Residents of the Kings Park area in Belize City are being urged to stay indoors after a swarm of bees attacked and killed at least six dogs in the neighbourhood.
The incident occurred early this morning along Sixth Street in the Kings Park Area. Local resident Steve Mahler told News 5 that he woke up just after 8:00 a.m. to find all six of his dogs “dead and swell up.”
He said, “A young man who worked for me came, and he called me immediately and told me that when he entered the yard, he noticed my 6 dogs, and all of them were dead. He said that when he entered the yard, the bees attacked him. At the same time, a man who was working downstairs for me, the bees also attacked him.”
According to Mahler, the bees are coming from an abandoned house owned by the Anglican Church on that same street. The property has not been properly maintained and has become a public hazard.
“The last time I called the city council, they came and clean it out and chop it down and so, but nobody go in the house like that except for some people, like some guys who go there to smoke weed or something,” he said.
Mahler added that he made several attempts to get help from the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) and was told that officials were unavailable due to the annual National Agriculture and Trade Show happening this weekend in Belmopan.
“Then somebody else called back and said they could get a private exterminator to come and deal with it for me, but the person who he was going to send works at BAHA, but then he wanted me to pay around $1000 and more depending on what’s going on. But I said that this property belowngs to the Anglican church. The property is abandoned. There’s nobody there,” Mahler said. “They just tell me to stay in the house and no come out because the bees might rise up again since they rose up this morning.”
He added that other animals in the area were also affected. “My daughter passed by the house and saw other animals that died. A guy had a horse outside, but he managed to get him out.”
Mahler said that the city mayor, Bernard Wagner, confirmed that a private exterminator will be visiting the area to address the issue this afternoon. Meanwhile, residents are being advised to stay inside, especially children and pets, as the bees may become aggressive again.
