School grounds
Bee-proof the school before a nest takes a wall
African honey bees have been in Florida since the early 2000s. Parents call when the news says killer bee. African Honey Bee Information for School Administrators is the UF/IFAS page for that call. O'Malley, Ellis, and Neal. The job is not a poster in the office. It is bee-proofing the property, teaching staff what a nest looks like, and hiring listed removal when bees already own a cavity.
Disturbed European honey bee colonies usually will send less than a dozen bees out to defend a distance of about 20 feet around the colony. African honey bee colonies may send out several hundred bees to defend a distance up to 40 yards or more.
The sting is not hotter
The paper says the media oversells killer bee. Honey bees pollinate food and make honey. The European honey bee page is that pollinator job. African honey bees look almost the same. They are a little smaller. The sting is not more potent. They still make honey and work flowers. You cannot eyeball the difference. The field fact that scares a parent is the guard table, not a color chart.
European stock usually sends fewer than a dozen guards about twenty feet. African honey bee colonies may send several hundred, out to forty yards or more. They also nest in the open, not only in a cavity. Bees on flowers are forage. They are not a nest. All honey bees, and other stinging insects, still go to soda and juice. Children have been stung on the lips and mouth while drinking outside. That is a sugar source, not an African-only rule.
Close empty holes. Do not seal a live one.
The first precaution on that paper is bee-proofing. Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens is the yard method. Screen, caulk, or foam empty cavities so a swarm cannot take a wall, a meter, a downspout, or playground gear. A colony already in a wall has to come out first. Closing a live entrance pushes the bees deeper into the building. Removal costs money and often a carpenter. Proofing is cheaper than that bill.
Eighth-inch hardware cloth for an empty pipe, vent, or tree void that still needs air.Get this. Exterior silicone for an empty crack with no bees in or out.Get this. Walk the campus after you close the first round. Screens rust. Caulk splits in the rain. The paper wants an initial assessment, then follow-up inspections, not a one-day work order.
The owner owns the nest
Florida puts an unwanted swarm or colony on the property owner. That is the district for a school. A registered beekeeper or a trained pest control operator removes it, or a pest control operator kills it. Choosing the operator is the hire page. Find a Bee Removal Expert is the UF list. Do not spray a wall nest with a can from the closet.
The checklist also wants UF/IFAS Extension in the science lesson and parent groups in the same briefing. Proactive proofing is the liability note. A nest nobody walked past is the usual start of a bad afternoon. Most attacks start at a nest someone already knew about.
Kids are drinking juice on the playground. Is that African honey bees?
Not as an ID. The school paper says all honey bees and many other stinging insects go to soda and juice. Caps on, and watch holes, not the bloom.
Can we foam a meter the bees already use?
No. Hire listed removal first. Seal after the comb is gone. The yard proofing page says the same thing for a house wall.
Sources
- African Honey Bee Information for School Administrators. O'Malley, Ellis, and Neal. Guard numbers, soda stings, administrator checklist.
- Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens. The empty-cavity method the school page points at.
- African Honey Bee. Ellis and Ellis. The species page.
- UF Find a Bee Removal Expert. Registered keepers and operators who take nests.