For General Public Looking to Notify of a Honeybee Swarm
For General Public looking to notify of a honeybee swarm in your neighborhood: Please take a few pictures of the swarm and fill out the contact form. You will be asked to provide your name, phone number, address where the bees are located. Be prepared to get a call from an experienced beekeeper who will ask you to text the pictures and arrange to meet you to collect the bees and give them a good home.
You will NOT be compensated but rest assured that the bees will go to a good home. If you feel compelled to give a donation to support the efforts of the Westminster Bee Club click here.
If you just leave the bees, there is a risk that the bees will relocate to someones attic, soffit, shed or some other building. If this happens, it is no longer a swarm collection but an extraction and will cost the homeowner to extract the bees out of the building. The bees may not survive if this happens or if they wind up in a hollow in a tree.
Report a Swarm
Swarm Catcher Procedures
Swarm Distpatching
If you live in the Northwest Denver Metro Area, Gregg McMahan is the President of the Club and Swarm Dispatcher for this area. Text Gregg at 720-934-6176 each morning that you are ready to collect a swarm of honeybees.
Collection Equipment
You must have bee collection equipment ready to go that day – ladder; bee suit/gloves; box with lid to collect them; bedsheet to lay down under the box; etc. Other suggested items: bee vacuum (one can be loaned from the WBC Club); pail with extension rod; etc.
Collection Operation
Every collection is different. If you cannot comfortably collect them contact Gregg. If they are located in a building, this extraction process is not for amateurs – contact Gregg. If the bees turn out to be wasps, contact Gregg.
Communication Procedures
Once a person calls the Swarm Hotline, you will be notified of the address, phone number of the person who called it in and provided picture(s). It is your responsibility to call that person within 5 minutes of getting a text from Gregg and arrange a meeting to collect the bees. After retrieving the bees and getting them back to their final location, text Gregg that the job is complete.
