Do You Have a Swarm of Honey Bees?
Maryland Beekeepers Want to Give them a Home!
Beekeepers in Maryland are very interested in saving swarms of honey bees, especially successful colonies that grow strong enough to swarm! You can help us protect and raise a sustainable local honey bee population by calling in one of our members to remove a swarm from your property!
Take a look at the pictures on this page: honey bee swarms are literally thousands of individuals collected in a mass around their queen, waiting for scout bees to return with news of a new hive site to which they can move. Swarms can form on tree branches, porch rails, fire hydrants, outdoor grills -- just about anywhere. They are gentle and generally rest in one location for only a short time. It's important for a beekeeper to be called in quickly to gather up the swarm and place it in a safe hive.
What is a NOT swarm?
Beekeepers only collect honey bee swarms: not bumblebees, not yellow jackets, not wasps, not hornets nor ground nesting bees. We have some information about some of these other insects here. Sometimes a flowering bush receives a lot of attention from many pollinators - they are collecting supplies to take back to their home. Unless there are thousands tightly packed together in a ball, it's not a swarm that can be captured and relocated.
Bee colony in your wall?
Removing a bee colony from inside a wall is a lengthy process that is beyond the scope of our volunteers. Some beekeepers will do this for a fee. A portion of your wall will probably need to be removed by the beekeeper, and you will need to separately hire a carpenter to repair the wall. Be sure to discuss with the beekeeper ahead of time all details, including costs, and what damage will be done to your walls. You can find a list of beekeepers who remove honey bees from inside walls by clicking HERE, then sorting the list by your county and by clicking the column head 'also removes from walls.'
Who you gonna call?
If you live in MONTGOMERY COUNTY, click HERE to report your swarm.
If you live in D.C., contact Toni Burnham, dcbees@dcbeekeepers.org, 202-255-4318 (manages list of beekeepers)
If you live elsewhere in Maryland, CLICK HERE to find a beekeeper in your county.