Get All Access for $5/mo

Man Has Nightmare Experience After Finding 15,000 Bees in His Car A man went on a grocery store run, only to come back to car and find thousands of bees in the backseat.

By Justin Chan

A New Mexico man got more than he bargained for when he returned to his car following a stop at the grocery store.

According to the Las Cruces Fire Department's Facebook annoncement, firefighters were dispatched to a car last Sunday after the vehicle's owner noticed a swarm of at least 15,000 bees had made its way into his car. The driver had apparently made a stop at a local Albertsons, placed his groceries inside the car and found the swarm in the car's backseat as he was driving. The car's window had apparently been down at the time of the incident.

Bee Swarm that Invaded Parked Car is Safely Relocated by Off-duty Firefighter An off-duty Las Cruces firefighter used...

Posted by Las Cruces Fire Department on Monday, March 29, 2021

The fire department said it cordoned off the area before bringing in off-duty firefighter Jesse Johnson, who is a beekeeper during his spare time. Johnson reportedly responded to the scene with the necessary tools to safely remove the bees, including a hive kit, lemongrass oil, gloves and proper gear.

Related: 5 Things Worker Bees Can Learn From Actual Bees

"The fire crew was on scene for nearly two hours while the bees were removed and rehomed," the department wrote on Facebook. "A security guard at Albertson's was stung and it is possible a few patrons may have had close encounters, but no major injuries were reported."

The bees were eventually moved to Johnson's property, which is outside of the city's limits, the department added.

Naturally, the news — which, as of this writing, has been reshared over 100 times — appeared to take some fellow Facebook users by surprise.

"Why and how did so many bees get in the car? How long would it take to fill a car with bees?" one person wrote. "While you are shopping? Great job."

"How in the world do you get so many bees in your car to begin with?" another added.

Others took the opportunity to poke fun at the situation.

"Oh beeehave....great job Jesse!" one user wrote of the firefighter who removed the bees.

"Bee-Z day for LCFD," a second commented.

Justin Chan

Entrepreneur Staff

News Writer

Justin Chan is a news writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, he was a trending news editor at Verizon Media, where he covered entrepreneurship, lifestyle, pop culture, and tech. He was also an assistant web editor at Architectural Record, where he wrote on architecture, travel, and design. Chan has additionally written for Forbes, Reader's Digest, Time Out New YorkHuffPost, Complex, and Mic. He is a 2013 graduate of Columbia Journalism School, where he studied magazine journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @jchan1109.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Starting a Business

How to Find the Right Programmers: A Brief Guideline for Startup Founders

For startup founders under a plethora of challenges like timing, investors and changing market demand, it is extremely hard to hire programmers who can deliver.

Branding

You Don't Need Thousands to Turn Your Business Idea Into Reality — Here's How I Did It on a College-Kid Budget

From creating the packaging designs online by myself to learning how to take professional product photos, I found ways to launch a company on a low budget. Here's how you can do it, too.

Leadership

The Top 5 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

What sets successful entrepreneurs apart from the rest?