FOCUS ON STINGING INSECTS: Bright Lights Big Problems

Anyone in uniform who has ever uttered, “Please disperse, nothing to see here,” to a crowd of people can attest to how often this command falls on deaf ears.

As frustrating as crowd control can be, it is critical for bee and wasp management, especially in congested, metropolitan areas. Every effort must be made to keep people as far away from the to-be-treated site as possible.
George Botta, president and general manager of American Pest Control, Las Vegas, Nev., says PCOs in his area are dealing with the ultimate crowd control challenge — eliminating Africanized honeybees (a.k.a., “killer” bees) from structures on Las Vegas’ famous (and crowded) Strip and on Fremont Street, an area where large crowds gather to watch “light shows” held under a large canopy.

“The tourists see you come out in the white (bee) suit and they’ll click away with their cameras,” Botta says. “We’ll use police officers, firemen and hotel security guards to keep people off the streets and inside their hotels, but some will still try to get pictures. You really have to concentrate on the task at hand and eliminate the problem quickly.”

A GROWING CONCERN. Africanized honeybees have become a major problem in “The City in the Sands” since their arrival in August 1997. Botta says his company has done about 650 Africanized honeybee control jobs in the last four years. Prior to 1997, Botta said he was lucky to receive one bee control job request per year.

As a result, Botta equipped all six of his bee control specialists with roles of yellow “CAUTION: DO NOT ENTER” tape to assist in crowd control and bought 32-foot extension ladders for their vehicles.

In situations where a homeowner or property owner has hired American Pest Control to eliminate Africanized honeybees, Botta and his crew are responsible for crowd control themselves; however, on public properties or in situations where the public is at risk of being stung, Las Vegas’ police and fire departments, maintenance crews and other city workers have all been called upon to assist in crowd control. For example, an Africanized bee swarm temporarily closed a stretch of a Las Vegas highway this summer. Botta’s job was to control the swarm while the police and fire departments closed off the section of highway. In fact, Las Vegas firefighters have been retrained to deal with the bees and each fire truck is now equipped with a bee suit and soapy spray solution.

Security guards from structures being treated will also be used for crowd control. Botta said he did an Africanized bee control job on Fremont Street that required about 45 hotel security guards.

GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT. Botta said when the bees first arrived in “The Valley” in 1997, few were prepared. Reports of people and pets being stung were widespread. In ’97, people were not calling pest control companies to report swarms until the Africanized honeybees had landed and were causing trouble; today, however, Botta receives calls at the first sign of trouble.

Massive city, county and state educational efforts have helped Las Vegas better deal with its Africanized honeybee challenges, said Botta, who has been instrumental in assisting the Nevada Department of Agriculture in educating children. In the past year, Botta estimates he has presented Africanized honeybee seminars to about 4,000 Las Vegas-area schoolchildren. His presentations include a video made by the Las Vegas Fire Department; a slide show featuring photos of Africanized honeybees, swarms and potentially dangerous situations and areas; and a lecture with guidelines for keeping people and pets safe from Africanized honeybees.

“Educating the kids is so important because they are the ones outside playing and are usually the ones that find the bees before mom and dad do,” Botta said. “We feel our educational efforts have really helped. Kids are now educating their parents, which is very good.”

In addition to funding school educational efforts, the Nevada Department of Agriculture has been educating groups such as landscapers, golf course workers, hotel managers, etc., using a variety of programs. It recently set up a 24-hour bee hotline that people can use to contact Las Vegas-area pest management professionals with questions and service requests.

The Department also produced an educational television video that runs frequently on Las Vegas’ public broadcasting station.  Botta says it is important that it continue to be played frequently because Las Vegas continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, with 1,500 to 2,000 people moving there per month. 

Botta added that Africanized honeybees have been moving eastward, towards Utah, and that he and the Nevada Department of Agriculture have been preparing Salt Lake City officials to deal with these pests.

The author is managing editor of PCT magazine.