Here are the three big risks of having a beehive near your home
Bees play an important role in ensuring balance in our ecosystem. They pollinate flowering plants and fruits. Most of our agricultural system would collapse without them. What’s more, they produce honey, which has a myriad of health benefits and is widely regarded as a superfood. While their important role in our ecosystem cannot be denied, that doesn’t mean you should ignore when a beehive sets up shop next to your home here in Arizona.
Thanks to the wide proliferation of Africanized Bees throughout the state, a beehive in your backyard, roof, or on your property could be extremely dangerous. In this article, we’ll explore some of the risks associated with a beehive near your home, and when you need to take action and call KY-KO Pest Prevention for bee removal services here in the Valley.
What are killer bees, anyway?
Killer Bees—more accurately known as Africanized Bees—are a type of honeybee that was brought to the Americas to boost honey production, but escaped and has now spread throughout the hemisphere.
In contrast to most honeybee genomes, Africanized Bees are far more aggressive, territorial, and ready to swarm. There’s a time-old adage that bees don’t really want to sting you—only as a last resort. That doesn’t really apply to Killer Bees: they’ll eagerly sacrifice themselves to protect their hive.
Once in a swarm, they’ll pursue intruders great distances, stinging relentlessly. This can be an extreme danger for human adults—not to mention pets and children.
In most cases, Africanized Bees in Arizona are found in wilderness. Over 90% of wild bees in Arizona are now considered to be Africanized, and most fatal encounters occur when hikers stumble across a hive and have nowhere to run. However, Killer Bees are starting to move into the metro area and stake out trees for hives.
Do killer bees really earn their name?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Humans and pets have both been killed by Africanized Bee swarms. An adult human can withstand more than 1,000 stings before succumbing to the venom. A child can withstand about 500.
It’s not just that: even survivors of massive bee attacks are at a greater risk moving forward, since further bee stings can cause allergic reactions. Some of the painful symptoms of the bee stings for those who are allergic include fainting, vomiting, nausea, and labored breathing.
What about the hive on my property?
The truth is that you just can’t know if the beehive near your home contains Africanized bees or standard bees. Even trained scientists often need to inspect these honeybees very closely to determine what type of bee they are. Their recommendation: treat every beehive as Africanized and address it with extreme caution.
Start by noting the location of the hive. If the hive is in a tree on a far end of your property, call KY-KO for immediate service and keep pets and children away from the area. In contrast, if the hive is inside an interior wall of your home, you’ll want to stay inside until the infestation has been dealt with.
You should remain vigilant about bees. Take caution when:
- — Cutting down large bushes and shrubs on your property. Even if the hive isn’t inside the bush itself, loud cutting equipment and lawnmovers can agitate them and cause they to swarm.
- — Your pets are outside. Keep an eye on their activity and note if they act suspiciously around certain trees, bushes, or other features of your yard (such as utility boxes).
- — You see bees in any sort of swarm formation. This can start with just a few bees being around, scouting. However, swarms can quickly form around a tree.
Compounding issues
If you ignore the bee hive near the house and don’t call a bee pest control company, the bee colony may split and form additional homes. Also, a new colony of bees may decide to take up residence near the house. Soon, there will be multiple bee hives near the house, posing increased risk to the household. This will make bee removal more costly and complicated as well.
You should take instant action when you find a beehive near the house. While honeybees are vital for the environment, a beehive near the house should not be tolerated. You will put your family members at risk by letting the bees invade your house. A simple call to a bee removal expert will remove the threat from the house.
Do not try to remove a beehive yourself!
Never try to remove the hive yourself! Even if you think that the hive seems to be abandoned or empty, it’s important that you contact a professional pest control company to have it removed. Expert pest control professionals will relocate the beehive in a place far away from your house. Ideally, none of the bees will be harmed in this relocation.
Call KY-KO for bee control services here in the Valley
For experienced bee removal help in Phoenix, AZ, you can contact KY-KO Pest Prevention. We have been serving the area with integrity for over a decade.
