Bees

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JASON BOOTH

Staff Reporter

The ferocious Africanized honeybee, capable of stinging a human being to death, has colonized L.A. and while that might strike fear in the hearts of many Angelenos, companies that specialize in bee removal or protective gear have reason to celebrate.

“For companies that specialize in bee control, the Africanized honeybee will be a great boon,” said Eric Paulsen, technical manager of the Africanized honeybee program at the Pest Control Operators of California, an industry group in Sacramento. “And because this bee is here to stay, that business should last for a long time.”

The arrival of the Africanized bee is so recent that most of L.A.’s pest control companies have not yet been called on to confront the pest. However, 16 colonies of the “killer bee” so far have been identified in Los Angeles County, and within the next two or three years, L.A.’s entire bee population will be taken over by Africanized bees.

Preparations for the battle are well underway.

“It’s already improving our business,” said Aaron Harris, marketing director at Los Angeles Honey Co., L.A.’s largest supplier of bee-related equipment. “So far, the main pick-up in business has been for protective gear.”

He said that both public- and private-sector agencies including school districts, power companies and housing developers have been securing bee traps that deter colonies from establishing themselves.

Harris said he expects to sell over 500 such traps this year, up from about 50 in 1998.

Companies and agencies whose employees are more likely to come into contact with bees police and fire departments, telephone companies and gardening firms, for example are stocking up on protective gear. Even pest control companies that have been handling European honeybees for years are buying extra protective gear such as leather gloves, sprays and pith helmets with netting to protect the faces and necks of their workers.

The caution is justified, according to bee experts. Having evolved in the harsh environment of central Africa, these bees are far more aggressive in defending their hives than are their European cousins. Once a swarm picks a target, the bees will continue stinging until their victim is incapacitated or finds shelter.

Paul Trammel, service center manager of Western Exterminator Co. in Long Beach, went along for the ride when two of his employees were called out to do the first extermination of an Africanized honeybee colony earlier this year.

“I was standing 120 feet away from the nest and got stung six times. I ended up running down the street waving my arms like a madman,” he recalled.

Experts say it takes roughly 10 stings per pound of body weight for bees to kill a human. As a result, children and the elderly are at greatest risk. Though there have been a number of stinging incidents in Southern California in recent months, the only local fatalities have been among dogs.

After sellers of protective gear, next in line to benefit from the influx of bees will be pest control companies. In Tucson, where the Africanized honeybee first appeared five years ago, the number of companies handling bee removal has jumped to 30 from half a dozen in 1994. And according to Steven Thoenes, president of BeeMaster Inc., one of Tucson’s largest bee-control companies, there is no shortage of work.

“Some days we get 40 to 50 jobs,” he said. “We had 3,500 removals last year, up from 350 in 1994.”

He notes that Africanized bees reproduce at a far greater rate than their European cousins. While a European colony will produce two or three additional colonies per year, Africanized colonies produce seven to 10.

All that spells opportunity for local pest control companies. To remove a swarm of regular honeybees, exterminators typically charge less than $100, while leaving behind the empty hive.

But with killer bees now taking over, both government and private agencies recommend that all hives be removed, due to the likelihood that new bees will eventually reoccupy it. Removing a hive, especially if it has been built within the walls of a structure (which Africanized bees tend to do), can cost well over $1,000.

To minimize the threat to both workers and neighbors, nest removals are usually conducted at night, when the bees tend to be more docile. That means extermination companies must pay their workers overtime. Then there is the cost of the extra training and equipment associated with handling killer bees. And some exterminators worry they will have to pay higher insurance premiums to cover employees who handle the more-aggressive bees. All these costs will likely be passed on to the consumer.

Los Angeles already has dozens of companies licensed to deal with the pest leading some to expect a shakeout.

“You may see some people come into the business and then fall by the wayside,” said Gregg Manston, technical supervisor of Bee Removers Inc. in Claremont, who has been removing bees for more than 25 years. “But it is hard work. You break your back at it and it is not lucrative.”

In Los Angeles, private bee exterminators also have the disadvantage of competing for business with the L.A. County West Vector Control District, a privately operated but publicly funded organization whose traditional job has been to deal with mosquito and rodent infestation on public properties.

Faced with the threat from the Africanized honeybee, Vector Control is now tooled to combat bees. And Executive Director Robert Saviskas said that as long as a beehive is in the open, whether on public or private property, Vector Control has a mandate to remove it. Only when a hive is within a structure, such as a house, is Vector Control obliged to call in a private pest control company.

That has many private-sector bee experts fuming. They argue that the county is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to do a job that the private sector could do more quickly, more cheaply and just plain better.

“I can’t compete against the government,” said Dave Marder, who runs Bee Busters in Laguna Beach. “I’ve been waiting 20 years for the Africanized bee to get here. And now they are here and the government wants to swoop down and steal it from me.”

But John Hurley, who oversees the war on the Africanized honeybee for the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commission, said such complaints will be short-lived.

“Vector Control will soon be so overworked that there will be plenty of work for the private guys,” Hurley said.

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