Common Bee Swarm Scenarios & What To Do - WE CAN HELP!

HONEY BEE SWARMS OUT DOORS -

Should you spot a swarm of honey bees in your garden, there's no need to panic! Despite their intimidating appearance and buzzing sound, honey bees in a swarm are typically docile and unlikely to sting. During this phase, they have no brood or honey to defend, so their focus is on finding a new home. If you find a clump of bees gathered on a tree, bush, wall, fence, or even on the ground, it's important not to harm them by spraying or taking any aggressive action. Instead, please reach out to our team for assistance in safely relocating the honey bee swarm. Our process usually involves two visits: the first visit involves transferring the swarm into a nucleus hive, and the second visit entails collecting the colony later the same day, once all the foraging and scout bees have returned to the hive. In some cases, if the bees are cooperative, only one visit may be necessary. While the task is challenging we are passionate about preserving these precious bees.

Here is a photo of a swarm of honey bees rescued by our head bee remover Ricardo.

 

Here we have a swarm of bees that decided to land on some body's front door step.

 

 

WHAT TO DO IF THE SWARM HAS SETTLED FOR A FEW DAYS OR MORE (OUT DOORS) - 

It's crucial to swiftly move a swarm to prevent further complications.

Within a matter of days, the colony's honeycomb creation accelerates dramatically!

The longer the colony remains undisturbed, the more extensive the honeycomb buildup becomes, necessitating both comb removal and relocation of the bees.

The removal process entails transferring the honeycomb into hive frames, then relocating the bees into the hive alongside the honeycomb. Subsequently, we wait for the remainder of the colony to reunite. To ensure the majority of the swarm is captured, we often revisit later in the day to retrieve the hive filled with bees, transporting them to our quarantine apiary.

If accessing the colony and comb is straightforward and not requiring complex dismantling like in chimneys or cavity walls, the removal process is typically manageable yet time-intensive, hence our policy of charging for 2 visits for this service.

IF THE COLONY IS WELL ESTABLISHED - 

If the colony has been in situ for months or years this requires the colony to be removed often times this requires scaffolding and/or specialist access equipment, It is an extremely time intensive and complicated job.  

You could live with them if they are not bothering anyone but they will swarm many times in a year causing quite the disturbance although they can look intimidating 99% of the time they are placid and do not attack but in some cases with aggressive bees they may attack passers by or you or your neighbours. We would advise you get the colony removed if it is causing you issues. if you wish to contact us about the services we offer please send us a message  via the (Contact Us) on the home page giving a brief description and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Here are some photos of our team re homing honey bees from a chimney.