africanized bee attack on South Mountain

[azdesertfather]

Did you hear the news about what happened to the hiker on South Mountain on Monday? He was stung by Africanized bees hundreds of times and still is in pretty serious condition. He tried running, and soon collapsed. There were so many that even nearby hikers, police and forest rangers couldn't help, they had to wait for six guys to arrive suited up in bee gear to tie the poor guy onto a gurney and have him taken off via helicopter. If you haven't read the story or seen the video, you can see it at on the azcentral.

I have to tell you all, this type of thing concerns me on the desert trails around Phoenix more than anything else...more than the gila monsters, the scorpions, the rattlesnakes...because they are sometimes difficult to spot out there, give no warning, and don't stop attacking. And since they were first spotted in the U.S. in 2004, the number of incidents in Arizona just keeps skyrocketing. In a sense, he was fortunate, in that at least he was hiking on a trail in the Valley, with people around. If you are caught out on one of the more remote desert trails, not as well traveled by hikers, a few miles from your car and out of cell phone range, then well, it's just SOL for you. :-({|=

The news report made it a note to say that he had wandered 150 yards off the trail. But let's face it, that alone doesn't prevent this sort of thing. A couple of weeks ago I was on a trail on Silly Mountain outside of A.J., and was stung. I'm assuming it wasn't an africanized swarm, but let me tell ya, I didn't stick around long enough to find out...I flicked his stinger/butt off and got away from there. The nest though was located on the trail itself, on the ground in a little hole the size of the ones that these ground squirrels make everywhere.

Have any of you had any experiences with africanized bees out there on the trail, or is this so rare that it shouldn't be a real concern in your mind? Have you heard of anything that has worked to limit an attack if you unknowingly come up on one of these swarms? My guess is no...I've heard one say that wearing white on the trail helps limit that, but I don't know. On the Backcountry Forum site a guy said "If you keep your eyes open and keep listening, you should have no problems with bees, wasps, or hornets. Insect repellents will keep them away, as well as mosquitos, black flies, and noseeums." Really? Just spray yourself with insect repellent and listen well? I literally did not hear that swarm that day on Silly Mountain at all, the hole opening was so small, the ground insulated most all of their noise. Another guy said just carry an epipen with you...which is a good idea if you are allergic to any sort of stings, but frankly, if you're stung 100+ times and they're still chasing you, not sure how much good stopping to inject yourself is going to be.

Love to hear what wisdom some of you hardcore hikers can bestow ... :stretch:

dave

[joebartels]

I don't know the facts but I'm not too concerned myself. Somehow I think they're provoked. There was a huge hive before the lower slide in Hidden Valley years ago. As I walked by I heard a low hum and turned right within a two foot wide hive. I just slowly backed away without issue.

As mentioned here viewtopic.php?t=3220
I had a huge swarm fly over me in February

Swarms of bees migrating are natural. They mean no harm, and are not affected by you hiking

There has to be more to these bee attack stories than is fessed up.

[DarthStiller]

I think South Mt. has a bunch more of the killer bees than most anywhere else in Phx. in may 2001 I hiked from Pima Canyon to Telegraph Pass (9 miles) and the entire time all you hear was the ubiquitous buzz of bees. I remember one flew and hit me in the nose. I never got stung fortunately. a few other times I've been there and pass the bushes that have that buzzing sound. the farther out I've been out in the wilderness, I dont think I've ever seen them. I think April and especially may are the months to watch for. My gaiters help me for the snakes, but they don't make full body suits for that sort of thing.

[Jeffshadows]

I seem to be lucky in that I can usually hear the hum and know I'm near a hive. Typically, even when necessity forced me to pass near to one, I try to creep past and give them as wide a berth as possible. No major incidents so far and I haven't heard of any down here where someone wasn't throwing rocks at the hive, etc...

[te_wa]

I first read of the story on KPHO website- they mentioned nothing of the bees being "africanized". They also said the guy fell 200 feet into a ravine. He was seen flailing and waving his shirt at the bees. Uh, no. RUN. Bees cannot fly very fast, they are designed to hover. (over flowers) and most people, despite the elderly or physically handicapped, can outrun a honey bee. Insect "repellent" against bees is a rediculous story and I would have laughed in that guys face. in fact "repellent" does no such thing. an example is DEET - used to confuse a mosquiotoes' receptors so that it cannot find you via carbon dioxide and smell. DEET doesnt work on spiders, deer flies, black flies or bees.

[JoelHazelton]

Huh... Flailing and waving his shirt at bees. That makes it worse. You just run as fast as you can without provoking them any more. I've done it.

[tibber]

I have never noticed the sound of buzzing bees as much as I have this year. All of the places I hiked around the Valley of the Sun seemed to have that constant buzz (like a high voltage power line). On my last Lost Dog hike, I noted in my triplog how I heard the buzz get extremely loud and I didn't know what to do so I took a stage right, and ran. The sound seemed to pass over the trail and was gone.... scared me quite a bit though. But then I continued on my hike.

I had inquired in the log as to what action a person should take when you hear the buzzing rev up louder than the norm.... If you're packing gear though, it's hard to run too fast and I am by no means a runner but I suspect the adrenaline would kick in. Also, I 've never been stung by a bee, knock on wood, so I don't know how my system would react . I guess when it comes to that sort of thing, whatever happens will happen. It's not like you can prevent it since you can't really see it.

I do know that when I get near certain bushes/trees that bees might like, I veer a little more to avoid getting too close so that I won't upset them.

