An 80-Year-Old Woman Died After She Was Attacked By Bees – Here’s What You Should Do If You Get Attacked

An 80-year-old woman was attacked by bees earlier this week. She died of her injuries, and officials say that with the warmer weather and the mild winter, you might encounter more bees than usual this spring and summer.

There are a few things you need to remember about dealing with bees or a bee swarm:

1. Never try to deal with a hive by yourself. Bees aren't normally aggressive unless they feel like they're being attacked. If you see a swarm, calmly walk away from it and get inside a car or your house as fast as you can. It's better to deal with a couple of bees rather than an angry swarm.

2. Don't try to knock down a hive or spray a swarm with water. Again, you don't want them to think you're attacking them. Leave the hive to the professionals to remove, or try to get inside somewhere to get away from a swarm.

3. When a bee stings you, it puts out a pheromone that leads others to you. That pheromone is why if one bee stings you, there is a good chance that others will try to sting as well. Get inside!

Bees are endangered and we need them to pollinate plants. Almost one-third of the food we eat is dependent on bees. We could lose important stuff like wine without the little buzzers! So, don't kill bees, call these companies in the El Paso and Las Cruces area for bee removal:

William Scott Anderson – (915) 504-9375 - Anderson has been raising bees since 1981 and often works with El Paso Electric because they sometimes get bees in their equipment.

Brad Kohler of Desert Oasis Pest Control - Kohler was featured in the KFOX story on bees. He is in Las Cruces, so if you have a problem with bees in the City of the Crosses, check out his Facebook page link.

Bob Reneau with the Paseo del Norte Beekeeper's Association - I spoke with Bob on the phone and he said that if you have a swarm or a hive that need to be dealt with, call him at (915)833-7878. There are over 100 members of the Association in the El Paso area who can help deal with bee issues. He said that El Paso's bee population is a hybrid mix of Africanized and non-Africanized bees, so they can be aggressive. His advice? Stay away from the problem area and call him for help.