Tis the season

[fuse]

Honey bee swarm season usually runs mid April to early July with crazy time peaking in May
About now

I am a county swarm collector and two calls already have concluded in the householder becoming unwilling beekeepers because the swarm has got into the fabric of the building and cannot be easily removed.

Chaps please do yourself a favour asap and have a good look around your property this morning and save yourself a potential world of pain.
Look for and block up any aperture above 4 mm
Air vents temporarily carded over if you can.
Chimneys are a perennial delight.....

Edit - just had a third disappointed caller.

The issue with removal is finding someone capable,willing and insured.
They do exist but your wallet will suffer.

 

[TrimTheKing]

So what do the homeowners do in that situation, just have to live with it and hope they move on the following year?

 

[AJB Temple]

Local bee clubs usually have experienced swarm collectors, though they are unlikely to be willing to venture aloft into eaves and chimneys. I've collected a few swarms, but only from low level trees and shrubs.

 

[fuse]

Thats the problem
In situations like airbricks ,chimneys ,cavity walls, window frames, eaves etc there is dismantling work needed (unless the guy has a bee-vac - I dont like them as they can do irreparable damage to the colony that Im trying to retrieve intact.)

After the swarm is collected,the real shtstorm begins - repair work will have to be done and the homeowner may find the insurance wont cover it because the beekeepers wasnt a qualified builder.
Qualified builders are rarely beekeepers so they will run a mile at the thought of a bee nest.
Homeowner then goes after the beekeeper who doesnt have public liability insurance.
Which is why they are reluctant to attempt the job in the first place.
Theres a few blissfully ignorant and /or plain stupid ones that might have a go however.

Last resort is pest control but there has been a recent case of prosecution for destroying bees when there was no real risk to life.
This has got round the industry and more often than not they tell the homeowner to call the beekeeper.
Rinse repeat.

Get round the house with a caulk gun!!!
Cap off disused chimneys as they are the nearest thing to their natural habital which is an old hollow tree


My advice is to calm the person down,explain that honey bees are defensive rather than aggressive.
Where there is no pedestrian traffic regularly passing by the level of the nest entrance there is usually very little chance of interaction and co-existence is very possible.
Sometimes they decide theres not enough room and will move on.
Hopefully to someone elses house unless theres another a hole in your brickwork pointing round the corner......
They will swarm the following year but thats only half of them- a new queen will be produced and rebuild the colony.
Theres a chance she will fail and the nest will die out.

The swarm will not suddenly arrive unannounced.
Days previously scout bees will have been sniffing around for a likely spot so keep aware of that too.

One of my last jobs thought bees only lived in the countryside.
Shocked to learn 70% of my collections are in the city.
Schools and banks seem to be a favourite followed closely by local council offices.
The latter is a joke as they have their own pest control department.
Why dont you call them I say?
Because they will charge us a fortune is always the reply.