The City of Nogales is advising residents about swarming bees after a Nogales man died due to complications from a bee swarm attack. This is the first incident of its kind in Nogales.
The Nogales International reported that a swarm of bees attacked and stung a 75-year-old Ramon Figueroa Rascon. He was stung “hundreds to thousands” of times after he accidentally disturbed their hive.
According to the Nogales Police Department, Figueroa Rascon was helping to clean up trash and debris at a business in an industrial area when he moved an old tire and disturbed a bee hive.
Attacks from aggressive Africanized honey bees may result in serious injury or even death. Residents are encouraged to know how to protect themselves and their families from serious injury with the following recommendations.
· Residents are encouraged to check their property regularly for bee colonies. Honey bees nest in a wide variety of places, especially Africanized honey bees. Look for bees in work areas before using power equipment. Check animal burrows, water meter boxes, overturned flower pots, trees and shrubs.
· Keep pets and children indoors when using weed eaters, hedge clippers, lawn mowers, chain saws, etc. Attacks frequently occur when a person is mowing the lawn or pruning shrubs and inadvertently strikes a nest.
· If you encounter a swarm, run as quickly as you can in a straight line away from the bees. Do not flail or swing your arms at them, as this may further annoy them. Get to the closest house or car as quickly as possible. Don’t worry if a few bees become trapped in your home. If several bees follow you into your car, drive about a quarter of a mile and let the bees out.
· Because bees target the head and eyes, cover your head as much as you can without slowing your escape.
· Don’t jump in the water. Africanized honey bees can wait longer than you can.
· 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 bee hives or nests and never attempt to remove a nest yourself. Find a reputable pest control company that specializes in bee removal. Residents are encouraged to call the City of Nogales Fire Department for a list of licensed, local pest control operators that can remove the bee hive or nest.
Colonies of Africanized honey bees (also called “Africanized bees” or “killer bees”) are found more frequently in North America lately. Imported to South America in 1956 by Brazilian scientists attempting to breed a honey bee better suited to tropical regions, some of the bees escaped quarantine and began breeding with local Brazilian honey bees and have since moved north; in the last 10 years, the bees have been found in North America.