CONCORD (KRON) — The angry swarm of bees plaguing Hitchcock Road in Concord thinned out Sunday, but it's still unclear whether the Africanized honey bees, also known as killer bees, are gone for good.
A crew visited the neighborhood only two days after a swarm of aggressive bees attacked multiple people and killed two dogs
Recommended Videos
You can still hear and see some bees buzzing around Alex Janke's home. His home was ground zero for this killer bee attack.
"They found us but you see, they've kind of calmed down," he says.
Janke's son is the amateur beekeeper who's hive suddenly turned deadly Friday. That afternoon, police began warning residents that a swarm of bees had apparently taken over an area of the city.
Police received numerous calls about aggressive bees in the 3800 block of Hitchcock Road, according to police Cpl. Christopher Blakely.
Two dogs were killed in the attack, and many people reported getting stung including a postal carrier.
Soapy Water
Janke waited until all the bees clustered together and then wiped them away with soapy water.
"I think we're past it. Another day or two and there won't be any more bees buzzing around," Janke says. He expects to be tackling this problem for the next few days.
A bees were spotted hiding under the tiles in the roof, and those are the ones seen buzzing around Sunday night.
"Mostly they're looking for the old hive. So they're checking everything out," Janke says.
‘Once one comes, they all come'
Mike Malley is among the several neighbors who aren't happy that it's taken this long to solve the problem. Malley was stung over a dozen times during this weekend's attack.
"My head. The side of my eyes. Inside my arm and between my fingers," Malley says as he points to the stings on his body.
On Saturday, a bee expert from the Mt. Diablo Beekeepers Association started performing DNA sampling on some of the bees to determine whether they were the "killer bees" that have reported moved north since farmers brought them to Brazil in the 1950s.
"They are unbelievable. You could just be standing out here and then it's like they close in on you. Once one comes, they all come," Malley said.
The Jankes are not giving up their beekeeping hobby, but they have moved their hives off the property.