A Bee Swarm Landed in Your Garden: Here's What to Do
Don't spray. They're usually gone in 48 hours, and a beekeeper will often collect them free.
First: you're safe, weirdly
A swarm is a colony mid-house-move: thousands of bees clustered around a queen on a branch or fence while scouts find a new home. They have no hive, no honey and no babies to defend, which makes a swarm the most docile bees ever get. Keep kids and pets back, don't poke it, and absolutely don't spray it: half-poisoned bees are dangerous bees, and most swarms leave on their own within a day or two.
Get it collected free
Beekeepers want swarms, free bees. Search "[your state] amateur beekeepers swarm collection" or ring a local bee club; most run swarm lists with collectors who come the same day for accessible swarms. Have ready: how high it is, how long it's been there, and a photo.
When it's not actually a swarm
Bees flying in and out of a wall cavity, chimney or compost bay for more than a few days have moved in, which is a removal job, not a swarm collection. Still call a beekeeper first: many do cut-outs, and bees established in walls only get harder to remove with time.
For beekeepers: swarm season and prevention
Swarming peaks in spring, September to November in most of Australia, earlier in the subtropics, as colonies outgrow their boxes. Prevention is space management: add supers before they're needed, watch for queen cells in spring inspections, and split crowded colonies on your terms before they split themselves. A swarm you catch is also the perfect broodless moment for an oxalic acid treatment.
Native bees swarm too
A swirling cloud of tiny black bees around a tree hollow or hive box in the warm months is usually stingless bees fighting or mating, not honey bees. No action needed, it sorts itself out.
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