The Katy real-estate rush spreads to the insect world:

Neighbors say bees are nothing new to the Settlers Village subdivision.

One homeowner just down the block had a similar infestation about a year ago and had to remove the siding from his home to get the hive out, said Rowhan Cummings . . .

“They’re traveling,” Cummings says. “Once they got rid of those, they came back here.”

The 12-year-old subdivision is surrounded by open fields, and Cummings says the bees simply appear when the flowers bloom, then look for a place to settle down.

“Those bees were probably here before we were,” he says.

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Once they’re inside the walls, it’s not hard for bees to break through floorboards.

“They can chew right through Sheetrock, and it can be really dangerous for people,” [Heights beekeeper Jennifer] Scott said.

Clear bee favorite: The home of Tangela Perkins.

Bees have plagued her home on Pleasant Stream off and on for five years, although never to such an extent. Honey drips from the walls now, onto her front door.

“I’ve hired three different exterminators,” she says. “They kill all the bees. But they keep coming back.”

The problem, beekeepers say, is that it’s nearly impossible to remove the scent of previous bees. When they nest inside a home, they leave behind a residue so sticky it can’t be scoured clean without sanding the frame down to bare wood. Pheromones left behind are a beacon for new bees, signaling that this is a great place to live.

• Bees take over in Katy [Houston Chronicle]