Swarm or hive?
A swarm is a clustered ball of bees on a branch, fence or wall, resting while scouts find a permanent home. It is temporary and generally docile. Left alone, it will often move on by itself.
A hive means combs have been built, usually inside a wall cavity, chimney or roof void. It is permanent, it will grow, and eventually the honey and wax will attract other pests or seep through the plaster.
Our approach: relocation first
European honey bees are valuable and under pressure. Wherever a swarm or an accessible hive can be safely collected, we'll arrange relocation with a local apiarist rather than destroy it. We only treat where relocation isn't possible, typically a long-established hive deep inside a wall cavity.
Killing a wall-cavity hive without removing the comb leaves kilograms of honey to ferment and seep. We open up, remove and clean out, then seal the cavity against re-entry.
