A middle school group from Utah got an unpleasant welcome to Long Beach while wading in the water when eight people in their group got stuck by stingrays on the beach near Orizaba Avenue.

The group was all in one area on the beach where lifeguards are not on watch this time of year, Capt. David Guerra of the Long Beach Fire Department said.

The victims were treated at the scene.

While sting rays are abundant in the area year-round—Guerra said yearly incidents number in the thousands—stings become more prevalent in the spring and summer as the weather warms and more people go into the water. Stingrays are also all over the West Coast, but like to go to Long Beach because of the low surf, shallow and warmer waters, he said.

The group may have not known the precautions to take, like the “stingray shuffle,” because they were near a lifeguard that could’ve warned them, Guerra said.

The shuffle is a strategy in which you shuffle your feet through the sand to scare the rays away and avoid stepping on them.

“They think you’re a predator when you step on them or around them, so they whip their tail around and sting you,” Guerra said. The tail is sharp and barbed and injects a painful venom into its victim.

Guerra also suggests swimmers stay near a lifeguard so they can get to them in the case of a sting or other emergency or at least warn them beforehand.

“It’s [the stingrays’] home, their habitat. We’re guests in their home,” Guerra said.