OXFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - Some bees are causing trouble in Oxford, where the buzzing in the back yard has a family desperate for help. 7’s Dave Puglisi takes a closer look.
The buzzing is taking place all around Mark Comeau’s home, next to which there are dozens of bee hives that are home to thousands of bees that he says have become a nuisance. They don’t just fly overhead, he said, they’ve taken over his bird bath, his water fountain, and his swimming pool.
“It’s really an epidemic of bees, people are getting stung left and right,” he said.
Comeau says his sons have been stung repeatedly and one sting was so severe that his son had to go to the hospital.
After that, Comeau said he redesigned his landscaping, tried repellants, and even used smoke in an effort to drive the bees away — though none of the methods worked.
The bees are coming from his neighbor, Todd Barker, who owns Barker’s Bee Hives and Supplies and has been keeping bees on his property for decades.
“I have about three dozen colonies here,” Barker told 7NEWS as he showed off the hives he manages and sells.
UMass Amherst bee expert Nicole Bell said no matter what Barker and Comeau do, some bees are going to leave the site. Back yard honey bee hives are becoming more common — not just for the honey but for the environmental benefit.
“That would be the ideal scenario, where you have the flowering plant resources that they need, you have water for honey bees in particular,” she said.
Barker showed 7NEWS extra water sources he set up for his honey bees in the hopes of keeping them away from his neighbor’s property. He also shared a tip about spraying water sources with essential oils to keep the bees at bay.
And since then, Comeau says the bees have backed off.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)