The summer of 2022 was supposed to be the hottest year which has been measured in Great Britain since 1884. For the first time, temperatures above 40 degrees were reported and the authorities declared at one point national state of emergency.
The heat wave turned green, lush parks and gardens into a thick sea of withered leaves on the ground. The high temperatures created health challenges and major delays in transport and travel.
But for one family in the coastal town of Folkestone in Kent, England, the heat revealed that their house was hiding a sickening secret.
Ran down the walls
It all started when married couple Kate (41) and Andrew Dempsey (42) became aware that dark, sticky lumps were starting to run down the walls of their bedroom.
At first they thought it was moisture that evaporated due to the heat wave.
– It got to a point where we could no longer ignore it. The smell grew stronger, and when I tasted it, I realized it was what I thought: Honey, she tells the news agency SWNS.
– I had no idea what was going on.
Shocking discovery in the attic: – Get out!
Like in a horror movie
Dempsey says that they had seen bees when they had moved into the house. But the insects had disappeared and they had since given the house a new coat of paint.
– I went up to my daughter’s room, which is above our bedroom. Inside, I pulled back the blanket. Then lots of caterpillars started crawling out of the floorboards.
BEEHIVE: Little did the family know that there was a huge beehive hidden under the floorboards. Photo: Kate Dempsey/SWNS
sea view
The couple decided to tear up the floor to see what was hiding under the planks. The sight that awaited them was like something out of a horror movie.
– We found an old, rotten beehive. Lots of moths and caterpillars came out of it.
The internet is boiling over this
– Incredibly disgusting
As the couple pulled up more floorboards, they uncovered more and more of the giant beehive which was filled with large amounts of nauseating honeycomb.
– We had never seen anything like it. The sheer volume of the hive was enormous. We started pulling up more and more of the floor, and it seemed like it would never end, Kate Dempsey tells SWNS.
– It was incredibly disgusting. The sweet stench hit you full force, and the nauseating smell lingered for ages. I was completely speechless.
Looked under the car – got a chin drop
Was invaded
According to Kate Dempsey, it would cost them over £10,000 (almost NOK 130,000) to hire professional help to remove all the honeycomb. So they decided to take on the task themselves, with the help of good friends.
They donned rubber gloves to scoop out the sticky honey. More than 180 centimeters of hives filled with liters of honey were removed.
When they woke up one morning, the room was full of bees.
– We called local beekeepers for help. Then we were told that there were other honeybees who had come to steal the honey.
It took about four weeks to remove all the honey and the hive.
– We did our best not to disturb or kill any of the bees, assures Dempsey.