[big_load]

I've seen plenty of bees over the years, but never been stung on the trail.

[joebartels]

He was seen flailing and waving his shirt at the bees

Once again I don't know the facts but it was my understanding you never swat at a bee. Think you're just asking for a swarm attack.

Now if you fall into a hive you're pretty much screwed. The chances of falling are pretty slim on the generally wide hard packed trails of South Mountain. This guy went off trail. Stay on trail if you're concerned.

Interesting comment on the article where the one guy said

I THINK THE PARK RANGERS WHO PATROL THAT AREA SHOULD BE EQUIPT WITH SOME KIND OF FOAM RETARDANT TO HELP OUT THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING ATTACKED BY BEES

right and machine guns in case a hiker picks a fight

Perhaps I was lucky. I got stung by a bee at a very young age on my tricycle. That took me off the playground for a good day, boy I never made that mistake again

[SuperstitionGuy]

I've seen plenty of bees over the years, but never been stung on the trail.

I had the habit of kicking rocks off the trail with my boots as I hiked and got pretty good at it as well. However there is a little yellow varity of a bee that loves to build nests on the ground and under rocks and they STING AND CHASE!
So Big_Load be careful out there on those Arizona trails and don't disturb the rocks if you can help it....
:stretch:

[big_load]

Most of my close encounters happen at break time. I used to carry a little blue mat to nap on, but one variety of bees in the Supes has a strong attraction to blue things and seems to appear out of nowhere to investigate. Also, I left my tent unzipped one chilly morning in the Galiuros, only to find a couple bees in it before I finished breakfast. I spent nearly an hour unsuccessfully trying to coax them out. They just got madder and madder, so with the tent flattened, I reluctantly introduced them to Mr. Boot.

[DarthStiller]

Bees cannot fly very fast, they are designed to hover.

So are they gonna re-name 87 the Hovering Highway?

I also remember one time jogging along the canal thru the citrus groves and a bee started slamming into my head, but didnt sting me. I ran for a while in zig zags as fast as I could to get away. It took quite some effort.

[joebartels]

The KPHO one is a tad more graphic than the azcentral report

He probably fell about 200 feet off of that trail and down into a ravine. He was all broken bones and cut up and tangled up in cholla cactus," said Capt. Lewis Jones of the Phoenix Fire Technical Team

ouch

It's easy to see why people are concerned as a more recent KPHO story starts off with

A swarm of bees ambushed two men Wednesday, then attacked the firefighters who arrived to treat them.

Apparently they didn't use the patented Stiller Shuffle. Man that's a true Steeler fan.

[chumley]

So are they gonna re-name 87 the Hovering Highway?

Technically, it's the Duthie-Martin Highway, but that's taken hold almost as well as Piestewa Peak.

Back on bees, when I was a kid, I was stung 15 times by hornets while hiking in upstate New York. I was probably 12 or 13 at the time, and hiking in a group. I was third in line. The first person stepped on an old rotted log across the trail which apparently housed the hive. By the time the hornets came out, I was directly over the log. I never saw a single hornet, but the people hiking behind me said that it looked like a tornado coming out of the ground.

I immediately ditched my pack and ran 1/2 a mile before jumping into the refreshing Hudson River to ease the pain of the stings. (This was north of Albany where the Hudson was/is? clean and only about 30 feet across). The stings swelled up so much that I looked like an 80s East German Olympic weightlifter. The kid behind me was not as lucky because he was allergic and the adults in the group had to carry him a couple of miles to where an ambulance could access the trail.

[joebartels]

Wow that's just bad luck, sorry to hear. Albeit inadvertent the bees were still provoked. KPHO would have twisted it around for you like a true attorney and had the bees thrown in the slammer for "ambushing".

[te_wa]

sure Joe, but FOX news would have sided with the defense attorneys and given the bees executive powers to torture and harrass intruders they later dubbed terrorists and harmful to the Hornet's way of life.

[joebartels]

very true

[Jeffshadows]

sure Joe, but FOX news would have sided with the defense attorneys and given the bees executive powers to torture and harrass intruders they later dubbed terrorists and harmful to the Hornet's way of life.

You forgot the part about the "Mission Accomplished" banner...

[DANJF15]

When I was at the South Mountain Park in September of 05 I attempted to use the park restrooms. I noticed a trash can by the restrooms and saw a few bees flying around it. After one of them flew at me I decided to scrap the idea in case they were AHB. I did not hear a buzz and I got about 10 feet from the trash can without getting attacked. Anyone think these were AHB or regular European Honey bees? They did not swarm but were kind of acting aggressive.

I'm from Florida and we just started getting these little bastards here. I have not experienced any AHB's here yet but am thinking of taking some training courses in Bee Removal applications.

On another note, I was in Slidell, Louisiana in 2001. My brother and I were walking down the road and out of nowhere ended up in a swarm of bees. I estimated at least 300 bees were hovering above us and could hear a buzz. I told my brother to freeze and get down so we wouldnt provoke them. 5 seconds later they flew away and it seemed like they were never even there. I presume that they were European honey bees as I dont think Louisiana had AHB's in 2001.

Alright, Sorry for rambling on.

-DANJF15

[PaleoRob]

As mentioned here viewtopic.php?t=3220
I had a huge swarm fly over me in February

Swarms of bees migrating are natural. They mean no harm, and are not affected by you hiking

Wow. We had the same sort of thing happen to us out at West Bench Pueblo last weekend. It was crazy, like something out of a movie. Pretty cool though too (since they weren't aimed at us)!