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• Sara Weaver and her husband found their dream farmhouse in Skippack, Pennsylvania, and bought it in December in a bit of a rush.
They decided to forgo an inspection, but they did note that the seller's disclosure mentioned "bees in wall."
It wasn't until the weather warmed, however, that the Weavers became aware of the extent of the bees.
When Allan Lattanzi, a beekeeper in the area, came to remove them in late July, he eventually ended up with 450,000 bees, comprising three colonies.
CNN reported that the Weavers paid $12,000 for the removal, which involved taking slate tiles off the outside wall one by one.
Lattanzi estimates the bees had been there for 35 years; he had been called to the residence once before but the owner at that time didn't want to pay for the removal.
When the Weavers took ownership, the house "was so dirty," Weaver said, "and now that I'm thinking about it, I originally thought it was dirt on the windows that I cleaned but it was probably honey because there were drip marks." [CNN, 8/2/2021]