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Hundreds of Africanized bees swarmed a 91 year old South Florida woman and stung her repeatedly, sending her to the hospital.  As Matt Galka tells us, beekeepers say that no matter where you live, you need to be aware of a potential bee problem.

Master Beekeeper Roger Twitchell has been harvesting honey bees for 9 years.  He says Africanized bees could be a problem anywhere, especially south of Interstate 4.

“They’ll settle in much smaller spaces, water meters, basic lamp posts, things like this, so they’re in very close proximity to humans, and that is the problem,” said Twitchell.

His honey bees have no interest in attacking anyone, but if they were Africanized, it would be a much different story. An unsuspecting person can set off a swarm of Africanized bees at a moments notice.

“If you were to walk within 40 yards of an Africanized hive and you were to agitate them, you would have 100’s of them come out to warn you,” said Twitchell.

The Department of Agriculture says a person shouldn’t try to handle a bee problem by themselves.

“If you see a high number of bees, get away from them as fast as possible, call a licensed pesticide or bee person,” said Department Spokeswoman Erin Gillespie.

If you are stung, don’t pinch the stinger because that could release more venom. Instead, try to scrape a stinger out with a credit card.

It’s also easier said than done, but if you do find yourself being attacked, don’t panic.  Try to get away from a swarm and cover yourself with a sheet or blanket.