To Bee or not to Bee wrote on Jul 25, 2007 4:38 AM:I hosted a huge and mean swarm for over a year. We kept a safe distance and eventually they decided to leave on their own and seek greener pastures. I didn't witness the move but I was told that it was quite a sight. Some things are best left to nature. I'm happy because it seems that Mother Nature pursued her plan and it didn't cost me a cent, just a few warning stings. You can't fight Mother Nature.

Helping Nature wrote on Jul 25, 2007 9:14 AM:Growing up in citrus country, I have witnessed numerous bee invasions. If the bees like the location, they will never leave on their own. My best self help measure is to use a leaf vacuum/mulcher. (Don't use a shop vacuum. It does not vacuum well and will leave you with a vacuum full of angry bees. The leaf vacuum/mulcher shreds the bees.) I drill a small hole in the vacuum's large opening and tie a cord through the small hole. Then I position or hang the leaf vacuum with the vacuum's large opening just below the entrance to the hive. I then turn the leaf vacuum on for about 30 minutes every afternoon as the bees are returning to the hive. One key to to suck up and kill the bees slowly, over a period of a week or two. Eventually the bees in the hive will use up the honey, and realize that the location is not a good place for a hive.

Karenbrat wrote on Jul 25, 2007 10:16 AM:I am very close friends with the Ramona Couple mentioned in the article. They were dog-sitting for me while I am in the process of moving. The dog that was attacked is actually mine. We are all very lucky that we have survived this ordeal because we spend alot of time around the area where the nest was found. However, Fred (the goat) was not so lucky. Sometimes, you can't wait for the bees to just "move on" to another location, especially when they are so aggressive. These men have too many animals to wait for something like that. Sometimes you have to put up a fight in order to survive.

This is so stupid! wrote on Jul 25, 2007 4:27 PM:Just a few months ago they told us the bees were disappearing. Before that they warned us about the bird flu, and now we have global warming. Are these people taking stupid pills or what?

John wrote on Aug 6, 2007 2:08 AM:Bad Bee Buzz, Yes bees have disappeared a lot this year, this is a question i get asked a lot, Its called colony collapse disorder (CCD). This is when an apiarist (beekeeper) goes out to the apiary, and finds many of his bees are not in the boxes. Many think it�s from a combination of mishandling the bees, the pesticides & the weather. However Africanized bees and organic bees have not been reported to be effected by this. Yes we need honeybees, but when a bee colony or swarm of bees is in or on trees, under sheds, under pots, or in walls of your house, they could be a big danger to children, pets, animals, and adults. This same week bees living in a lamppost attacked a lady in Oceanside while she was in her car. Also I removed a hive in Del Mar that was high up in tree. They had come from the owl box in the neighbor�s yard next door. I spoke to Don afterwards, he said that earlier that week he the bees attacked him while in his yard. He twisted his ankle as he turned to run to his house, he had got stung 20 times before he made it in his house. These were feral hives, like the one in Ramona. Leave bees to the experts. The main problem is that we do not know if the bees are Africanized without sending them to a lab. Though different means Africanized bees commonly overtake beekeepers' bees. Beekeepers re-queen their hives when this happens, but unattended, the hives become Africanized. A previously calm hive can become very aggressive when disturbed. Educate people to leave bees alone. If bees are attacking, run run and run, don�t jump in water, get inside a vehicle or building.