A father was hospitalized and two family dogs were killed after bees attacked at their home in Midland.
“It all happened like a perfect storm,” Alan Roy said. “Next thing you know you’ve got a big ole mess.”
Before they knew it, a swarm of dangerous Africanized bees took over the Roy’s backyard while their dogs were playing outside.
Alan Roy wasn’t home at the time but his father, James, saw the whole thing.
“The white dog when he saw her outside was completely black and he opened the door to go outside and when he did a swarm came after him,” Roy said.
James Roy was stung about 50 times, and now he must carry an epipen in case of a reaction from future bee stings.
He was hospitalized and made it out okay, but it was too late for their dogs Susy and Sammy.
“Our dogs in a sense were hero’s in the fact that the bees kept attacking them and my dad was able to get away,” Roy said.
Vets told the family the dogs were stung about 1,000 times each.
Sibley Nature Center Scientist Michael Nickell told us 15-20 stings have the potential to be dangerous to just about anyone.
He said Africanized bee colonies are more dangerous than European Honeybees because they attack in larger groups with more aggression.
Nickell said if you ever get swamped by a swarm of Africanized bees, don’t follow your intuition.
“What you should do is not follow your immediate instincts and swat at them,” he said.
Instead, he suggests running as fast as you can in a straight line, cover your face, and don’t jump into water because they’ll wait for you to come to the surface for air.
“Africanized bees have made their way up here so they’re here to stay and we just got to make sure we watch out for them because they’re not anything to play with,” Roy said.
To avoid bees from colonizing at your home, Nickell said check small spaces around your home and if you find a colony, call a professional immediately.
Nickell also wants to remind everyone that bees are an essential part of the ecosystem and play a huge role in growing produce we buy on a daily basis.
He said Africanized bees are the same species but a different genetic variety than honeybees.
(Information from YourBasin.com)