25,000 bees take over man's car

BRIGHTON, Tenn. -- How do you get rid of 25,000 bees that have decided to hang out on your car?

One Tennessee man had to find out the hard way.

Perhaps the bees thought the Hill family drove a pretty sweet ride because a very large colony decided to make their car its home.

"Bees naturally prefer a hollow tree or something like that, but for some reason they got it in their head that the engine in this vehicle was a tree," said bee keeper Bill Hughes.

Tommy Hill was heading out for breakfast when he found thousands of honey bees nesting on his car.

He didn't want to kill them so he tried something else.

"I drove down Highway 51 about 60 miles an hour and I didn't lose a one," he said. "They all stayed in there."

A Brighton resident for over 20 years, Hill says other than a few bees stealing his hummingbird nectar, he's never seen a take-over.

"Never in a car and there's just no way to get them out," Hill said laughing.

Hill's next step was to get help, so he called Hughes.

"This was the most unusual swarm call I've ever gotten," Hughes said.

Using a box of honey, Hughes tried to lure the bees out.

"They just marched right into it," he said.

But the bees didn't stick around for Hughes to transport them.

Instead, they swarmed into a tree and then moved again.

"Within five minutes all the bees left the tree and went back into the engine of the car," Hill said.

By Tuesday, just as suddenly as they'd appeared, the bees were gone.

Hughes believes they were just confused and said Hill did the right thing by buzzing for help.

"They can get a little nasty," Hughes said. "So, it's best to get someone out who knows what they're doing."

Hughes says you should contact a local beekeeper before taking on a swarm of bees and always wash your car if you see bee's wax on it, because that wax can ruin a paint job.

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