don't mess with an african bee

So when we moved into our new house, we discovered that there were 4 massive African bee hives located at each of the four corners of our roof. The landlord told us that he would send the fumigators at the end of the week. Well, 3 months later, the fumigators came. About two weeks ago they came and sprayed the hives, and we were finally able to sleep without worrying about the bees…

…or so we thought…

The next day, the bees returned, in full force, with an army of bees that were about double the amount of bees that we had originally. Upon finding their home missing, they left…

…or so we thought…

A few days later, when the rain had cleared up and the weather was a once again warm, I woke up to the sound of buzzing. My first thought, of course, went to the bees. So, I gingerly walked to my balcony, and what did I see? A swarm of bees – about quadruple the double amount of bees that were there last. Now, mind you, these are AFRICAN BEES. They are known to KILL creatures (including a 3 goats not too far from where I live, a few days after we moved in). So, our guard, being the best guard there is, notified the landlord that the bees were back.

Sunday night, once again, the fumigators came. This time, they came with a much more potent solution to wipe out the bees. So incredibly potent, that upon contact with the spray, the bees fell out of the hive in clumps – kind of like the consistency of chocolate fondue, just less appetizing. I kid you not…it was pretty insane. We went outside to assess the damage after the fumigator was finished spraying, and there were probably close to 5,000 bees that were dead on the ground (not including those dead on the balcony). Well, at least that’s the number that we’ve guessed. I suppose you are more than welcome to come to an estimate yourself. =) So here it is, a picture or two to entertain you for the day:

Oh yes, and, little did I know, during the whole fumigating process a bee had made its way into my bed and died. I, however, did NOT see this bee, and, inadvertently rolled over on it as I sat on my bed, Did you know stingers are still incredible painful even though the bee itself is dead? Well, I had to pull the stinger (still attached to the bee) out of my leg. Needless to say, my leg is swollen pretty badly and it hurts to put any kind of pressure on it. So, again, a picture to entertain you! Please disregard the scars from my mosquito bites and the cat scratches. I know it’s not very lady-like or “pretty” but I’ve been in Africa for the past 6 months. What do you expect?!?!?