Killer bees in Florida capture our imagination. When killer bees attack, it seems unreal. It seems like something out of a science-fiction movie decades old instead of a real threat that Floridians have to face every year. Here’s what you need to know about killer bee control:

  1. Killer bees are another name for Africanized honey bees. They were bred when Brazilian honey producers wanted to increase their volume of product. They bred African and European honey bees together, creating bees that could make honey very quickly.
  2. A worker released 26 swarms of killer bees by accident in the 1950s. They took well to the Americas, spreading northward until they got into the U.S.
  3. One killer bee is no more harmful than one regular bee. They’re deadly because of how they behave as a swarm. They will respond in the hundreds of thousands, chase you up to a mile, and wait above water for you to surface if you jump in a pool for safety.
  4. This unparalleled swarming mechanism makes killer bees very deadly, even to those who aren’t allergic to bees. When killer bees attack, they have killed people and they have killed pets.
  5. Almost all instances of killer bee attacks happen when someone disturbs a hive they didn’t even know was there. This can be very easy to do. It’s happened to gardeners and landscapers, as well as hikers and joggers.
  6. You should never attempt to remove a hive of killer bees yourself. This puts your life at very serious risk. It also puts at risk the lives of anyone within the immediate area. Since you may not be able to recognize the difference between bees, this means you should be very careful about removing any bee hive in Florida. Leave killer bee control to a certified Brevard County pest control service.

Don’t ignore a killer bee hive either. If you have a suspicion, have a pest control service like Slug-A-Bug, check it. If it’s off your property, contact the property owner or the county to have it addressed. You may know to avoid it, but the next jogger who passes by, or the next children playing nearby may not even know it’s there.