Give them room
Keep children and pets clear of the cluster and its flight path, and don't try to move or spray it; the City of Ryde says not to interfere with a swarm. If someone stung struggles to breathe, use their adrenaline autoinjector and call 000. Scrape a bee sting out with a fingernail or card; pulling it can squeeze the venom sac.
Bees around Sydney
Spring is swarm season
The City of Ryde says overcrowding in a hive can prompt bees to swarm, usually between September and December as the weather warms.
Every hive is registered
In NSW, anyone who keeps European honey bees must register as a beekeeper, even with one hive, so a swarm that's collected ends up in a registered hive.
Councils handle public land
The City of Sydney responds to swarms and nests on public land. On private land they're the owner's responsibility, and it points to registered beekeepers who may collect and rehome a swarm.
Inside the walls
Once bees have moved into a wall cavity or another place nobody can reach, the City of Ryde says it's a job for a pest controller.
Swarm or hive?
| Swarm | Hive in the house | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | A ball of bees on a branch, fence or letterbox | Bees going in and out of one gap, day after day |
| Temper | Not usually inclined to sting if left alone | Bees defend a hive aggressively |
| Who usually helps | A registered beekeeper or swarm collector | A pest business |
| What you do | Keep clear and call a beekeeper | Keep clear and tell us where the gap is |
If they've moved in
Find the entry from a distance
Watch from inside a window: under a roof tile, a gap in the brickwork, a wall vent or the eaves.
Leave the gap as it is
Don't seal it; the technician needs to see where the bees come and go.
Ask about the comb
Ask what will happen to the honeycomb and whether the wall or ceiling needs opening.
Tap Bees
Say where the gap is and how long they've been there.
Where we'd start with bee removal in Sydney
Swarm on the fence: ring a registered beekeeper and keep the dog inside. Bees flying into the wall for more than a few days: tap Bees and tell us where the gap is.
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.
