IF YOU HAVE built your house among trees, or have chimneys and exposed eaves, bee infestation is an ever-present threat.
This is because bees love building their hives in dark, warm, and hollow places… And chimneys are known to have those three qualities. Infestation happens when bees inhabit a place in such a large number that they pose a threat to other species thriving there, human beings included.
Seeing a few honeybees buzzing around your house and in your garden is nothing to be worried about; not even if there are some honeybee hives in your locality. This is a normal occurrence, and should not be considered bee infestation.
Honeybees only become a nuisance when they start inhabiting areas in abnormally large numbers. Often, this results in unwanted encounters, with some sting attacks that could turn fatal for the victims. Such a situation presents a typical case of honeybee infestation.
Bees start building their hives in almost every possible place: In cracks on walls, attics, boxes, pipes, ventilators, sheds, trees in your garden, garages, and any place you can think of, and that has been untouched for a few days.
The main reason bees are often considered a nuisance and a menace is because of their venomous sting, which is their most formidable weapon. At the slightest hint of any real or perceived danger, all hell breaks loose, and thousands of bees swarm in and attack whoever or whatever is in sight.
The intensity of pain from these stings depends upon the amount of apitoxin they release, and the intensity of the toxin. The biggest problem about honeybees is that you cannot fight them when attacked. They are small, fast, and come in such large numbers that the victim is stung dozens of times before they can even think of launching a counter-attack.
An average healthy person can withstand as many as 10 stings per pound of his body weight. But the attack can be fatal if the person is allergic to honeybees, bee stings, and bee venom.
In such a case, even a few stings can trigger severe allergic reactions, and the victim can suffocate. Then there is the pain. In most cases, doctors have found that the victim does not die from the large quantity of venom introduced into the body, but from the acute pain that causes cardiac arrest.
Extermination is not always the remedy when infestation occurs. However, it becomes essential when the bees cannot be driven out – maybe due to the position or location of their hive or safety concerns.
The best solution is to drive the bees away from your vicinity with minimal violence. (allAfrica.com)