The best way to find someone to help with a swarm is to click the button below, which takes you to the nationwide British Beekeepers Association website, where you can find the nearest swarm collector to your postcode. Please remember we are a hobbyist organisation and we collect swarms in our spare time - we are volunteers!
Identifying Swarms
Before you report a swarm of honey bees, it's a good idea to make sure you've identified it correctly. Click on the button below for a step-by-step guide to identifying a honey bee swarm.
Advice on Swarm Removal
PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE UNABLE TO REMOVE ESTABLISHED COLONIES IN BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES, AT HEIGHTS AND INACCESSIBLE LOCATIONS THAT POSE A SAFETY RISK TO OUR MEMBERS.
Most beekeepers will do their best to help out when someone is troubled by a swarm of honey bees. A swarm is very often attracted to the vicinity of other bees, so quite often they arrive in a beekeeper’s garden, but bees are notorious for not reading the books, so sometimes the swarm arrives in a garden where they are not so welcome.
Swarming is the honey bee's natural means of reproduction. One colony will split into two, three, or sometimes more.
Each swarm that emerges, be it from a beekeeper’s hive, or from a hollow tree in the wild, will usually form a cluster in a tree or a shrub. This is a transitional stage, where the bees can regroup prior to moving off to a new home. This transitional stage can take anything from a few minutes, to several hours. There is a belief amongst beekeepers that the time of a swarm’s departure can be pinpointed accurately to ten minutes before the beekeeper arrives to take them!
There is a limit, however, to the beekeeper’s capabilities. If the swarm is hanging in a cluster in the garden, then a beekeeper can remove them without a great deal of difficulty, but if they have entered a building, it is then usually beyond the scope of most beekeepers. Specialist equipment is often required, such as ladders and/or scaffolding, and then there is the risk of damage to property, and the associated insurance implications. This then becomes a task for the local Environmental Health officer.
Swarming is the honey bee's natural means of reproduction. One colony will split into two, three, or sometimes more.
Each swarm that emerges, be it from a beekeeper’s hive, or from a hollow tree in the wild, will usually form a cluster in a tree or a shrub. This is a transitional stage, where the bees can regroup prior to moving off to a new home. This transitional stage can take anything from a few minutes, to several hours. There is a belief amongst beekeepers that the time of a swarm’s departure can be pinpointed accurately to ten minutes before the beekeeper arrives to take them!
There is a limit, however, to the beekeeper’s capabilities. If the swarm is hanging in a cluster in the garden, then a beekeeper can remove them without a great deal of difficulty, but if they have entered a building, it is then usually beyond the scope of most beekeepers. Specialist equipment is often required, such as ladders and/or scaffolding, and then there is the risk of damage to property, and the associated insurance implications. This then becomes a task for the local Environmental Health officer.
