Bishan residents greeted by thousands of dead bees

Residents living around Bishan Street 12 opened their doors Thursday morning to a curious sight. Thousands of dead bees littered the common corridor on several floors of the block of flats near the Junction 8 mall.

Retiree Eddie Paul Chong, 64, who lives in Block 119, was shocked when he saw hundreds of dead bees at his lift lobby.

He said that he had noticed the bees the night before as some of them flew into his grandson's room.

"My grandson was calling me for help. The bees were crawling on the ceiling, attracted to the light.

"When I switched it off, they all fell to the ground. I used a pair of tongs and plastic bag to dispose of them.

"I think there were about 20 bees in the room. But it was only this morning when I realised how many there actually were."

Businessman Michael Ho, 57, who lives at Block 122 opposite Mr Chong's flat, said that he noticed many hundreds of bees in the drain below the flat, but they had been cleared by lunchtime.

At least three other blocks in the area were affected by the bees, according to the pest control company that was called in to deal with the problem.

The problem started on Wednesday night, when the Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council received at least six complaints about bees.

At about 9.45pm, Pest-Pro Management was activated to deal with the matter, said Mr Glen Aw Yong, 26, its director.

The largest swarms were on the exterior of Block 119, attracted to the light illuminating the block number.

"The team reached the affected area at about 10.10pm and the job was completed by about 12.30am," he said.

Usually, a team comprises six to eight members, but due to the scale of Wednesday's operation, 12 men were activated to deal with the situation.

Mr Aw Yong said that they used a gaseous pesticide, which kills the bees within one to two minutes.

While that is a short time, some of the bees managed to scatter to other blocks before they died. When The New Paper visited the affected flats this afternoon, Pest-Pro had just finished applying a liquid pesticide to the affected areas.

The residual chemical acts as a repellent, preventing the bees from going back to the blocks. Some dead bees could still be seen on the corridors and staircases, but most of them had already been cleared up.

Mr Aw Yong said that the bees were Malayan bees, a very common species in Singapore. The bees are a migratory species and migrate based on weather conditions and seasonal changes.

Bees rarely build hives in an urban area. They were probably only swarming, attracted by the shelter and good lighting, and looking for an ideal place to stay, he said.

"While we face about 15 to 20 of these cases a month, Wednesday's case was an extremely large-scale one for an urban area," said Mr Aw Yong.

He estimated that more than 20,000 bees were killed by the Pest-Pro team.

What should a resident do if they see a swarm of bees outside their flat?

"Residents should immediately report the sighting to the town council. They should also close all doors and windows and turn off all lights," said Mr Aw Yong.

If the bees get inside the house, residents should go into a room, preferably one with air-conditioning, close all doors and windows and wait for help.

Malayan bees can be aggressive, and their sting contains venom which is harmful to humans.

ORIGINAL SOURCE
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