|
·
DO check your property regularly for
beehives. Bees nest in a wide variety of places. Check animal
burrows, meter boxes, old tires, cinder blocks, sheds, rock and
wood piles, drain
pipes, junked cars and appliances, hollow logs, trees and
shrubs.
·
DO bee proof: Fill holes and cracks in the
walls of your
house that might lead
to
wall voids or other
cavities a colony could occupy. Use spray foam insulation as
filler. Clean up debris (tires, pots) that might provide
nesting sites on your property.
·
DO keep pets and children indoors when
using weed eaters, hedge clippers, tractor power mowers, chain
saws, etc. Attacks frequently occur when a
person mowing the
lawn or pruning shrubs inadvertently strikes a bee's nest.
·
DO avoid excessive motion when near a
colony. Bees are much more likely to respond to an object in
motion than a stationary one.
·
DON'T pen, tie or tether animals near
beehives or nests.
·
DON'T destroy bee colonies or hives,
especially with pesticides. Honeybees are a vital link to U.S.
agriculture. Each year, pollination by honeybees add at least
$10 billion to the value of more than 90 crops. They also
produce
about $150 million worth of honey each year.
·
DON'T remove bees yourself. Currently,
there is no county or state program for removal of suspected
hives. If you want bees removed, you must call an exterminator
or beekeeper. |
in
Angleton in 2001. Over time, the Africanized bees intermingle
with the European bees creating hybridized hives. It is
impossible for the average person to tell the difference between
the Africanized honeybee and the common European honeybee. It
takes an expert with sophisticated lab equipment to distinguish
between the two. And behavior alone will not tell you if a hive
is Africanized or European. European honeybees can also attack
very aggressively if sufficiently riled. Often called "killer
bees," the stings of the Africanized bee are actually less
potent and less painful than the common bee sting. The so-called
killers do not travel in ever growing swarms, combing the
countryside in search of prey like a school of terrestrial
piranha. However, especially in the vicinity of their nest,
Africanized bees respond more quickly to noise, movement and
other disturbances than European bees. They will chase their
enemies farther and attack in greater numbers than their
European counterparts, and unlucky victims often suffer hundreds
of stings. There have been about 10 deaths in the U.S. since the
bees were first spotted here. Nearly all of the victims were
elderly.