How To Capture a Bee Swarm With Kirk Anderson


Swarm season is here in Southern California and will arrive elsewhere in North America with the coming of spring. In this video, beekeeper Kirk Anderson shows you how to catch a swarm. It’s the best way, in my opinion, to get bees to start your own hive.

Why? Swarms, unlike packaged bees, are free. They are also local, meaning the bees know how to deal with your micro-climate. To capture a swarm you:

  • Spray the swarm with a mixture of white sugar and water–this keeps them busy cleaning themselves while you . . .
  • Knock them in a nuc box (a cardboard box that holds five frames–get one at your local beekeeping supply shop).
  • Take the nuc box home and let them settle in for a few weeks. Then you can transfer the frames to a permanent hive box.

That’s just about it. Bees tend not to be aggressive when they swarm (they have no honey to protect).

To see more how-to videos featuring Kirk visit the video page of the Backwards Beekeepers.

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2 Comments

  1. I do not like this advice. For starters, there is no need to spray with sugar+water. In fact, spraying a cluster with a sticky stuff is likely to result in bees getting stuck, overheating and dying in large numbers. They do not need sugar, their bellies are already full. Secondly, if you shake them and go away, you leave behind a few hundred bees on the wing. These will soon become very unhappy and looking for someone to sting.

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