TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Monsoon is bringing more issues than just flooding. This summer Africanized honey bees are consistently attacking people in Cochise County.
Bee removal expert Reed Booth has 30 years in the business and says most hives have around 50,000 bees, but recently he's seen hives with two to six times that many bees daily.
“Here in Cochise County because we have a major monsoon season and the flowers came out, and the bees have had a lot of nectar flow, well when the nectar flow is happening, the queens lay more eggs, so they can propagate the area with bees, and that’s what’s been happening,” said Booth.
He said these are Africanized honey bees, which produce more honey but are much more aggressive than European honey bees.
“I’ve watched them kill a 1,000 pound hog. They’re relentless, and also they don’t care if you’re dead or not. They’ll keep stinging,” said Booth.
He says once the attack pheromone is sent through the hive, it triggers a swarm. The swarms from this monsoon have led to attacks more severe than he’s ever seen.
“We have had such an onslaught of killer bee attacks here in Cochise County this summer, it’s literally insane,” he said.
He says there have been almost 20 attacks within the last two weeks. One of the victims is Randy Archuleta. He was stung over 300 times.
“It happened so fast, but it was so long. It was never gonna end. These bees will not stop until you, or they, are dead,” said Archuleta.
During a landscaping job, Archuleta hit an old water heater, triggering a swarm of around 200-thousand bees.
“I turned around and right outside that water heater tank, it was just this black wave. And it was on from there,” said Archuleta.
He had nothing to protect himself from the bees.
“I ripped my shirt off at one point in time just to have something to swat around. I was like ‘AHHH! Get off of me!’ you know it was nonstop,” he said. “I wanted my life to end the first thirty seconds, that’s how excruciating it was. It was like running on fire. You might as well light yourself on fire, that's how it felt.”
Archuleta ran inside a home and waited for paramedics. Following the attack, Booth was called to remove the hive that attacked Archuleta.
Booth says people should check their homes for any bee activity. He says if you see a bee on a flower you should be fine, but if you see bees coming out of a crack or a hole, or any hanging from a tree, that’s when you should call an expert.
Killer Bee Guy Reed Booth spreads awareness on his TikTok of the dangers of these bees. You can watch his videos to see his removals and more @KillerBeeGuy1.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
