Bee Swarm

It was a dark and stormy night. There was a darkness blocking the light of the moon. It was a swarm of killer bees and they landed in a tree! Just kidding!

A neighbor that lives behind called me and stated their next door neighbor had a swarm of bees in the tree. Also, the neighbor that called was threatening to kill the bees if someone didn’t come get them by 8:30pm. I was on my way home from another bee call and decided to go take a look. There they were, a beautiful swarm of bees bigger than a basketball. They were about 14 feet high in a cottonwood tree. It was a fairly straightforward rescue. I set up my ladder and gathered my supplies. I lightly misted the bees with sugar water. This helps prevent them from flying off once I start removing them from the branch. I have a banker’s box with screened off hand holes that I used to collect the bees. I take a soft bristle brush and gently start sweeping the bees into the box. One has to be fairly quick when they do this because bees tend to climb and they will start climbing out of the box. I secured the lid in place and brought them back to my house to be relocated and set up in a hive box. Early the next morning, while it was still cool, I gently removed the lid where the bees were clinging. I gently swept the bees into an empty Hive box and quickly put a Hive box that contained frames in on top. Because bees tend to climb, they will climb into the hive box with the frames in place and start to set up their new home. Welcome to your new home ladies!