BURLESON, Texas –– A Texas man is at home recovering after being attacked by at least 130 bees while mowing a lawn for a friend.

At about noon Thursday, Steven Finstad was mowing when a hive of bees swarmed him. He was taken to Texas Health Huguley Hospital Fort Worth South for treatment.

Finstad said he was mowing a yard for a friend when a few bees flew into his face.

“I guess the sound of the lawn mower disturbed them,” he said. “They came up into my face, about five or six. Then a bunch swarmed me. I kept trying to fight them off.”

He was able to walk over to the other side of the house and spray himself with the water hose to keep more bees from stinging him.

Joshua police and fire departments responded to the incident. Police Chief Shaun Short said when first responders arrived, Finstad was on the ground, but he was able to get up and move away from the area with officers.

Five other people were stung, including a postal employee. One officer was stung 15 times while evacuating one of the victims and a second officer and a firefighter were stung about five times each. All first responders and the postal employee returned to work after the incident.

Finstad said he thought he was going to die at one point because he’s heard so many stories of similar incidents happening to other people.

“I have been stung seven or eight times at a time at other times in my life, so I’m not allergic to them,” he said. “While in the emergency room, the doctor said he stopped counting at 130 for the number of stingers he was pulling out of me.”

His wife, Barbara Finstad, said the doctor treating her husband is a bee keeper and believed the stings to be from African honey bees, commonly called killer bees.

“He identified them as killer bees right away from the stings. He pulled three bees out of my husband’s ears,” she said.

She said her husband is now at home resting.

“Fortunately so many people were praying, and God was looking after us,” she said. “He has some pain, but he came through like a champ. He only spent a few hours at the hospital.”

Steven Finstad said his stings have mostly scabbed over and he is taking medication for the pain.

“It was terrifying, but at the end of the day it wasn’t a bad thing. Now that the bees aren’t there anymore, the neighbors can be safe.”

Short said a bee keeper came to the area late Thursday night to clear the area of the bees. As of Friday morning the area was clear, he said.

Rose writes for the Cleburne, Texas Times Review.