A Daphne couple hasn’t slept soundly in weeks knowing there’s been hundreds of thousands of honey bees buzzing around their home. 

One beekeeper even told them it was the largest beehive he’s ever removed. 

Walking through their century-old farmhouse, you can hear their new roommates.

“You can tell they’re not happy right now,” said Mary Francis, who lives at the home with her husband Mike.

The Francises suspect the lingering bees aren’t happy because they’re searching for their queen after the hive was removed from the home on Saturday.

The couple says they noticed some bees outside the home in October. But things changed in the past several weeks when they began noticing the workers flying around lights in their home.

“The bees that I knew were outside started working their way in the house. So they started coming in the living room and the dining room where they were dying because they couldn’t’t get back out to get their food.”

After a few weeks of trying to catch the bees to get them outside, they called a beekeeper for help. “When he came and gave us an estimate on removing the bees, he said we had at least 200-thousand.”

After an inspection of the home and paying a few several hundred dollars, the beekeepers opened their dining room ceiling to a massive beehive. 

“He said it was the biggest cone he’s ever dealt with,” said Mary Francis. 

The beekeeper told them he suspected the hive had been there for about three years. That’s many meals the family has eaten thinking all their company is at the dining room table.

“We’ve had many family meals in there. It was pretty scary when he opened up the ceiling. It looked very massive and very overpowering.”

The hive removal took hours Saturday. On Sunday, hundreds of bees, both dead and alive, are still seen (and heard) lingering around the old farmhouse.

A time-lapse shows the removal process of over 200-thousand bees from the home. 

“He did get the queen bee which is very important. Because he said if you can’t get the queen bee, most of them will come back.”

Interestingly enough, now that most of the unwelcome guests are gone, the Francises say their new friends might actually be allowed to come back.

“As a matter of fact the beekeeper I thinks going to keep a few hives here. He wants to keep some hives here because he said our area is such a great natural place for the bees,” said the couple. “As long as he gives me honey I’ll be happy.”

They plan to reseal their home to make sure any guests coming inside, enter through the front door.
Most of those 200-thousand bees are now at a bee farm in Loxely.