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SIERRA VISTA — Cochise County sheriff’s deputies on Sunday were advising residents living in an area near Whetstone to be careful after a 39-year-old man died from hundreds of bee stings.
Bees stung him 300 times, a spokesperson said. The man’s father was stung 100 times. His condition was stable at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center as of 2 p.m. Sunday, according to Carol Capas, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies learned of the attack at 11:02 a.m. in the 1500 block of East Roosevelt Road in the Presidential Estates, located east of Whetstone.
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The father, 59, and his son were working on a roof when they accidentally disturbed a beehive. The bees then began stinging the men.
The father was stung 100 times before he got in the home. His son remained outside and attempted to ward off the bees, Capas said.
Neither the name of the deceased man nor his father were withheld Sunday, pending notification of family members, Capas said.
Deputies and Whetstone Fire Department responders used a special type of foam to stop the bees. Capas said two emergency workers were stung, but were OK.
Capas said the type of bees that attacked the men are unknown at this point.
The Sheriff’s Department released a public service announcement warning those living in the area about the swarm, which stays active between 24 and 48 hours and covers up to a half-mile.
Capas said the best way for people to protect themselves from bee attacks is to take cover.
“People need to be prepared if they’re out and about,” she added.
Bees are sensitive to odors, and are attracted to dark-colored clothing or hair. Capas suggested people wear light-colored clothing, not leave garbage outside and cover any crevices in their home with steel wool or caulking, so bees cannot enter.
Although some believe that attacking bees can be dodged by diving under water, Capas said the insects will wait for the person to come out, so such an attempt is futile.
Reed Booth, a bee expert based in Bisbee, said the man’s death was a shock.
“My Lord,” he said. “I’m very saddened to hear this.”
Booth, known as the Killer Bee Guy, added there was no reason for his death — unless they did not know the hive was there.
“If they didn’t know about it, God bless them,” he added. “It’s an accident.”
“This is very irritating; people die, animals die,” Booth said. “All of the wild honey bees in Arizona are Africanized bees. If you have an existing hive, it is a bomb waiting to go off. It’s not if, it’s when. People don’t take it seriously enough.”
Booth urged anyone who knows of a hive around their home or neighborhood to immediately contact a bee-removal professional such as himself.
According to Booth, four years ago a woman died from bee stings in Sunsites, and her boyfriend was stung 3,700 times.
How fatal stings are depends on an individual’s tolerance. “Some people die from one sting, some from five stings,” Booth said. “There’s no time to react. When you start getting stung, you go into shock, due to the venom. It takes 500 stings to equal a rattlesnake bite.” It is known as anaphylactic shock.
Booth said when a person is stung the first time, a scent is sent to hive, which usually has 40,000 to 60,000 bees in it, and that means thousands of bees can set upon a person or animal.
For information on how to keep safe, call the department at 432-9500.
To remove a hive, call Booth at 227-5429, or go to killerbeeguy.com.
Herald/Review reporter Karen Weil can be reached at 515-4692 or by e-mail at karen.weil@bisbeereview.net.
Ezai I. Martinez wrote on Jun 24, 2009 7:58 PM: