Bee Removal Extraction

We were called to a large wasp nest in the gadren of a family home. The owner had recently had a baby and were worried that someone would get stung.

As it was early in the year and the wasp nest was said to be large, it was clear that it was probably a swarm of honey bees. We arrived and found the swarm high up in a tree within the garden. Due to the location removing the swarm was awkward.

We were asked a number of questuions from the owner;

"Will the bees sting us?" - No, honey bees are sedate and not aggresive, there even less aggresive when in the 'swarm'.

"How long have they been there?" - Probably hours and at the most no more then 1 day. When a Hive becomes full with bees the queen will produce another queen, she will then leave and take a massive number of workers, eventually settling in an area, looking to make their home.

 "Are you going to kill them?" - Absolutely not. Bees are a beneficial creature.

"What are you going to do with them?" - We will take the bees to a local bee keeper where they will be transfered to a hive, they will be fed with sugar water to give them some strengh after their long journey. But the hive must be over 4 mile away, if the bees find themselves on their old flight paths then they will return home.

"Are bees protected?" - Nope, however there is a push within the community to save bees and to be as responsible as possible, we are happy to be leading the way in bee removal and relocation.

We gathered some necesary kit - a ladder, a bee suit, a cardboard box and a few hand tools.

We then got close to the swarm and knocked the branch causing the swarm to drop into the waiting cardboard box. You can never get evey single bee with some being left stuck to the branch and surrounding leaves. We therefore left the box on the floor with the lid open, when you see bees stood on the rim of the box with their bum in the air flapping their wings vigorously, you have a good indication that the queen is in the box. Those bees are fanning her pheromone into the air telling any other bees where the queen is now situated.

We then closed up the box, tidied up the area and took them to their new home. The bees were moved to a upland heather area, where a bee keeper will look after them keeping them safe.

We often see posts telling people not to contact pest controllers for bee swarms as they worry we will kill them, hopefully you will see that this is not the case, if we can help any animal we will always do so.