Honey Bee Swarms and (Unwanted) Colonies – And How to Get Help

Where do you go to find help in removing a honey bee swarm or a colony of honey bees that’s taken up residence in some structure on your property? The best person to contact is a beekeeper who is skilled in honey bee removals. In some situations, such as Africanized honey bees or insects that are not honey bees (wasps, hornets), you should contact a pest control operator.

Honey Bee Swarm

A honey bee swarm is a large cluster of bees that you may see hanging from a tree branch or fence post or a structure. The swarm is temporarily staying there while they decide where to go to start a new colony. Inside the cluster of bees is the honey bee queen. The swarm will have come from a honey bee colony that has gotten large enough so that part of the population decides to split (literally) to set up a new colony. Usually about half of the worker bees in the original colony leave in a swarm with the queen. Swarms are common during the spring and summer months when honey bees are foraging and building up their numbers.

Swarms are only temporarily clustered while scout bees from the cluster go out to look for a new place to start the colony. If the swarm is not captured first and put in a hive, it will move into one of the places the scout bees have found, usually within a few hours or a day, sometimes longer. So, it is critical to contact someone quickly to remove the swarm so that it does not move into some place you don’t want them – like a tree in your yard or a wall in your house or barn. Bees in trees and structures are not impossible to remove, but it’s more complicated. Read on to the next section on honey bee colonies.

Honey Bee Colony

A colony of honey bees is one that has established a new home. The colony may be new and small, or it may be quite large and been there for a number of years. Honey bee colonies in trees and buildings or equipment (like water meters) can be removed by a skilled beekeeper.

Is it Really Honey Bees or Wasps/Hornets?

Before you call a beekeeper to remove a swarm or honey bee colony, try to determine if it is really honey bees and not some other flying insect like wasps, yellow jackets, or hornets. If it’s a swarm of honey bees, it will be in a cluster of many (thousands) of bees and the cluster will appeared to be “hanging” if attached to a branch or railing. If a honey bee colony is within a tree or structure such as a wall, during daylight hours you will see bees coming and going almost constantly.

Where to Get Help

If you happen to know a beekeeper, they may be able to help you out, but keep in mind that bee removals require an experienced and qualified person. You can search online for bee removal specialists and there are a number in the Central Texas area. You may find helpful the Texas Apiary Inspection Service’s “Honey Bee Removal Information Document”

(https://txbeeinspection. tamu.edu/files/2018/03/Bee-Removal-FAQ.pdf). This document has questions to ask the beekeeper you are considering for the removal and other useful information such as don’t try to remove the hive yourself and don’t make the bees aggressive by spraying them with chemicals.

How to Bee-Proof

If you’re looking to prevent honey bees from starting a colony on your property, check out this helpful guide prepared by the UF/IFAS Extension (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/IN/IN74100.pdf). Although it is titled “Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens,” the advice is equally applicable to areas in Texas. It has great pictures of places bees are likely to start a colony and explains how and what tools you need to close off these spaces so that bees can’t get in.