Vacationer Comes Home to Find Giant Hive at Door: 'Hunger Games'

A photo of a huge hive went viral and stunned viewers on the popular Reddit forum "Mildly Infuriating."

"Came home to this after a 3 month vacation," read the title of the post, which received more than 37,000 votes after it was shared by u/diamondxz on Wednesday.

Reddit users theorized that it was either a hornet or wasp nest, but it was not made definitively clear.

A piece written by Michael Potter, an extension entomologist at the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture, said that stings from wasps and hornets can pose a serious risk.

"Allergic reactions to these venomous insects account for about 225,000 emergency room visits and as many as 100 deaths per year in the U.S.," the article read.

While they are not aggressive as they search for resources, they strike back if they feel their nest is threatened by an intruder.

Paper wasps in particular will generally build nests in locations that offer protection, like under gutters, behind shutters or inside mailboxes.

To treat a wasp nest, homeowners can use a spray as far as 20 feet away and wait a few days before knocking it down.

Bald-faced hornets, described in the article as more difficult and dangerous to control than paper wasps, will build a nest on the side of a tree, bush or building.

"Hornet nests may contain hundreds of wasps that are extremely aggressive when disturbed," the article said, which also encouraged homeowners to seek professional help if they want to remove them.

The photo showed the enormous nest that hung from a ceiling outside.

A few of the occupants can be seen on the outside of the nest.

While some Reddit users felt unsettled by the image, others took it as an opportunity to joke about what u/diamondxz found upon returning home from vacation.

"Looks like one of those new government cameras," a Redditor said. "Just start hitting it with a bat."

"Hunger games type s**t," wrote another.

"You should keep it as a home security system," a Reddit user suggested.

One Reddit user who said that the nest belonged to bald-faced hornets warned u/diamondxz of their nature.

"Will attack literally anything and everyone, you especially," they wrote. "They don't just sting, they bite to latch onto you. Painful and aggressive."

"I clearly would give the house to them and go live my life," another Redditor wrote.

"I'm not fully up to date on squatters' rights laws, but I think they might own your home now," one Reddit user commented.

Newsweek reached out to u/diamondxz for comment.

Another image of an unexpected guest surprised Reddit users. A photo of a large spiked caterpillar on top of a pillow was posted to the "Mildly Infuriating" forum.

Reddit users on the "Oddly Terrifying" forum were also stunned to see an image of an X-ray that showed a long nail stuck inside a person's head.

Another post on the "Oddly Terrifying" forum featured a video of a snake that fell into an attic from the ceiling.