A giant European hornet’s nest was removed from this abandoned Chevy El Camino in Alliance recently. (Special to the Salem News/Travis Watson)

ALLIANCE — Thousands of European hornets took the driver’s seat of a classic car and brought national attention to the man responsible for removing them.

Austintown native Travis Watson, also known as The Bee Man, was just doing his job earlier this week when he removed a giant nest from an abandoned Chevy El Camino in Alliance.

Since posting a video of the removal on his business’ Facebook page, it has since gone viral, earning national media attention and generating interest in the European hornet, which until recently was not something typically seen in northeast Ohio.

Watson said the hornets have been in the United States since 1840, but were mainly located in the New England states. They are now slowly spreading across the country toward the Rockies.

“They are pretty new in northeast Ohio, that’s the thing. It’s something that we didn’t see,” he said.

He added that he and his grandfather — who has more than 40 years’ experience in bee and hornet removal — have only seen European hornets in the state within the last five years.

Watson began his own business, The Bee Man, LLC, after his grandfather, known as “Bob The Bee Man,” retired. The company serves the majority of northern Ohio and Watson is the removal specialist for Columbiana, Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties.

The El Camino nest removal was not the first job Watson filmed, but it was the first of its kind, and the first to really take off socially, he said.

“I am ecstatic over it,” he said of the public response. “Whenever I am on this job I see such cool things. I think it’s one of the most interesting jobs in the world. For me to be able to have other people see what I do, it’s just so cool,” he said.

Watson estimated there were anywhere from 800 to 1,000 hornets inside the nest that he said was one of the biggest he has seen.

He said it is not typical for hornets to build nests inside vehicles, but the El Camino provided protection from the elements and allowed the hornets to make the nest as large as it was.

“The only reason they pick a car is because it’s been sitting there for a long time. That one happened to have the passenger window down a crack. That was just enough for the queen to get in there and get started,” he explained.

The cone-shaped nest went from the headliner of the vehicle to the driver’s seat.

Watson said he generally throws the nests away, but this one could be featured in an insect museum in Pennsylvania. After seeing the nest, someone from the museum contacted him and shared their interest in having it displayed, he said.

Watson advice for anyone who comes across a hornet’s nest, or a bee, yellow jacket or wasp nest, is to stay away and call a professional.

“Their venom is very similar to yellow jacket venom,” he said of the European hornet. “Usually if you’re allergic to one you’re likely to be allergic to another one.”

He also said that although they are generally docile away from their nest, they will defend their nest aggressively. The hornets will also make nests inside the walls of homes, and a sign you could have a nest in your wall is hearing what he described as a “Rice Krispie” type sound.

More information about The Bee Man can be found online at thebeemanllc.com or The Bee Man Facebook page. The Alliance nest removal video is available for viewing on the Facebook page.

“I’m certainly enjoying this moment. We are going to see where this goes from here,” Watson said of the social response.

kwhite@mojonews.com