Do Insect Repellents ATTRACT Killer Bees?
Africanized honey bees, better known as “killer bees,” are here to stay. These insects can attack with a ferocious punch and they have been blamed for the deaths of several people, dogs, cats and horses. Killer bee attacks can be set off by an animal’s smell, breath, motion, color, size, body heat or closeness to a bee colony. Because horses are attacked by killer bees frequently, many horse lovers and veterinarians believe that insect repellents applied to horses may attract killer bees. Some researchers believe that these repellents contain chemical signals that trigger a killer bee attack. Scientists at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center (Tucson, AZ) tested the theory that insect repellents attract killer bees. They studied three different repellents: DEET: a chemical in many insect repellents used by people. Pyranha: a horse rub that contains citronella, pyrethrins, piperonyl butoxide and other active ingredients. Repel X: a horse rub that contains pyrethrins, piperonyl butoxide,
