When her daughter first started complaining about “monsters” in her bedroom, Ashley Class didn’t give it too much thought, thinking her three-year-old had perhaps been imaging things after watching Pixar’s Monsters, Inc.
The toddler was even given a water bottle which she was told was “monster spray”, Ms Class, a home designer from Charlotte, North Carolina, told the BBC.
But months later and upon seeing swarms of bees circling around the chimney, Ms Class called in pest control and found “what nightmares are made of” – a hive home to 50,000 honeybees.
Ms Class documented her ordeal on TikTok, posting updates on her astonishing situation which have gathered millions of views.
“When your daughter has been hearing ‘monsters’ in the walls,” Ms Class described in her first clip. “Turns out it was 50,000 bees buzzing.”
The clip showed a thermal camera lighting up “like Christmas” as it pointed towards the wall where the beehive was growing.
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Ms Class said the beehive had taken eight months, with the honeycomb and honey produced by the industrious “colony” weighing 100 pounds (45.3kg).
Ms Class said the number of bees just kept growing. Pic: @classashley/TikTok
It is believed the bees got in through the chimney and a hole in a clay pipe which used to warm the rooms of the house.
But that wasn’t it. Several extractions later, a whole new hive was discovered, bringing the total amount of bees in Ms Class’s farmhouse to 60,000, she said on TikTok.
Beekeeper Curtis Collins, who has been removing hives from homes for six years, told Good Morning America: “I believe that may be actually the first one that I’ve done that was floor to ceiling.”
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One of the clips posted by Ms Class was captioned saying the inside wall of her 100-year home “looks right out of Stranger Things”.
Replying to one of the comments, the designer said: “The whole situation haunts me.”
Ms Class said home insurance won’t cover the costs of the damage and she told the BBC she believes the bees have resulted in her being around $20,000 (£16,000) out of pocket.