NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
A honey bee invasion is redefining Home, Sweet Home for one Nashville family.
The family quickly found out they're not easy to get rid of.
"I was outside playing with my daughter and all the sudden heard this big, like, 'ZHSZHSZHSZHS,'" said Brooke West.
Six to seven layers of bees were inside the walls of the family home.
"My husband actually saw a small number of them going to and from our wall outside," said West. "We thought we had a yellow jacket nest."
An exterminator and neighborhood beekeeper determined these were honeybees, and they weren't just buzzing outside.
"Every night we were killing 60 to 70 bees," said West. "We were putting the kids to bed an hour early. I was making sure we were out on trips and excursions so we weren't in the house. We haven't eaten in the dining room in a month. It's crazy."
For the West family, it took seven weeks, five beekeepers and a thermo imager from the local fire department, along with a vacuum, to remove about 50,000 honeybees.
But this swarm may not be that odd.
"This year there's a little more than the last two years," said Michael D. Studer, a state apiarist. "The bees did so well with the warm winter and all the flowers are blooming this spring.
"They're building up real quick and making a lot of honey, they're getting overcrowded. When they get overcrowded the colony splits and forms."
Studer said all homeowners should keep an eye out for bees near the house, then call a state apiarist before you plug any gaps.
"Once the bees are out of there, you have to go back and seal all the cracks so they can't get back in," said Studer.
For now the West family is just enjoying their fresh honey and a safe home.
"The only one that has been stung is our daughter," said West. "She stepped on a bee. She got stung on her foot."
Unfortunately, a bee infestation can get pricey.
The West family paid $4,000 in removal fees and they still need to repair mortar and drywall and install new insulation.
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