A 98-year-old woman called exterminators to remove a rodent infestation in her attic, but got more than she bargained for.
The exterminators found between 20,000 and 30,000 bees in Sevia Moore's Florida home, NBC News reported. There were also rats and squirrels feasting on the bees' honey.
"She'd had this colony of bees up there for about a year," Leo Cross, founder of Florida Wildlife Trappers, said. "[She] didn't even know what was going on inside the house."
"It's pretty mind-boggling not to notice that you have a beehive of that size upstairs," he said.
Moore said she was not disturbed by the insects upstairs or their buzzing.
"When I was outside, I didn't even see any," she told NBC.
The wildlife trappers used vacuums to suck up the hordes of bees and set traps for the small animals.
"The rats and squirrels were probably up there having a good time with the honeycombs," Cross said.
The bees will be "transported to a safer location," NBC reported.
"The honey bee population is important to the environment," Cross said. "You just don't want to kill them or eradicate them."
The wildlife trappers will return to the house and lay more traps for the rodents.
"Rats reproduce every few days, so this job is ongoing," Cross said. "They're such cool little creatures."
Bees and wasps are constantly on the hunt for a warm dry place to nest, and attics are ideal, the Daily Mail reported.
The buzzing insects can destroy wood with their pointy mandibles. Most people can recognize an infestation by the "golf-ball-sized" hole the insects create as an entrance to the attic, as well as crackling sounds in the walls and ceilings.
Contrary to popular belief, most hives will not buzz unless they are disturbed.
