Valley could see spike in deadly bee attacks

Bee experts warn of a spike in potentially deadly attacks this year by overly aggressive Africanized bees — also known as killer bees. The caution comes after a recent fatal attack of a dog stung by at least 1,000 of the insects.

Buddy, a 78-pound yellow Labrador retriever, didn’t stand a chance when surrounded by a swarm of Africanized bees on July 10 at a house in Paradise Valley. Inge Conner was watching 12-year-old Buddy while her daughter and family were away. When she saw a storm brewing, Conner went to turn off her pool equipment. She didn’t see bees at the time.

It was a different story 15 minutes later.

“The next thing I know, disaster,” Conner said. “The dog was caught between the walls by the pool equipment. Apparently, there was a hive around there. It happened so fast. I just ran inside to call someone to help him and get rid of the bees.”

Conner, dressed in long clothing, used a pool skimmer to shield her face and tried to hose down the bees before calling AAA Africanized Bee Removal Specialists.

Arizona State University professor Osman Kaftanoglu, who has a master’s degree in entomology (the study of insects) with a specialty in apiculture (the study of bees), said Africanized bees make up 99 percent of those in Arizona. Kaftanoglu works at the honey bee research facility at ASU’s Polytechnic Campus in Mesa.

Kaftanoglu said a running dog releases chemicals that bees sense. If one bee stops for the chemical, it sends an alarm to others. Kaftanoglu said it’s likely that bees stung Buddy at least 500 times, with the first 100 or so being fatal. Kaftanoglu said people can fall prey to the same problem because bees pick up a scent from human sweat.

“If the swarm is big and they have collected honey and established their nest, bees will sense these things and attack more,” Kaftanoglu said.

Kaftanoglu, who spent 25 years researching bees at Cukurova University in Turkey, prefers capturing and bringing them to the Polytechnic Campus to study. Yet, he advises people without experience with bees to call their fire department or a bee exterminator. He said while Africanized bees look just like their European counterparts — but a bit darker and slightly smaller — Africanized bees are far more aggressive.

“People feel sorry for them and don’t want them killed,” Kaftanoglu said. “They may even see a swarm and, because they haven’t attacked, assume they are harmless and won’t. That’s not necessarily true. Don’t wait until their nest is established. I don’t want to see them killed, but sometimes there is no choice. Capturing them is not easy.”

Conner said she called the company listed in the first ad she saw in a phone directory. AAA Africanized Bee Removal Specialists, a Valleywide company, sent removal specialist Shilo Taylor to Conner’s home. Taylor said it looked like Buddy tried to escape the swarm by hiding between small block walls by the pool equipment.

“This happened to the dog very quickly,” Taylor said. “He was dead by the time I got there. It was raining by that time, which slowed the bees down a bit. I was dealing with bees stinging me as I was trying to get the dog out because he was wedged in. It took 15 minutes to try to get him out.”

Tom Martin, owner of the bee service, said Africanized bees usually stop attacking when they’re sprayed with water. But, drought conditions contribute to the bees’ aggression.

“There were more bees than normal attacking that dog,” said Martin, who has worked with bees for 40 years. “We’ve seen a lot more activity this year because of a drought the last couple years. We’re getting several hundred calls a month. But it’s not the quantity of the calls; it’s the quantity of the bees at each call. The bees we’re fighting off now were 50 miles away last year and survived the drought.

“Because of the number of calls and the size of the swarms, I believe there could be human deaths this year. This year is setting up to be a disaster.”

 If you’re attacked
• If you are attacked by bees, run fast and far.
• Use your top garment to protect your face.
• Do not jump into water, as bees will wait for you to surface.
• Do not swat at the bees or flail your arms; bees are attracted to movement and crushed bees emit a smell that will attract more bees.
• After escaping, use a credit card or dull knife to scrape the stingers out of your skin; more venom will be pumped in if the stingers are squeezed with fingers or tweezers.
• Although bee stings are painful, only two people out of 1,000 are allergic or hypersensitive to them. Most deaths from multiple stings occur in elderly people who may have bad hearts.

Avoiding an attack
• Walk around your house once a week to see if bees are gathering.
• Check walls, the roof and spaces above doors and windows.
• Use caulk to fill cracks larger than the diameter of a pencil.
• Call a beekeeper the moment bees begin to gather around an area.
• Don’t tie, leash or leave your pet near a beehive.
• Keep pets inside while doing yardwork because you may accidentally disturb a beehive.
• Dogs’ barks can irritate bees and cause swarms.