Swarms Advice

If you have a problem with a swarm of bees, or suspect there is a swarm of bees on your property or nearby please help protect the UK's declining honey population by reading our swarms page.
 

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Swarm Advice

If you find a swarm of honey bees please don't destory it unless it is an emergency. Members of the KBKA are generally willing to remove any accessible swarm of honey bees that you find on your property (or in a public place).
 
Check for Wasps and Bumblebees first
First please check that your swarm is actually a swarm of honey bees. Sometimes people confuse wasps and bumble bees with honey bees. Please check the BBKA swarms help (opens in a new webpage) for advice on the difference between honey bees, wasps and bumble bees.
 
KBKA Swarm Coordinators
The following members of the KBKA will help you find a local bee keeper to deal with any swarm of bees:
  • Kim Seward           01672 861106
  • Terry Cooke          07779-945326
  • Philippa Luscombe 01249 814910
  • Jeremy Pack         07813-788614 (& 01249-814910)

To ensure any swarm is preserved please contact any of the above as soon as possible. (As swarms can move on, move to more inaccessible places, or get destroyed by rain.)
For swarms outside of our area:
Nationally: Check the listing on the BBKA website: http://www.britishbee.org.uk/swarm_collection.php
 
Dealing with Wasps
Members of the KBKA are unable to destory wasps nests. If you have a problem with wasps, we suggest you look at the advice on wasps on the Wilthshire Council website (http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/environmentandplanning/publicprotection/pestcontrol/pestcontrolwasps.htm) or look for "Pest Control Services" in the yellow pages (yell.com).  Wiltshire Pest Control (01249 818934) cover the club's area.
 
Bumblebees
British bumblebees, although able to sting, are generally harmless unless they feel threatened. Their nests generally do not contain large numbers of bees. (Unlike wasps or honey bees). If you have a bumblebee nest in your garden or house, unless it is somewhere that conflicts with children or pets, with British bumble bees in decline, you should consider leaving it alone. Generally bumble nests are only used for one summer. You can read more about bumblebees on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumble_bee. 
If you consider it must be destoyed (as rule they can't be moved) we suggest you follow the advice given for wasps. Members of the KBKA are not able to deal with bumble bee nests.