worm bin top away from it’s position tilted against the side of the bin, and it flipped from it’s resting place a foot or so away. Underneath the top is a football sized mound of bees. The bees are covering about half of what appears to be a beautiful white honeycomb. Man, they work fast.
They are not angry, have not stung me but there are a few that buzz around. I’ve left them alone only getting about four feet away to stare in amazement.
Any thoughts on how to get them to find a new home?
It’s pretty late in the year for swarming. It could be that they’ve been there for a while. They will go where the queen goes and where you see most of the bees she’s likely there. You could ask a local beekeeper to take them away. On the other hand, if they only have a football sized comb, they’ll not likely survive the winter, unless you live with year-round flowers.
Thank you hanamizu. Yes, year-round flowers here. My thought is tomorrow early morning to use some long tongs and grab the top of the worm bin and flip it over so the comb (which is now almost completely covered with bees) is then on top and drag it to a sunny spot. Maybe I’ll only flip it over tomorrow and drag it to a sunny spot the next morning. Although finding a sunny spot close to the location it is in might be problematic as it’s been quite overcast here lately.
I’ve been worried the bees might get mad and swarm me. I have this idea of getting one of those very large clear trash bags and putting it over myself, head to knees for protection, with a hole for one arm to peek through and hold the tongs.
Then, when I’m found dead several days later covered in bee stings and lying on the ground shroud in a plastic trash bag with tongs in my hand there will be a real mystery as to what in the hell I was doing.
They might attack you or they might not. It depends on their ‘mood’. Smoke will calm them if you have a way to produce and direct the smoke.
A clear plastic bag will not likely provide much protection. A bee can string right through it. A fairly thick long-sleeve shirt tucked into jeans should protect a lot of your body. Tucking the jeans legs into long socks will protect your ankles and legs—people tend to forget that bees walk on the ground as well as fly. But you need to find a way to protect you face, eyes, ears & nose. Stings on the face can get pretty unpleasant.
If you have animal control in your area, the best bet would be to call them. They likely have a few beekeepers on a list for just such occurrences. Most will be glad to relieve you of your unwanted swarm for free. Good luck!
Those darn Assault Bees again. Time for more Bee Control.
That’s what I was wondering.
>>>Allowed? You’ve been here since 1998 and you’re making a statement like that. Who do you think should tell them that they are “not allowed”? Guess you don’t believe in property rights<<<
I can’t wait to have my first Tire Burning Party.
Well, if I was a 100% true blue Libertarian that is. #;^)
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