Johnston Co. , TX - Bees sting Cattle Workers

* Sep. 24, 2007 Andrea Kurys, KTEN News.
*
* Two people in Johnston County are recovering after they were attacked by a swarm of what medical officials believe are Africanized Honey Bees. The victims were rushed to the University Medical Center in Durant Friday morning following the attack. KTEN's Andrea Kurys reports.
*
* The two victims were working with cattle on the ranch when they were attacked by swarms of bees and stung dozens of times. A woman who was nearby was able to spray the bees off of them with a garden hose, and they were rushed to a local hospital.
*
* The doctor who examined the men told them he thought they may have been attacked by Africanized Honey Bees...or "killer bees" as they are sometimes called. The victims were held for several hours for observation, but have been released and are doing fine.
* Brent Smith is a friend of the men says nobody has gone back to the site since the attack because the bees are still swarming the area.
*
* "When the call came in to me, when we were talking and discussing with people who were on the scene," he said, "there was a suspicion that that maybe what they were, because the bee being solid black, it was definitely not a honeybee, we could recognize that pretty quickly. But their reaction, the victims are doing real well at this point, they're sore and really shook up as you can imagine. They were covered in bees."
* At this point, the Department of Agriculture is taking DNA samples to confirm if they really are Africanized Honey Bees. In the meantime, officials want residents living in that area to take extreme precaution.
*
* If you do encounter any bees, Department of Agriculture officials say do not use hornet or wasp spray because it will enrage them and cause them to attack even more. Of course, we will continue to follow any developments with this story.

Comment:

Though her effort was valiant, trying to ward off African or Africanized bees by spraying with a water hose simply does not work. The best course of action is to get as far away as possible from the african (killer) bee colony, or to seek protection inside a building or vehicle. Better to have a few bees with you in a car than thousands outside the protection of a car. Also, the advice against using wasp spray on a bee or yellow jacket colony is very good. These colonies just have too many individuals for spray cans of wasp freeze. A reputable pest control professional with stinging insect experience is the best way to deal with feral bee colonies --Richard Martyniak, Sep. 30, 2007