Local beekeepers offer free swarm removal

Milton resident Pat Gearity walked out of her house one recent morning and saw the branches of one of her shrubs bent to the ground. The plant was struggling under the weight of thousands of bees.

She initially thought to call an exterminator, but she decided against it. Knowing honeybees are struggling to survive against colony-collapse disorder, she called Martin Manship, a member of the Delaware Beekeepers Association.

“I called on a Saturday afternoon, and he was ready to come straight over, but he said there was no imminent danger, and the swarm would probably be gone in 24 hours,” Gearity said. She decided to wait, and by the next morning, there were only 50 bees left.

“Colony collapse is a real problem in Delaware, and the Delaware beekeepers have this great service. It’s in the best interest of Delaware farmers and these bees to have keepers remove swarms instead of spraying to kill the bees,” Gearity said.

Manship, a retired farmer, said he has been keeping bees for 10 years. He said he removes swarms of bees by misting them with sugar water and directing them into a hive box.

Robert Mitchell, state apiarist, said the prime swarming season for honeybees is April 10 to June 20, but it can happen at any time. When colonies become overcrowded as queens lay more eggs in the spring, bees will produce a new queen. The old queen will take part of the hive and seek a new abode, Mitchell said. Swarming bees will often find a place to rest while scouts look for a new cavity, he said.

Swarms of bees may also leave their hives to avoid bacterial and fungal disease, said Mitchell. He said greater and lesser wax moths will enter vacated hives and eat the honey and wax, leaving a clean environment for a new hive of bees to establish itself, he said.

“I get a couple of hundred calls per year. A lot of folks have a fear of insects, but this is a natural phenomenon, and I suggest people enjoy being able to see it,” said Mitchell. Because the bees gorge themselves on honey before they set out as a swarm, they are at their most docile, said Mitchell. And, because they have no home, brood or honey to defend, they are less dangerous than people think. “Bees are defensive, they are not aggressive,” he said. The best assurance that the bees won’t sting is to leave them alone, he said.

The best thing to do when encountering a swarm is nothing. “If you spot a swarm, stay away from it. It’s better to do nothing than do something wrong,” said Mitchell. Then, call a beekeeper. Delaware beekeepers volunteer to collect the swarms and put them in hives.

Gearity praised the beekeepers’ association for providing her information while she waited for the swarm to disperse. “They were just resting while the scouts went looking for a permanent home. It’s really fascinating. This is the time of the year when bees swarm, and we can give them a hand,” she said.

Swarms vs. bees in walls

Bees in the walls of a house can make a real mess and are quite different from swarms looking for a new home, says state apiarist Robert Mitchell. A swarm is a feral colony that is not in a hive, he said.

Bees that build hives in house walls are terrible pests, Mitchell said, and they are difficult to exterminate and expensive to clean up after. He said dead bees emit an intense odor that attracts mice, which love to feed on the bees and wax. Honey in the hive absorbs water and ferments, and the alcoholic brew runs down walls and causes stains, he said. If the honey does not ferment, it will attract ants.

The wax moths that come to eat wax left over from an empty hive lay eggs, and their larvae can chew through nearly anything, said Mitchell – “We’ve seen cases where they’ve chewed through wire insulation and caused a short.”