50,000 bees: How hidden hives were discovered in a Chevy Chase home

A Chevy Chase resident called a repair guy because she had a leaky roof and learned she had a much bigger problem: 50,000 bees.

Lauren Ashburn said her family had seen some bees in an upstairs room but had no ideas there were tens of thousands.

Video shows swarms of bees lining Ashburn’s ceiling.

“If I had known I had 50,000 bees in my house, I think I would never have been able to sleep at night,” Ashburn said.

Who do you call when faced with a huge bee infestation?

Capitol Bee Care suited up and got to work.

“So we’re just rehousing them, we’re taking all of their furniture, all of their stuff from the pantry, their kids, the nursery, everything else, and we’re putting it in a new box and then we are reestablishing the adult bees.” said Rachel Grace, a beekeeper with Capitol Bee Care.

Using a special vacuum called a “bee vac,” they suctioned up the bees from the roof.

“This is like a holistic thing for me. I enjoy doing it,” said Sean McKenzie, another beekeeper with Capitol Bee Care.

Ashburn said she’s grateful the bees were found and are gone.

“I’ve never been more happy in my life to have a leak in my roof!” she said with a laugh.

The colony, including the queen bee, was moved to a bee sanctuary, along with the honeycombs they created.

According to Pat McTavish, the roofer who discovered the bees, they “must have been inside the walls and inside the roof.”

This wasn’t the first time McTavish has played the role of beekeeper. He shared video of himself working on another infested property.

“Not only do we do roofing, but we now do bee removal,” he said.

When asked if he’s ever been stung during the removals, McTavish responded, “Yeah, but it’s nothing worse than getting your finger hit with a hammer.”

In a matter of two days, Capitol Bee Care cleared the home of the infestation and finished the remaining bee vacuuming.

The beekeepers said they’re called for these types of removals about a dozen times per year. As the Ashburns’ home, an area was patched and sealed so they can’t come back.

Ashburn described the whole encounter as frightening.

“They’re little but they’re really scary,” she said.

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