“Mommy, why is my wall humming?” Now, that’s a question you just don’t know how to answer. Was my child’s head going to spin around next, or was something going to come bursting out of his bedroom closet? I told myself I’d watched one too many horror movies and approached the wall, putting my ear up against it. Sure enough, there was a noise in there. I pulled my son’s bed away from the wall and gasped when I saw dead bees littering the floor. “How do you get rid of honeybees?” I thought to myself and turned to my son.
“Well, sweetheart, I guess some bees got inside the wall. Why don’t you go over to Alex’s house to play while I clean this up?”
I hoped I sounded more reassuring than I felt. My son walked down the street talking about which computer games they were going to play while I called Alex’s mom.
“Ann, would you mind watching Braxton for a little bit? I think there’s a honeybee hive in his bedroom wall and I’ve got to figure out how to get rid of the bees, and make sure it’s safe for him to sleep in his room tonight.”
“Sure thing, Alex loves playing with Braxton! But, how on earth did you get bees in your wall?”
“I have no idea! I didn’t even know we had any around here. I mean, I’ve seen them around the bushes and backyard, but a hive? In my house? That’s just awful.”
“Well, Alex just got here, so he’s okay. Take as long as you need. Are you going to do it yourself or . . . “
“Me? No. I mean, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Well, let me give you the number of a company that’s done work for us before. They’ll look at it for you and see what needs to be done.”
I wrote down the phone number for the company, thanked Ann and hung up the phone. Out of curiosity, I went outside and walked around the back to look for myself. There were large shrubs and flowers planted just outside his wall, and I’d assumed the bees I’d previously noticed back there were taking advantage of springtime flowers, not building a hive. But now, I realized there were definitely more bees back here than anywhere else in the yard. Carefully, I bent forward to investigate further, hoping I wouldn’t disturb any bees. Sure enough, as I carefully pulled a branch out of the way, I saw several bees coming in and out of a small crack in the siding. Something flew against my face and I backed off quickly and retreated into the house.
I made a quick phone call to the number Ann had given me, and then went to get the vacuum cleaner to clean up the bee carcasses left in my son’s room. I knew it was better to get a professional out here, someone who knew how to get rid of honeybees safely, rather than try to deal with it myself. Thoughts of bees flying around my son’s head while he was sleeping at night made me shudder. It really was kind of like a horror movie.