Swarm Advice
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Don’t panic.
Do NOT attempt to deal with the bees yourself.
Keep your windows closed and watch from inside.
Are you sure they are Honeybees?
(Check our Other bees and Insects page if you are not sure)
Are they about 1/2 inch in size and mostly brown?
Are there 20 or more seen at any one time flying in and out of a small hole?
These are HONEYBEES
Or maybe there is a large mass of bees hanging on a branch or clinging to a fence post? This is a SWARM
We get many calls to remove ‘honeybee’ swarms. We will ask you some questions to make sure that your bees really are honeybees and not some other flying insect. We also need to know where the swarm has settled to see how accessible it is.
If we don’t think your bees are honeybees we can offer advice as to what to do. Wasps are generally dealt with by a pest control company. Bumblebees and solitary bees are best left alone to live out their short lives but we can try to re-house bumblebees if they are a threat.
Honeybees and bumblebees are protected species. A swarm is unlikely to be a threat to people but it is important to prevent them from setting up a new home in an unsuitable location, such as a shed or attic where they might come into conflict with people and pets.
Pinner & Ruislip Beekeepers’ Association offers a Swarm Collection service to the local community.
If you are local to us then we will try to put you in touch with an experienced beekeeper who can remove the swarm safely.
Our Swarm Collectors
Mike Ryan 01895 464108 Hayes – Hillingdon
Jonathon Norris 01895 832075 Harefield – Ruislip
Dave Norris 01895 253525 Hillingdon
Tony Smith 01895 638408 Ruislip
Peter Cannon 01895 464875 Hillingdon
Your local Council (Environmental Health), Police Station or Library should also have a list of beekeepers that will collect swarms.
We do not make a charge for this (unless there is an excessive traveling cost involved); however,a donation to help our association would be gratefully received.
Please remember many of us have full time jobs and families and may not be able to come straight away.
You also may be asked to sign a disclaimer form but as with all small print, read it first!
If the “bees” in your garden turn out not to be honeybees or are inaccessible, we may not be able to help further.
What will the Beekeeper do?
It depends on the situation – every one is different but essentially the bees will be persuaded to go into a suitable sized container as a temporary home. The container might be a wooden or cardboard box or even a traditional straw skep. The bees won’t mind too much so long as they are with their Queen. The container may be left until the evening so that all the flying bees have time to get in the box. The beekeeper will then come back to take them to their new beehive.
Swarms usually occur in the spring and early summer, as colonies divide. This is the bees’ natural process of reproduction which has been happening for millions of years, to both wild and apiary kept bees.
Swarming bees may sound and look frightening but they are generally in a holiday mood and are unlikely to be aggressive if left undisturbed. They are mostly harmless because they have no home to defend and are only intent on finding a new one.
The swarm will remain in its temporary position for a few hours, perhaps a couple of days, while scout bees go out to seek a suitable new permanent home then the swarm will fly off.
Once they have left their original home, they are vulnerable to the weather and to predators, so they cluster around their Queen to keep warm, dry and safe. They have only the food that they carry in their stomachs.
Swarms can buzz alarmingly, but this is usually the bees ’shivering’ to keep warm. This cluster will usually find somewhere to hang, a branch, the eaves of a house, a fencepost or even a porch. It will be somewhere between the size of melon and a pumpkin.
Honeybees cannot survive for more than a season in the wild now as they are suffering from mites and virus problems, which will cause them to die during winter.