Beekeeping firefighter to the rescue after 15,000 bees swarm into shopper’s car through open window

A beekeeping firefighter came to the rescue of a stricken shopper after around 15,000 bees swarmed into his car through an open window during a trip to the supermarket.

Just after 4pm on Sunday, firefighters in the town of Las Cruces, New Mexico, received a call which reported the sight of thousands of bees at the local supermarket.

According to a post on the Las Cruces Fire Department’s Facebook page, the shopper had loaded his purchases into the back of his car but, as he tried to drive off to his next destination, he discovered a swarm of bees coming from the back seat of his vehicle.

Firefighters were called to the scene and pushed everyone aside as they started the challenge of removing the bees from the car.

The bees in the car

But, to finish off the job, they called on one of their colleagues – an off-shift firefighter who is a beekeeper in his spare time.

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The summoned firefighter Jesse Johnson brought in a hive kit and used lemongrass oil to lure the bees out of the car. He then took them back to his home. It was estimated that there were around 15,000, the fire department said.

Firefighters spent two hours on site. Surprisingly, only one person was stung – a supermarket security guard – and no major injuries were recorded.

Bees being lured out of the car by the beekeeping firefighter

“Las Cruces Fire Department does not regularly remove bee swarms,” they said in a post on Facebook.

“However, to mitigate the mid-afternoon hazard the large swarm presented in a relatively high-traffic area, firefighters determined the best remedy was to have the swarm effectively removed and relocated swiftly.”