April is the month of warmer weather, blooming flowers, and swarms of honeybees. A naturally occurring biological event, honeybees swarm to establish new colonies. Swarms reduce crowding in existing colonies and continue the growth of the species. They can consist of hundreds to thousands of bees, including a few drones and one queen bee.

The queen bee of one existing colony lays her eggs, which includes the new queen. Then one-third to two-thirds of the initial colony scout for a new location so that the new queen can create, lay and hatch her eggs to begin the process again. Swarms occur into the late summer months with feral honeybees forming their new dwellings in trees, shrubs, buildings and homes.

Why Bees Seek Shelter in the City

With the scarcity of available trees to house their growing colonies, honeybees resort to temporary spaces they can seek refuge in. In cities, especially, honeybees look to uninhabited and confined areas such as roofs, decks, utility boxes, vents, and even lawn equipment.

Swarms are not dangerous under most circumstances unless provoked. They are best left unharmed and unaffected, but it becomes necessary to move a swarm if it becomes too intrusive or overwhelming. Swarms can be safely removed and relocated with the assistance of a beekeeper. Extermination of a bee swarm is rarely necessary and discouraged since pesticides cause the dead bees. Local beekeepers need honeybees to grow their apiaries and replace colonies lost to droughts and harsh winter seasons, so the extraction by a beekeeper becomes a mutually beneficial service.

How Beekeepers Safely Remove Swarms

During a removal of a swarm, a beekeeper will carefully access the area of the swarm that the queen occupies. By finding the queen and ushering her into a box, also known as a nuc, the rest of the colony will follow her lead. On a sunny day, the nuc's dark space attracts the honeybees to seek shelter.

Some beekeepers also use bee vacuums that gather the honeybees in a steady and low-pressure airway without harming them. Another technique of bee removal is spraying a cluster with a sugar solution. The solution weighs down the wings of the honeybees so that the beekeeper is able to easily gather the remaining bees.

If faced with the task to remove a swarm from your home or business, be sure to research companies or beekeepers you are looking to hire to safely and ethically remove a swarm. Keep in mind, many larger companies do not follow ethical standards and charge exuberant prices to remove just one swarm. Honey Bee Rescue, Inc. in the DFW area can help with the safe and ethical removal of bee swarms.

The 3 Feet or 3 Miles Rule

Among beekeepers, there is a well-known rule: you can only move a beehive 3 feet or 3 miles. This is because bees orientate themselves by observing the hive entrance and flying figure eights to map landmarks and the sun's position. When foraging within their 5-mile radius, bees memorize geographical information for return navigation.

Moving a hive just a few feet allows returning foragers to locate it easily. But moving it a moderate distance — say half a mile — leaves forager bees unable to find their home because the landmarks don't match. Moving at least 3 miles ensures the bees recognize an entirely new environment and reorient from scratch.

For short moves (under 3 feet), stack hives on boards and reposition them. Place navigational objects like sticks, branches, or fabric strips directly at the entrance to force bees to reorient to the new location.

For long-distance moves (3+ miles), time the move for evening or early morning when all foragers are home. Screen the entrance with mesh to prevent escape, ensure proper ventilation to prevent overheating, use ratchet straps to secure boxes, and keep bees confined for 72 hours after arrival.

Why SO Many Bees in North East Dallas?

The White Rock Lake and surrounding area creates an ideal habitat for honey bee colonies and honey bee nests and is one of the foremost areas in the metroplex for bee removal services. Mild winters allow bee hives to survive using less resources, aiding to bee colony success. The many acres of wetlands cater to a plethora of vegetation and honey bee friendly flowers which increases the survivability of wild honey bee nests.

Also the area has many backyard beekeepers who unfortunately have honeybee hives that escape via swarm, adding to feral honey bee populations often requiring honey bee control.

As a point of reference, on average we remove 30–50 owl boxes of honey bees a summer just from North East Dallas alone! Now that is a lot of new bee hives!

Older homes in the area also provide ample places for honey bees to create a hive or establish new bee colonies. Homes back in the day were not created to be as sealed as they are today and would "breathe," which is a nice way of saying there are lots of little holes and gaps for honey bees to make a new bee nest.

Common Nesting Locations We See

Many of the bee colonies we perform live bee control for in the area are established bee nests. Some of the biggest removal jobs we have done have been bee hives of honeybees often residing in:

• Older wooden uninsulated garage walls
• Under the house or garage foundation
• In the eaves of ranch style homes
• Soffits and eves gnawed open by squirrels or tree rats
• Dying trees — especially cottonwood, hackberry, and elm trees that hollow out

We also see homes infiltrated after squirrels or tree rats gnaw into soffits or eves creating the perfect entryway for new honeybee swarms to set up new honeybee hives.

Community Engagement by Local Beekeepers

If you have questions about local honeybee removals in North East Dallas, Lake Highlands, or Lakewood, please give us a call for free no-obligation quotes from local beekeepers. We promise to be quick and help you with any honeybee related issues. We will safely remove honeybees using our cutting edge technology, removing honeybees from your home with a warranty if they ever come back.

Also check out local resources if you are newer to Dallas — great things to do and places to see honeybees like the Dallas Arboretum or meet local beekeepers. We are integrated into the Lake Highlands Dallas community and support many local businesses including the Trinity Valley Beekeepers Association, and provide consulting services to many local Lakewood backyard beekeepers.

Ready for help? Contact Honey Bee Rescue today for a free estimate on safe, ethical bee removal and relocation in the DFW metroplex.