Photo Illinois.eduA few Florida landscape workers were attacked by thousands of bees.
Approximately 20,000 bees swarmed the workers before a beekeeper took control of the situation, according to ABC 7.
The landscape workers were mowing the customer’s lawn in Cape Coral and did not realize there was a hive located inside a valve box.
All three men took cover in a their van but not before being stung multiple times.
President of the Florida State Beekeepers Association, Keith Councell, told ABC 7 that the bees were “definitely not Africanized bees” but will be taken in for DNA testing to be sure.
According to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service from the USDA, bees can find a variety of places to make nests.
“Bees will choose a nesting site in many places where people may disturb them,” the organization says. “Nesting cavities may include: buckets, cans, empty boxes, old tires, or any container ranging in volume from as little as 2 to 10 gallons and more.”
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Additionally, bees can also make nests in vehicles, lumber piles, holes, as well as cavities in fences, trees, the ground, sheds, garages and outbuildings.
If landscape workers are stung on site, be sure to remove the stinger by scraping the area with a fingernail, credit card or other sharp-edged tool.
APHIS says avoid using tweezers since squeezing the stinger can pump more venom into the skin.
Apply ice to reduce swelling and a topical anesthetic to reduce the pain and itch.
