Attacking bees

gardenzilla · Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 6 Location: Southern California

The last two days, we have been attacked by single bees (no swarms). They are very agressive, :evil: and find us wherever we are in the yard. They are relentless & they either sting us or run us inside (luckily we are not allergic). I know they are beneficial & I don't want to kill them....but this is no fun.

I assume they are Aficanized...I have never seen this kind of behavior.

Any thought as to a repellant?

dragonfly · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 9:08 pm Post subject:

Do you know what kind of bees they are? Honeybees don't attack unless they perceive you as a threat close to their hive or colony site. When they are out foraging, they are not defensive unless you are trying to hurt them. Maybe it's yellow jackets or hornets that you have? There may be an underground nest that you are disturbing. See if you can get a really good look at them and post again with a description of size, color, markings, etc.

gardenzilla · Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 6 Location: Southern California

Small ordinary-looking honeybees. Definitely not any kind of wasp,or hornet (I know the difference). They just showed up yesterday. Back yard, front yard,...they will even chase you down the street. I was sitting on the back of my truck talking to a neighbor (for maybe 30 minutes) when one suddenly showed up, and went after both of us. They don't give up until they sting you (or you manage to make it inside).

There may be a hive someplace, but I have not seen it. I never see more than one bee at a time.

Like I mentioned earlier I have never seen bees act like this....guess they are Africanized.

Dchall_San_Antonio · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: San Antonio,TEXAS

Check out toy stores and the dollar stores to get a couple toy bug nets. Carry one with you every time you go outside. They're perfect for bees but not very good for larger insects. Catch one and call the agricultural extension service and tell them what you have. They'll probably do all the work for you.

gardenzilla · Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 6 Location: Southern California

Not a bad idea!

I have a deceased bee that I took out with my hat....I will figure out where to send him.

dragonfly · Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2003 8:11 pm Post subject:

There's a bee id lab at A&M, but they need a sample of around 100 bees to really see if the bees are Africanized. I sent a sample from my agressive beehive, thinking they may have been AHB's, but it turned out they were of European lines. Probably just a hive with agressive traits from inbreeding. There is an occasional bee from that hive that will persue me if I am walking within one hundred feet of the hive, but it's very unusual for bees to attack just out in the yard or garden unless they have a hive that you don't know about. Wild bees generally use trees with rotted out cavities, but will occasionally build in the walls of a house or shed. Look around on your property and see if you can find the hive. By this, I don't mean go knocking on the walls trying to find a bee entrance, but observe from a distance if you can see bee traffic in and out of a structure on the property. Being that you are in Ca, I would be very cautious, but you do need to try and locate the hive and have someone get rid of it if they are Africanized.

gardenzilla · Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 6 Location: Southern California

The hive really could be anywhere....neighbor has an older house over- grown with all kinds of tropicals (kinda neat for me, having spent most of my life in N. Texas). Lot sizes are really small here, so finding a hive could be a problem.

The equivalent to the extension service says we have some Africanized bees starting to show up...but their main concern is fire ants (couldn't we tell them a thing or two about that subject?). No bee encounters today, and I am out of town for a few days....maybe they will find someone else to bother :)

Judith Entwistle · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 1

I definately have the Africanized bees. Rid All Pest Control came out and took care of them last year. :? They were gone but now they're back :twisted: They have their nest UNDER the floor of our wooden storage barn that is on the verge of falling down. They are VERY aggresive not only to us but to everyone on the alley, especially at mowing time. We need to get rid of the bees AND the hive, which we didn't do last year. Any suggestions on top of what I've read here and how to get the hive out from under the barn floor. These are very very bad :x . Thanks for the help.
PS I recommend Rid All Pest Control for any pest problem you can't control the Natural Way with Howard. They do a wonderful job at a reasonable price. They took care of pharoah ants for us completely.