A NSW couple have had a swarm of bees living in the wall of their public housing home for almost three years.
The NSW Department of Housing wants to kill the bees to allow carpenters to safely remove asbestos fibro and repair the damage the bees have caused.
But Jody and Richard Mcnelle are insisting the bees must be removed without killing those who have made the couple's Whalan home their own.
"These are honey bees," Mrs Mcnelle told A Current Affair. "They're not big bumblebees or have stingers like a wasp."
Despite being stung several times over the past month, Mr Mcnelle is allowing his wife to get her way.
Luckily, apiarist Mike Rayner may have a solution which would prevent the bees from being put to death.
"There is a way you can do that. You have a special exit so the bees can't get out, but they can't get back in and then rig up a hive next to the bees, so because they can't go back in they go in the hive body," Mr Rayner said.
Temporary accommodation has been offered to Mr and Mrs Mcnelle while the beehive is removed the fibro is tested for asbestos.