CARENCRO — An abandoned house in Carencro is infested with bees, and neighbors say it's so bad that they can no longer go outside without being swarmed.
Mildred Prejean, who lives next door to the abandoned property on Bradford Drive, says she is concerned about her grandchildren who play basketball in her driveway, just feet away from the house.
"One of my nephews got stung twice by the bees," says Sunny Prejean, Mildred's daughter. "Our biggest concern is just the safety of the kids."
Prejean says that they began noticing the bees were becoming an issue two months ago, and as the weather continues to get warmer, Prejean says more and more bees show up. It has become such an issue that she can no longer take her trash out or check her mail without being harassed by the bees.
"We had an incident where we couldn't even take the trash out to the road," says Prejean. "The whole bottom of the trash can was covered in bees."
Prejean says she has tried to call the city of Carencro to report the issue and file a complaint, but the city was no help.
"We called Carencro City Hall, and they told us they were not responsible for the bees," says Prejean. "We would have to get in touch with the homeowners ourselves.
According to Prejean, the house has been vacant for more than two years, and they are unsure of who the owners of the property are and don't know how to get in contact with them.
It wasn't until KATC reached out to the city that they took action. On Wednesday we left messages at City Hall, but we also called Chief David Anderson to see what could possibly be done. The chief immediately went to the homeowner’s home to evaluate the situation. On Thursday, we were told city officials were aware of the issue and would be sending an exterminator to the house to take care of the bees.
Neighbors believe that the bees are honey bees, which are harmless unless their hive is approached or disturbed. KATC reached out to local beekeepers to inquire about having the bees relocated and re-homed, but they told us they would have to obtain the homeowner's permission to go inside the home.
City officials tell us they are working to find the homeowners and have them take responsibility for the maintenance of the property.
For more information about what to do if you have a swarm of bees in or around your home you can check back to our previous story, Lafayette Beekeeper Shares Importance of Honey Bees.
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