Warning: mktime() [
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Warning: date() [
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Warning: date() [
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Warning: date() [
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Warning: date() [
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Warning: mktime() [
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Warning: date() [
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Warning: date() [
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Warning: date() [
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Warning: date() [
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Help! I’ve got a swarm of bees in my yard!
Don’t panic. Just call a local beekeeper. In Greater Victoria, you can contact John Defayette at 598-3442.
John will find someone who can come and remove the bees for you, for free. Note that we can only remove honey bees and only if it can be safely done. You may still need to call an exterminator if the bees turn out to be wasps or some other bee-like creatures.
Do you have a swarm? Are you sure?
A swarm will move as a big cloud of thousands of bees, buzzing very noisily. They will settle on something (usually a tree, but it could be anything, even open ground). When they do, they will form a solid mass of bees about the size of a football and sometimes much larger.
What is a swarm?
A swarm is a group of settler bees, heading out to find a new home. They are a natural part of how bees have survived for millions of years. There will be a queen at the centre and thousands of female workers around her. In addition, hundreds of other bees will be acting as scouts. They fly out to find a suitable cavity to build the new hive in and report back. There is a very good description of this process in Candace Savage’s book “Bees: Nature’s Little Wonders”.
When I say thousands of bees, I really mean it: this video gives an idea of the numbers (but the text that goes with the story is a bit off the mark). They’ll probably be in a tree or structure, not just wandering on the ground. But it definitely happens. But if there are only a few… then it is probably wasps or bumblebees… and we can’t help. Instead you’ll need to call an exterminator.
When clustered on a branch, the swarm will look more like this. Though swarms here are usually about half that size.
Is a swarm dangerous? Can I get stung?
Not really, but yes possibly. A swarm is much more interested in finding a new home than in stinging you. And normally the bees are gorged on honey and quite calm. But they get testy if they have been out in the open for a few days. So it’s better not to get too close.
