How to safely collect and remove a swarm of bees - PEST UK

Providing pest control services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Midlands, West Sussex, Wiltshire. Est. 1985.

How to safely collect and remove a swarm of bees

In Featured, Pests

Do you need help to remove a swarm of bees?

Why do bees swarm?

As the weather has become warmer during the last couple of weeks honeybees are starting to swarm. They are the only type of bee that swarms as they are the only sociable bee. Honeybees swarm when a queen leaves her nest, accompanied by drones and several thousand worker bees, to look for a new site to establish a nest. The kind of places they like to nest are inside chimneys, wall cavities, roof spaces and other cavities within a property so make sure these aren’t accessible otherwise you’ll find you’re sharing your home with several thousand bees.

The swarm of bees will hang around for a few days whilst the scout bees look for a suitable dry cavity. They like to ‘hang’ out in garages, sheds, chimneys, outside walls under the eaves, on the branches of trees and bushes. The swarm is tightly clustered protecting the queen bee in its centre. The bees are constantly moving around the queen to ensure she’s kept at the optimum temperature.

How do we remove a swarm of bees?

Whilst bees are swarming is the best time for us to remove them without harming them. Our technician will collect them and take them to a beekeeper to rehome them in a purpose-built hive, so they can get on with what they do best, making honey and pollinating flowers whilst collecting nectar and pollen to make the honey.

Call 0800 026 0308 to arrange for one of our technicians to remove a swarm of bees… or to proof your chimney to prevent bees from establishing a nest.

This video clip shows Reece, one of our technicians, carefully collecting a swarm of bees. He’s wearing protective clothing and has a box ready to collect them and remove them be safely rehomed.

If you would like advice on how to remove a swarm of bees safely call PEST UK on 0800 026 0308 or email us at services@pestuk.com

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