killer bees killed my buddy's dog

[look 171]

My buddy, from grade school, and I ditched work and took a very nice long lunch today. I learned that his little dog was stung and killed by Africanized killer bees. The dog must have pissed off one of the bees and the whole nest came out and cornered it. It ran but had no where to hide in the yard only to lay there and took it. The neighbors heard the dog's cry and try to somehow get it away from the bees. They too got stung more then 30 times as they ran like hell back into the house. I had no idea that they are here in socal. I heard about them way back in grade school more then 35 years ago that they were making their way up to the us border. Now I am a little worried because I live in the canyon with wide open areas and my little kids play in the back. Any thoughts, bee experts here?

[slodave]

They've been here for years. Don't piss them off.

[Don Ro]

No expert here but my neighbor lost his dog to bee stings recently.
Man, that's a rough story...I can just see that little dog suffering and hear it cry out.
Sad.

[Heel n Toe]

It would probably be a good idea to call the county DHEC office... ask if they're the ones who would come and take care of a swarm or whatever it's called... and have them come to see if they can find it and eliminate it. It's usually a big blob of bees in a tree or under an eave or something.

Do an image search for killer bee swarm.

You're paying for it in your taxes... might as well give them a chance to do their job.

It might help save somebody else's dog... or family member/s.

[Heel n Toe]

http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/swarm-of-75000-killer-bees-attack-woman-in-california-video/

100,000 killer bees attack 2 Tampa workers in shocking swarm - Tampa Bay Tampa Top News | Examiner.com

[GH85Carrera]

Yea, the 35 year old Saturday Night Live skits about Killer bees are not so funny now. We all laughed back in the day.

[masraum]

wow, what a horrible story.

[vash]

poor dog.

[BeeMaster]

That is the cost of living in a tropical climate. Yes they are very very mean and hurt a lot. If I get any of their genes in my packages I kill the queen and start a new one from a good hive. The Africanized honey bee (killer bees) can not survive anywhere that it freezes. Honey bees leave their stinger behind when they sting you because it is barbed
And they die as a result. Smells are a huge part of a honeybees world. Example, one bee stung the dog and gave off a smell that marked it as a enemy and says sting here.
A exterminator may be able to remove/ kill them. When they sting you they are injecting a poison, so for animals and people who are not stung on a daily basis and have built up a resistance to it how many times you can be stung before dieing is purely a scale of how big you are. Sorry for your friends dog I am glad I don't have to deal with them, I try and get my bees from Northern California or farther north. Tuesday I was stung 50+ times without swelling. Any more questions I can answer.

[E Sully]

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by BeeMaster

That is the cost of living in a tropical climate. Yes they are very very mean and hurt a lot. If I get any of their genes in my packages I kill the queen and start a new one from a good hive. The Africanized honey bee (killer bees) can not survive anywhere that it freezes. Honey bees leave their stinger behind when they sting you because it is barbed
And they die as a result. Smells are a huge part of a honeybees world. Example, one bee stung the dog and gave off a smell that marked it as a enemy and says sting here.
A exterminator may be able to remove/ kill them. When they sting you they are injecting a poison, so for animals and people who are not stung on a daily basis and have built up a resistance to it how many times you can be stung before dieing is purely a scale of how big you are. Sorry for your friends dog I am glad I don't have to deal with them, I try and get my bees from Northern California or farther north. Tuesday I was stung 50+ times without swelling. Any more questions I can answer.

So question - how does a bee keeper know when the African bee genes are present in his bee hive? Aggressive patterns?

I have been stung ~ 10 times in my life. Lots of swelling that lasts a couple days. The 9th sting was on bottom of foot (stepped on bee no shoes in grass). Felt like I was shot in the foot - wow that was more painful than I remembered. Needed to be rushed to the hospital with Anaphylaxis - nearly stopped breathing and was in cold sweat unable to move extremities. Scarey stuff. 10th sting I was able to cleanly remove the stinger from my arm quickly. Took some benadryl and no real pain or symptoms.

[Tobra]

So where do you keep your epi pen JB?

To the OP, he needs to call animal control or whoever is the outfit to call in LA Co.

[Don Ro]

I only have had one bee sting of any significance.
Out riding horses in the hills...took a break...all sitting at a picnic table and was offered a cold Pepsi.
I noticed a bee sitting on the top of the can and laughingly commented on it.
You guessed it...next thing I know my throat was killing me...I lost my voice and could hardly breathe. A companion cell-phoned Kaiser and told the story.
Nurse: "If it gets any worse, call back."
Two hours later I was OK.
I now respect the effects of bee stings.

[JavaBrewer]

After sting #9 I had an epi pen in the glove box of my car. Did not last long - they don't keep in heat. Very much a PITA to lug around so I stopped doing so. I have bottles of Benadryl all over the place and am hyper alert for bee's Our home is located in the middle of an old orange grove - we have 10 trees on our property. Lots of bees - netting 10 per evening out of our pool. Flip flops are mandatory for me.

Edit - reviewing what I just wrote I sound rather stupid. Need to get another epi pen to keep at the house. To risky not to.

[BeeMaster]

Yes aggressiveness without reason, a Italian, German, or carniolan hive will not be nice to work if they don't have a queen or if there is bad weather but not as bad as a Africanized bee. The are mean on nice days to
How they fly and sting you and the situation ,did you almost squish the bee and get stung or just stand in the bee yard near that hive and get stung.the color of the bee can also be a clue. Only honeybees have the barbed stinger so if you don't find it chances are it wasn't a honey but you did so. The Italian German and carniolan
Honey bees are defensive by nature, you don't bother them they won't bother you
The Africanized honeybee will sting you if you are bothering them or not.

[Ferraripete]

sad. I am very sorry for your friend's loss

[GG Allin]

I'm glad to see that where I live is not suitable for them. But...I did see a Cicada Killer in my garden the other day, I wanted to call in a Napalm strike.

[BeeMaster]

Say you are working some hives and the weather is nice,you get stung 1-3 times in hives a-g but hive h you get stung 30+ times. Hive h is Africanized.

[look 171]

Neighbor called 911 thinking the old lady, or dog owner, was going to die. Cops came and blocked off the street. I am told that the Killer Bees will continue to attack for a few days. My friend kept his little girl inside for a week because this happened right next door. Nuts

Here's the latest. I just found out the old lady is in really bad shape due to the bee stings and is hospitalized. Her head and extremities has blown up like a basketball. Nasty little guys and the more I learn about them, the more i am in fear of bees around the house.

[stomachmonkey]

Bees Sting Texas Man About 1,000 Times | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

The thought of them freaks me out