An Austin man fighting cancer got potentially life-saving help from a dangerous problem at his home.
Central Texas Bee Rescue volunteered to remove a swarm of bees from Tony Rodriguez’s front porch at no cost.
“I hate them. I'm not very content with my neighbors. They disturb people,” said Rodriguez.
The 76-year-old has diabetes and cancer, and a bee sting is potentially fatal.
“Anything could really set him off because he's a full blown diabetic. He takes his insulin, and his second round of chemo is really hurting him pretty bad,” said Rodriguez’s son Mario.
Workers with Central Texas Bee Rescue say this is the busiest summer they have had in the past five years. They say swarms are aggressive and on the move.
When bee removers inspected the growing hive on Rodriguez’s front porch the bees began swarming and flew away in a cloud. They left behind a piece of temporary white wax in the shape of a honeycomb.
Walter Schumacher, with Central Texas Bee Rescue, says bees will sometimes choose to move to a new location. He says the bees will not return to Rodriguez’s porch.
“Once they leave, they are gone. They follow their queen and pheromones,” said Schumacher. He says bee swarms are normally rare in August, but not this year.
“It's been a very wet season, so the bees have had lots of nectar, pollen and flowers. Everything stayed in bloom,” said Schumacher.
Schumacher removed a dangerous bee hive two weeks ago about three-and-a-half miles from Rodriguez’s home. The swarm attacked an 85-year-old man and stung him more than 500 times.
With health battles still ahead, Tony Rodriguez is grateful to get rid of his uninvited guests.
“I feel real good, I feel relieved,” said Rodriguez.
