FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- A Fort Pierce man is in the hospital after he says he was stung by nearly 150 bees Monday morning.
Michael Ledlow says he was trying to get rid of bees at his ex-wife’s home to protect his 8- and 12-year-old grandchildren.
“I Volunteered. I took it on my own to do it because my granddaughter lives there and she’s been battling Leukemia for three years. I didn’t want her to get stung and my other granddaughter to get stung.”
Ledlow says the price to have a professional do the job was too expensive. So, he obtained his own protective “bee suit”. “I had the suit, I’ll just do it. The bees will just fly around me. They won’t bother me," Ledlow thought. That was a mistake.”
Ledlow says he tried to suck the bees into a shop vac.
“I had trapped so many in my shop vac that it must have smothered the filter and it burned the motor up in the shop vac.”
That’s when he says the bees started to swarm him, stinging him through his gloves.
“There were several hundred swarming around me,” Ledlow said. He says he grabbed a hose to fight off the bees, and ran inside for safety.
But, he was determined to complete the job. “I went back out and I tried it again and the same thing happened. They tore my hands up… it felt like my hands were on fire.”
Ledlow says his hands swelled up, his chest tightened and he was having trouble breathing. He was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center.
Monday night, he was listed in fair condition. He was held overnight for observation.
Now, he’s hanging up the bee suit. “I’m never putting it on again.”
Ledlow says arrangements are being made to have a professional come finish the job.