Don't panic! A migrating swarm is harmless if left alone.

A bee swarm in a tree or bush will normally leave within 72 hours, sometimes in as little as a couple of hours. As long as they are left alone they are not dangerous and there is no need to call a beekeeper to have them removed. Honeybees are a crucial part of nature and deserve a chance to fly away. Any unnecessary stress on the bees in the Arizona heat can be detrimental to the bee swarm. 

Honeybee swarms are completely different than established hives. If you have a newly arrived honey bee swarm on a tree, bush or shrub around your house they may just be just resting up. If they are not endangering anyone LEAVE THEM BEE!! Bee swarms, for the most part, are not aggressive when left alone It is not always necessary to have them removed or worse yet killed.

Most swarms of honey bees land in trees to rest on their way to scout for a new home and will leave within 72 hours most cases within 24 hours. When bees do swarm and land in a tree or bush they all accumulate on top of the queen and form a giant ball of bees which is quite often mistaken for a bee hive. A honey bee swarm consists of thousands of bees all surrounding the queen and keeping her safe while on their journey. It can be very intimidating when they arrive as well as when they leave and it all happens within minutes. On rare occasions, the Queen bee will decide to stay in the tree longer than 72 hours and they will begin building honeycomb and that is when it is time to have them removed this happens maybe 1 out of a 100 times.

Arizona is prime real estate for honey bees both Africanized and European, and the Africanized honey bee is known to swarm 4 or more times a year compared to the European Honey Bee which only swarms once or twice if even that depending on conditions. Phoenix and the metro area, as well as other Arizona cities, have become a hot spot for Africanized Bees and the activity has increased every year. It is very important that you treat all bee colonies and swarms as if they are dangerous as one mistake can be a very painful one. Trying to treat bees yourself can end up with serious injuries and even fatalities for you and your neighbors as well as pets.

If possible leave the bee swarm alone for 24 to 72 hours and there is a 90% chance they will go away on their own. After the swarm leaves keep an eye on and around your property to make sure they didn't decide to move in somewhere on your property.

If they land on the structure of your home or are coming and going in an eave or into the stucco or siding etc. or there is visible honeycomb on any structure around your property then they do need to be removed Properly by us or another professional bee removal company.

Otherwise, save yourself some money and save some bees at the same time. Now, why would I say all this? We are Beekeepers and Pest Control Companies are killing million's of bees unnecessarily every year and charging insane prices to do so. Don't be another victim to Unnecessary Pest Control and harmful chemicals. Pass on the message Not all bee swarms need to be removed and not all bees in Arizona are Africanized. Now, if you have a swarm on your property and are concerned someone might antagonize the bees or that the bees might be a danger to the public or your just not comfortable with them being there then give us a call and we will talk you through your options to get your bee problem resolved.