‍Do I have wasps or bees? 

Wasps (pictured left) are meat eaters and eat other insects (including bees!), while bees collect pollen from flowers and plants for protein. If you're not sure whether you have honey bees or not, please refer to this helpful ID Sheet.

We do not remove wasp nests, which may be in a tree or against your house or shed. Please contact us and we will try to connect you with resources. Additionally, we do not remove bumble bees (the teddy bear of the pollinator world). Bumblebees are large and fuzzy, and fly in an irregular pattern. They sometimes nest in rock walls or the ground. Please let these non-aggressive valuable pollinators be.

What are honey bee swarms? 

Swarming is a process by which a new honeybee colony is formed when the original queen bee leaves with a large group of worker bees. Swarms can contain thousands, to tens of thousands of bees. Swarming is the natural means of reproduction of honeybee colonies and typically happens in the springtime (April through late May) in our area.  

When a honeybee swarm emerges from a hive, they do not fly far at first. They will gather in a tree or on a branch where they cluster about the queen and send scout bees out to find suitable new nest locations. This is just an intermediate stop on their journey to find a new home, and it is not for permanent habitation. Swarm clusters will usually move on and find a suitable nesting location within a day or two.  

What does a honey bee swarm look like?

Honey bees swarms can be down low on a bush or high up on a tree limb. There will not be a built nest surrounding them, but rather a cluster of bees hanging from a limb, branch or other object.

Are honey bee swarms dangerous?

Honeybees are not aggressive at this stage of their life cycle! Before leaving their colony, they have completely engorged themselves with honey to sustain them on their journey, and have only one goal which is to find a new nesting location for their queen.

Even though honey bee swarms are not dangerous, please do not attempt to capture the swarm yourself unless you are an experienced beekeeper. These bees are simply in the process of finding a new home and the beekeeper that you call will give them just that, a nice hive in a proper location!

Reminder: Under no circumstances should a honeybee swarm be sprayed!

We will come gently capture any honeybee swarms and manage them organically for pollination and honey production.

Again, please do not spray the bees w/ pesticides, insecticides or even water!

Wait for a beekeeper to come and take them away. These are typically gentle insects that are a huge benefit to the plants we have in our gardens and to the foods we eat! The only time you’ll encounter an angry bee (or other insect/animal for that matter) is if you disturb it.

In fact, if you have a swarm, consider yourself lucky to be experiencing this marvel of nature!