Long Island Couple Has More Than 100,000 House Guests For The Winter -- Honeybees
EAST ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Imagine 120,000 bees buzzing behind a wall of your home.
That's what one Long Island family is dealing with right now.
The monster hive in East Islip is nearly 8 feet tall. On Tuesday, CBS2's Jennifer McLogan found out what's next for the family dealing with a bee invasion.
Nicholas and Sandra Sarro's home is buzzing.
"We're not going to spray them or kill them. They are important," Sandra said.
Between the chimney and the interior wall of the guest bedroom colonies of honeybees, the world's most important pollinator, were discovered swarming.
"The beekeeper who is going to do the work said maybe 70-80 pounds," Nicholas said when asked to estimate how many bees are in there.
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Beekeeper Anthony Planakis makes house calls. The retired NYPD detective has 40 years experience with bees and honey.
"By far, this is the biggest hive that I've seen inside a house," Planakis said.
Are the Sarros afraid to sleep at night? They say no. Honeybees are docile and won't sting unless provoked. They are mostly dormant during the cold-weather months so they rarely buzz.
"Over 100,000," Planakis said when asked how many he thinks have taken up residence in Nicholas and Sandra's wall. "Easy."
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Planakis uses thermal imaging to track the colony within. Removing the bees now means they would perish, so he's going to wait until April when it's warmer to partially remove the roof, save the hive and transfer the colony.
As for the honey, Nicholas said it's everywhere.
"From the ceiling to within a foot of the bottom of the wall, that's all honey," he said.
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The Sarros already are learning how to collect and extract, and said they hope to bottle and donate.
"I believe it was Einstein that said if anything ever happened to the bees, we humans would be next," Nicholas said.
Honeybees are viewed as ecological saviors.
"And I will miss them when they're gone. I will," Sandra said.
"Nobody does it like the honeybee. They're the best," Nicholas added.
The Sarros will continue to cohabitate with their 100,000-plus guests until spring.