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40,000 Bees Found Under Floor Of Queens Home

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- It wasn't a monster making a ruckus under the floor of a Queens bedroom. But it was still a bit scary.

An expert called to find the source of a loud, buzzing noise found about 40,000 bees in the Flushing home.

Retired NYPD Detective Anthony Planakis, known as "Tony Bees," was the man for the mission.

It took him more than two hours to extract the unwanted residents Monday night.

The Daily News reported that honey dripped off the massive honeycomb as it was pulled piecemeal from beneath siding and plywood.

as CBS2's Elise Finch reported, Mary Jean Dyczko shared part of her home with thousands of bees for nearly a year.

"End of June, early July I first noticed a few bees here and there at night and then I went out one day in the daytime and I saw a couple of hundred and that's when I first started making some frantic phone calls," she said.

Dyczko said she didn't want to kill the bees and a bee keeper told her spring was the best time to safely remove and relocate them. So, she waited and lived with the bees under the floor boards in her bedroom and the attached balcony for 10 months.

She finally had them removed on Monday.

The bee removal expert had to use thermal imaging equipment to locate the center of the hive, cut a hole in floor boards, remove the massive honeycomb, and gently vacuum the bees into transport containers.

"When he opened that area and took the floorboard down and I saw this hive that was huge and covered with layers of bees it was shocking," she said, "It was beyond shocking and I was glad I didn't know that a year ago."

Even with a few stragglers still buzzing around, Dyczko said she is glad the bees are gone and is happy to have her house back.

The colony is getting a new residence upstate.

The incident is not unprecedented. In August, beekeepers removed about 50,000 bees that were found living in a Queens woman's ceiling.

Experts said if you hear a loud buzzing or see large numbers of bees in the same place call a professional.

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