It’s good to see the sun shining again. The summer months are well on their way. The cold months are now behind us and we’re headed into the hot temperatures and dog days of summer. Personally, I’m looking forward to this. I’m tired of the cold. But with the warmth comes more insects. The big summer insect that comes, in many cases, are bees. Bees are found often in peoples barns and their yards in and around peoples homes. It’s important to know how to deal with these insects and make sure that you and your loved ones are safe from them. We need to talk about dealing with bees.
ALL ABOUT BEES
Bees are from a group of insects known as a Hymenoptera. These are stinging insect that have a stinger at the end of them that they can use to inject venom. This venom can be very dangerous. Many people are very allergic to bee stings. If you are allergic to bee stings and your stung by a bee, you can go into anaphylactic shock or worse. This could lead to death in extreme cases. It’s very important to keep bees away from people who have allergic reactions to their sting.
BEE STINGS
There are many different proteins in the sting. The one that actually causes the pain is called melittin. Melittin activates the heat sensing nerve endings in your skin. It overloads them making you have a burning sensation. If you found that you’ve been stung by a bee, you will often look down and see the stinger still inside your arm. What happens is, with a bee sting, the stinger is actually barbed. The bee will insert the stinger into the skin, and then when it goes to remove itself, the stinger will stay because of the barb and some of the organs inside the body will also stay. This will be the last act of the bee. It will die once it loses its stinger. For more information, call your Broken Arrow exterminator.
One of the organs left with the stinger is the venom creating organ. It will continue to create venom and pump it into you as long as the stinger is in your body. Because of this it’s important to remove the stinger as soon as possible. You will want to use your finger nails and grab a stinger as close to the skin as possible, gently pulling the stinger out of your skin. If a piece of the stinger breaks off inside the skin, it’s not the end of the world. You should get alcohol and clean the wound regardless of whether the stinger was properly removed or not. But this will also keep the stinger from causing an infection in the skin if a piece of the stinger is left.
EUROPEAN AND AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES
The European honeybee is not aggressive in nature. It only stings when it is attacked. The Africanized honeybee, is a different matter altogether. These bees are very aggressive in nature. They are very common and look almost the same as the European honeybee. In fact, other than an entomologist, most people cannot tell the difference between an Africanized honeybee and a European honeybee. But the Africanized honeybee does not have a barb in its stinger. That means they can sting multiple times. These bees are also much more aggressive. They will chase you and they will aggressively defend their hive. Your Tulsa pest control company can help.
European honeybees have been somewhat domesticated over the years. They come from Europe where there are fewer predators attempting to destroy their hives. In most cases, they have grown to understand the protections that humans give them in exchange for some of their honey. The Africanized bees are from an area of the world where they have many more predators. And if a bear or other wild animal attacks their hive, it’s likely they will destroy the hive. Because of this, Africanized honeybees have become much more aggressive. Call your Tulsa exterminator today for help.
BEES AND OUR ECOSYSTEM
Bees are a very important part of our ecosystem. We need them to keep plants alive. When plants reproduce, they create a blossom. In the blossom, there is the female portion which is the pistil and the male portion which is the stamen. Honeybees will go and collect the nectar from these blossoms and in the process to get some of the pollen from the stamen’s on their legs. They will carry this pollen around as they go from blossom to blossom and deposit the pollen on the pistil of a different tree or plant. They cross pollinate these plants and create genetic diversity in plants. Once the pollen has been deposited on the pistil, this will cause a seed to grow.
A new factor in the survival of the honeybee in America is the introduction of what’s known as murder hornets. These are large hornets they come from Japan. It is believed that they were imported on a boat. There are very few in number right now and entomologist are working hard to keep them from our shores. The problem with murder hornets is the fact that they will mercilessly kill an entire hive of bees. Japanese honeybees have a defense mechanism against them. They will surround the Asian giant hornet and flap their wings rapidly creating a huge amount of heat. This will literally cook the insides of the hornet, protecting the hive. But American honeybees do not have this defense mechanism. Because of this, murder hornets, if they find their way to America, can completely wipe out the bee population.
ELIMINATING BEES FROM YOUR YARD
If you’re having issues with bees, hornets or wasps it’s time to call and a professional Broken Arrow pest control company. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we’re the best in the business when it comes to dealing with stinging insects. We service the greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Coweta, Claremore, Catoosa, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Prattville, Turley, and much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!
