Local battle begins against Africanized bees

Clark County worker Chris Bramley attacked the Africanized bees at the Government Center on a hot August afternoon when the insects were restless.

Bramley admits he tackled the swarm at the wrong time, when the bees were at their most aggressive, buzzing around the center, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, in the heart of Las Vegas.

"It took two shots of soapy water to take them out, and then we had to spray for stragglers," Bramley said.

In the past 40 years, swarms of the aggressive honeybees have moved through Mexico, Texas and Arizona. Six North Americans have been killed by Africanized bees.

Africanized bees left 1,000 people dead in Brazil in the 1950s.

Homeowners can hook up a garden sprayer with a cup of liquid detergent to a gallon of water to get rid of the bees. The soapy solution suffocates bees whether they are the more docile European bee or the Africanized aggressor, biologist Tom Smigel said. "Wait until dark," he said. "Bees don't fly at night so you can spray the whole swarm."

The so-called killer bees have not formed colonies in Southern Nevada -- yet, Smigel said. It will take a year for the Department of Business and Industry's Division of Agriculture to collect honeybees, identify them and trace them across the valley, Smigel said.

Bee activity started earlier in Southern Nevada this year and continued throughout the summer. "Blame it on the warmer, wetter year," Smigel said.

"There's an enormous amount of activity out there and not just European honeybees, but the Africanized kind moving through Clark County," he said.

Agriculturist Shrilene Wayland agreed, holding up a jar filled with alcohol and more than 100 bee carcasses from the county site. "This is a nice specimen," she said, since 50 to 100 bees are necessary for her to identify them.

Both varieties look the same out there until body parts are measured by Wayland under a microscope at her lab.

It takes Wayland eight hours to examine 10 bees for 23 different measurements that will tell her whether the insects are the larger, European bees or the Africanized bees. Their markings are the same.

"We've got a window of opportunity here," Paul Iverson, administrator in the agricultural division, said. "The bees could nest here by next spring."

Despite fears raised by the aggressive interlopers, Africanized bees don't attack without a disturbance. They don't like noise, and they don't like people swatting at them as they fly, said John O'Brien, bee specialist from Reno.

The Africanized bees like to go where normal bees won't, he said. Homeowners should look around the outside of their houses for bee activity in a hole in the ground, or old piles of tires or near dripping faucets. If a swarm is found, either call the agricultural division for a list of pest companies handling these bees or try the soapy shower after dark, O'Brien said.

In case someone is attacked by a swarm of bees, the Clark County Fire Department is training law enforcement officers, firefighters and the Nevada Highway Patrol on how to apply foam and soapy water, county Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

"A normal person can outrun an Africanized swarm," Leinbach said.

However, someone confined or an animal tied up in a yard makes a perfect target. "That constitutes a medical emergency, and you should dial 911 if someone is being attacked," he said.

As the bees spread from Laughlin and Searchlight and Boulder City into Las Vegas, state and county officials will try to educate the public before next summer.

An exceptionally cold winter might stop the bees from spreading and nesting in Clark County. But the experts say don't bet on it.

"The bees are here, and we have to deal with them," Smigel said.

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