Leave it alone
Keep people and pets back, and don't spray, hose or throw anything at it. Bee stings stay in the skin: healthdirect says to scrape one out quickly with a fingernail or card, because pulling it may squeeze the venom sac. Then wash with soap and water and apply an ice pack wrapped in cloth for 15 minutes. Anaphylaxis means the autoinjector straight away, then 000.
Is it a swarm?
A swarm is a round or oval mass of bees, hanging off a branch, a fence, a letterbox or a wall. Business Queensland describes it as bees looking for a place to start a new nest under the direction of a queen. Apiculture New Zealand points out that honey bees are the only bees that swarm.
It looks alarming, but Business Queensland says swarming bees are usually placid and unlikely to sting if they're left alone. In Queensland, swarms naturally turn up in spring and early summer.
What to do with a bee swarm
Clear the area
Bring children and pets inside and close nearby windows. Give the swarm plenty of room.
Take one photo from a distance
A beekeeper will want to know how big the cluster is, how high it's hanging and what it's on.
Call a beekeeper
Business Queensland suggests your local beekeeping club. In Victoria, the Health department tells pest controllers to pass bee enquiries to a beekeeper or the Victorian Apiarists Association.
Watch where they go
If the bees start flying in and out of a gap in the house instead of hanging in the open, it's no longer a swarm problem. See the next section.
Why a beekeeper, not a pest business
Business Queensland says European honey bees and native bees shouldn't be destroyed, because they matter for pollination and honey. A beekeeper can collect a swarm and give it a hive. In NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA, anyone keeping honey bees must register, even with a single hive, so a collected swarm goes to someone allowed to keep it.
That's also why a swarm isn't something we pass to a pest business: our form shows that a local beekeeper may be able to collect it instead.
When bees become a pest job
A swarm resting in the open is one thing. Bees going in and out of a gap in a wall, the roof or a chimney are living in the house, and that's a job for a pest business. Our bees page explains what's involved; tap Bees and choose the gap answer.
In Queensland, rule out Asian honey bees
Asian honey bees are about 10 mm long, smaller and less hairy than European honey bees, with sharp black or brown and yellow stripes. They're prohibited in Queensland, and any sighting must be reported to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours.
Business Queensland says they're established in far north Queensland around Cairns, from Cape Tribulation to Cardwell, with the known area extended to Cooktown and Rossville in September 2025. In June 2026 they were reported in south-western Brisbane and were being investigated. If in doubt, report first.
Where we'd start with bee swarms
We'd shut the dog inside, leave the swarm completely alone and ring the nearest beekeeping club or a registered beekeeper. Only if the bees moved into the walls or roof would we tap Bees.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
