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Most neighborhoods do not appreciate the presence of abandoned houses. After all, they are associated with elevated crime rates and decreased property values. However, neighbors of an empty house in one of the Canary Islands of Spain received more than they bargained for when police discovered that it was filled with a nearly 22-foot-high nest of wasps.

According to ThinkSpain, neighbors of the abandoned property in the city of San Sebastián de la Gomera called the police because they were worried about an empty house. When police arrived to investigate, they found a wasp's nest that was 21 feet 9 inches, or seven meters, tall. The wasp's nest likely contains millions of the dangerous insects.

Upon inspection, they found that the wasps were likely of an African variety. Different wasps build different types of nests out of different materials, and the police stated that European wasps would not have the capability or desire to construct such a large shelter. They assume that the wasps are invasive species; since the island of Tenerife is only 100 miles from the coast of Morocco, that is not a far-fetched proposition.

According to the Daily Mail, the wasp nest is likely the largest one ever recorded. The Guinness Book of World Records reports that the previous record-holder was a wasp nest found in Waimaukau in New Zealand. Measuring 12 feet 2 inches long (3.7 meters), 5 feet in diameter and 18 meters in circumference, the nest was eventually destroyed when the branch supporting it collapsed under the weight. The nest, constructed by German wasps, broke in two.

The average common wasp hive contains between 4,000 and 5,000 wasps, but a particularly large one, like one discovered in New Hampshire in 2010, can contain up to 500,000 of the creatures.

According to the French Tribune, the police have not yet gotten into contact with the owner of the home. They now have the unenviable and difficult task of devising a way to remove the nest from the home.