a day ago
Over 300k bees found inside walls of historic Puyallup house
The Brief
A Pierce County plumbing and remodel company discovered swarms of bees inside the walls of a historic 1930s home in Puyallup.
Beekeeper Michael A. Pernorio removed at least 350,000 bees from the house over two visits.
The entrance has been sealed to prevent further bee infestations, with some stragglers remaining.
PUYALLUP, Wash. - You could call it an "un-bee-lieveable" discovery in Pierce County after massive swarms of bees were found inside the walls of a historic home built in the 1930s.
"Most people didn't know there was a home here," Joe Bowers, owner of Bowers Plumbing and Remodel, said. "It's pretty crazy, you could hear in the room, you could hear them humming in the walls, you could feel the heat."
The backstory
His company was working on the Puyallup house when they found bees, after bees, after bees. They called Michael A. Pernorio, a beekeeper and contractor, to rehome the bees.
"It was just loaded with comb and brood, which are young bees," Pernorio said.
He estimates he pulled out at least 300,000 bees.
"They've got plenty of room, these old houses they have no insulation in them usually, there's a lot of room, if they can find a place in, they're going to build," Pernorio said.
The bees were in the walls and the ceiling, but that was back in July. Then, about a week and a half ago, the bees were back.
Pernorio told FOX 13 he pulled out another 50,000 bees. On Thursday, we were there as he sealed off the entrance.
"We've got all the bees pretty much out of there, there's some stragglers left behind," Pernorio said.
Bowers told FOX 13, the previous owners were older and had lived at the house for about 60 years.
"So I don't think they went upstairs for 10 years or more," Bowers said, believing they probably didn't hear the bees buzzing through the upstairs wall. "It was kind of interesting and scary at the same time."
The Source
Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.
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