Community plagued by bee poop calls on owner to come clean

A community in Hangzhou is searching for the owner of hundreds of abandoned bees that have left at least one family dodging yellow poop.

Chen Zhirong, a resident of Xiaohe community, said that for years his family has been unable to dry laundry on their balcony without it being covered in bee feces.

“We live on the ninth floor,” Chen explained, “Whenever the weather is nice, they fly up to our balcony and ruin our laundry.”

Photos show bee excrement stains on the family’s clothes and their balcony.

“I already rubbed my hands raw trying to get rid of the stains,” said Chen’s son’s mother-in-law.

The bees live in six hives located between two communities. Cobbled from scrap wood, they have been there for two years, Chen said.

Despite complaints, property management is still reluctant to remove the hives.

“We sent out notices in both residential communities but no one has claimed the hives as their own,” said Xu Yejun, a person in charge at the Xiaohe community.

Beekeeping in residential areas is illegal in China. According to regulations issued by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2011, bee hives and apiaries must be kept clear of residential areas and roads.

Xu said the community will give the bee owner 15 more days to claim the insects before removing the hives.