Killer Bee Expert Puts The Dangerous Insects To Work

Killer Bee Expert Puts The Dangerous Insects To Work SPECIALTY/SERVICES Specialty/Services 30-2-8 Reed Booth is known in Arizona as "The Killer Bee Guy" and he gets calls from police, firefighters and homeowners when the aggressive bees get out of hand. Killer African bees came to the U.S. more than 10 years ago after they escaped from a lab experiment in Brazil. They bred with European honeybees to create new Africanized breeds. Booth says last summer they were discovered as far north as Wisconsin. "You can't tell the difference between European and Africanized bees by looking at them with the naked eye. Technically, they're smaller. But boy, what an attitude. There's no rhyme or reason to what makes these bees mad." Their sting isn't any different from other honeybees but it sends out pheromones that alert the rest of the hive. Within seconds, thousands of them sting anyone or anything in their path. They'll chase a person two miles and water won't deter them. They'll wait until the person comes up. "The old days of standing still while the angry bees buzz around you are over. Get the hell out of there," he says, adding that it's important to cover your head because they aim for the nose and mouth. Booth became a beekeeper in 1989 and started working with Africanized bees when people started calling him with bee problems. "They'd say they'd had bees around for years but that suddenly they'd started stinging horses and cows. I'd tell them their bees had become Africanized." He says a hive like that is like a ticking time bomb. "What I tell people is this - it's like rattlesnakes. It's okay if they live out in the woods but you don't want them under your house." Booth charges $95 to remove a swarm and starts at $195 to remove a hive, plus travel time. He takes the bees home and puts them to work. He says they make twice as much honey as European bees do. "I decided that since they were so productive I'd take them home and put them to work," he says. "My greatest fear is a rip in my nylon suit," he says. "Duct tape is my friend. I use a lot of it." The bees can sting through the suit but if he thinks it's going to be a bad removal, he'll wear a heavy sweatshirt and pants under it. That means temps of up to 200 degrees in the suit. "Often, when I'm removing them, it literally feels like hail bouncing off my suit and I can smell the venom." He generally "smokes" the bees out. The smoke signals danger in them and they'll leave willingly. But not always. "I swear these Africanized bees will sometimes leave 2 to 3,000 bees just to mess with me." Booth authored and sells the book "Confessions Of The Killer Bee Guy" for $20 on his website along with other "killer bee" products. He's especially proud of his honey mustard. "We've been in the world mustard competition for five years and up against 6 or 7 countries. Last year, my roasted garlic mustard took a gold." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Reed Booth, P.O. Box 658, Bisbee, Ariz. 85603 (ph 877-227-9338 or 520 432-2938; killerbeeguy@earthlink.net; www.killerbeeguy.com).

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