Attacked by Bees

Lucky Duck

Lucky Duck

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I was browsing through this years call outs for the Harwich lifeboat (http://rnli.harwich.org.uk/Services/Services3.php?year=2011/2011) and came across this entry

The Inshore Lifeboat was called out at 11.45am on Sunday to an unusual request for help from two boats tied together under attack from a swarm of bees.

On Arrival it was established that all persons from the two boats had transferred to a smaller tender boat and left the scene unharmed. No injuries or stings were reported.

A fire hose was used to disperse the nest so the owner could make his way back to the marina for further assistance.
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Hmmmm........
 
Bees

Gooday

I took the call from a very calm sailor.
Bearing in mind his associates had to abandon vessel, he very quickly joined them.:p
To be cruising along & then decide to have a nice picnic to be destroyed by a horde of bees is terrible.:mad:
I hope that this type of incident does not happen again. Due to the closure of various DiY stores the relevant sprays are becoming increasingly rare.:eek:
Yeoman
 
Firstly a swarm of bee's is at it's most docile and will almost certainly not "attack" anyone.
Secondly it is illegal to try and kill bee's.

Best thing is to leave them alone and they will likely disappear.
 
Captain Ludd said:
Firstly a swarm of bee's is at it's most docile and will almost certainly not "attack" anyone.
Secondly it is illegal to try and kill bee's.

Best thing is to leave them alone and they will likely disappear.
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Sounds like sensible advice, however if like a friend of mine, you are likely to go into anaphalactic shock if stung it can be a tad worrying.
 
Swarm of Bees

Gooday All
So if attacked would you stay below decks in 25 degrees heat whilst being invaded from the boat rafted alongside?:mad:

I would not. These people did the right thing. OK the vessels were anchored and going nowhere, all we did was to ensure that the people involved were safe & sound.

Whilst life was not at risk it could have BEEn nasty.;)

Regards
Yeoman
 
Yeoman of England said:
Gooday All
So if attacked would you stay below decks in 25 degrees heat whilst being invaded from the boat rafted alongside?:mad:

I would not. These people did the right thing. OK the vessels were anchored and going nowhere, all we did was to ensure that the people involved were safe & sound.

Whilst life was not at risk it could have BEEn nasty.;)

Regards
Yeoman
Click to expand...

Not all all, I would have left the scene if I was "attacked" however as no-one was stung then they were not "attacked" just frightened (fair enough).
I do have an issue with someone looking for the "relevant sprays" I'm assuming we are talking about some kind of wasp/insect killer. That can be just the thing to start an attack and is both illegal and asking for trouble.
The spraying of water from a hose is ok but the bees should be gently teased away rather than blasted and this should be done from afar.

What is happening is that there is a almost certainly a newly mated Queen who is looking for a place to form a new colony, as the boats were over water it's quite likely that she has stopped for a rest and will just move away again, her admirers will not know this and will pile on in preparation for building work to begin. A beekeeper would hold a box upside down over them and they will walk up into it thinking it's a good spot to live, shut the lid, job done. :) Looks like magic.
 
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