A Dallas Based Beekeepers Association serving the North Texas Area

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A Dallas Based Beekeepers Association serving the North Texas Area

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Swarms

      Don’t panic. DO NOT spray the bees with bug spray. A swarm is bees in transit searching for a permanent hive site. Though a swarm looks intimidating, swarming bees are fairly docile and rarely sting though will sting if sufficiently irritated. A swarm will usually move on in a few days, but we do recommend calling a beekeeper to come get them rather than allowing them to pick a potentially undesirable location for their new home.

      Established Hive

      If you have an unwanted established hive in a wall or other part of a structure, DO NOT spray the bees with bug spray. DIY spray attempts rarely succeed in killing a colony, but can certainly provoke the bees into defensive stinging behavior. Even if you were to succeed in killing the bees this leaves all the honey (and dead bees) in place. The dead bees stink and the honey attracts more bees and huge amounts of ants. The bees, honey, and hive all need to be removed. Beehive removal is not a job for amateurs.

      Beehive Removal Frequently Asked Questions

      While it cannot be guaranteed that bees in a swarm won’t sting, a swarm is generally very docile because they don’t have a hive with honey and baby bees to defend. Just before swarming, bees gorge themselves with honey. When gorged with honey they are content like grandpa after a Thanksgiving Day feast.

      Trinity Valley Beekeepers recommends live removal and relocation for two reasons. Live removal & relocation is environmentally friendly. While extermination appears at first glance the quickest and easiest solution, extermination still requires removal of comb, honey and the bees. If left in the structure such as a wall, the dead bees will smell bad and the honey will either ferment or attract more bees, ants, wax moths and rodents. This can lead to more costly repairs in the future.

      Occasionally with swarms, but very rarely with established colonies. While the honey bees do have some value, in most removal situations the labor and costs of removal are more than the value of the bees at their unwanted location. Often beekeepers who do charge are still more affordable than what many exterminators charge for killing a bee colony.

      Refer to the Removal Guidelines (see below) page for our suggestions.

      A good place to start is to contact the beekeepers’ association in your area.

      If the hive is located in Dallas or the surrounding counties, a request to have a participating member of the Trinity Valley Beekeepers Association contact you by going to the Removal Request page and fill out the form and submit.

      Another option is to contact the Texas Association of Professional Bee Removers.

      Live Removal & Relocation of Bees in a Structure on your Property:

      The Trinity Valley Beekeepers Association recommends bee-friendly live removal & relocation by a professional bee remover if the colony is located within a homestead structure (i.e. soffit, roof, floor or wall). 

      Removal of colonies or swarms elsewhere, for instance in a water meter or irrigation box, a tree branch (not the trunk), etc. can often be handled by a local beekeeper with experience in such activities.

      A live bee removal and relocation from a structure is no more invasive than a properly performed extermination, yet does not include chemicals, or killing the bees.

      Whereas a proper extermination of a colony located in a structure requires removal of the wax comb and honey as well as “just getting rid of the bees,” TVBA advocates LIVE honey bee removal and relocation, rather than EXTERMINATION.

      This allows for proper handling not only of the bees, but also of the leftover remains of the comb, resources, etc.

      An exterminator who does not remove the comb from the structure has left the job half done, to the detriment of their customer. Leaving comb, honey, dead bees, and other organic material in a structure will cause fermentation, mold, and decay, which will often lead to more costly issues in the future.  It attracts other animals and insects as well as having a strong likelihood of attracting a new swarm of bees
      once the toxins dissipate.

      A live relocation is better for agriculture, better for the environment, and better for your home. So, if you have unwanted honey bees, contact a professional bee remover for a live removal and relocation.

      Our food supply is dependent on the continued existence of honey bees for crop pollination; it makes no sense to deliberately kill off the
      pollinators that feed us.

      Trinity Valley Beekeepers Association does not recommend a specific removal service. Click the link below and we can help you get in touch with beekeeper for swarms and professional removers for bees in structures who may assist you.

      We also recommend you visit Texas Association of Professional Bee Removers for a list of vetted, professional removers in your area for a comprehensive search for the best solution to your needs.

      TVBA Live Removal & Relocation Request Form