Bee swarm usually will buzz off on its own if left alone

Spring and early summer make up bee swarming season in the Las Vegas Valley, and up until a couple of weeks ago, I had yet to see this phenomenon of nature in action for myself. That is, until I found a swarm of about 10,000 bees hanging out in my backyard.

Glancing out my sliding glass doors, I wondered what was hanging from my tree. The ball was dark-colored and football-shaped and definitely hadn’t been there the day before. I went outside for a closer inspection, saw bees clustered together, heard the buzzing and sprinted back into the house faster than I think I’ve ever ran before. I’m terrified of bees ... one bee. A whole mass of them taking up residence not 10 feet from my home had me petrified.

Lisa Valentine/View

I immediately went to my source for information on all things unknown: Google. After a few minutes of searching, I came across this helpful website from the city of Las Vegas, lasvegasnevada.gov/publications/7975.htm, where I learned that bee swarms are made up of homeless bees and are common this time of year.

A bee swarm results after a colony becomes too large for the hive to accommodate, causing them to break into two groups. One stays in the hive, while the other follows a new queen bee in search of a place to make a new home. Often while searching for the ideal location, the swarm becomes tired and needs to rest or just wants to get out of the sun. The bees will camp out together, in a cluster, until the queen decides to “jump” and the swarm follows her.

My backyard served as a bee’s version of Motel 6 for about a day and a half. The website said swarms will rest for a few hours, a day or maybe a couple of days, and 90 percent of the time, the bees will leave on their own. If a swarm hangs around for longer than three days, you might want to consider having it removed by a professional, as by that point the bees might be entertaining the idea of creating a hive on your property.

The bee hive is where the true danger lies. If bees have food or offspring to protect, they will become aggressive. When they are in a swarm, without a hive to guard, they are relatively docile and normally won’t sting unless highly provoked. I still would recommend not messing with them.

When the bees had been in my yard for about a day, I decided I might have to take action, so I began searching for a local beekeeper who might be able to remove the swarm. I found one at ebeehoney.com/zNV.html, and he e-mailed back to say he could remove the swarm, but his minimum charge was $200. The cost is based on factors such as how large the swarm is and where it’s located. I sent him a photo of the swarm in my backyard, and he said a swarm of that size probably contained about 10,000 bees (and 10,000 stingers).

Fortunately, by the time he got back to me, the swarm in my yard had already moved on to greener pastures (hopefully not one of my neighbors’ attics).

Long story short, if you find a bee swarm, leave it alone, and chances are the problem will take care of itself. And while you’re waiting for the bees to leave, I would recommend not watching hours of YouTube videos of bee swarms like I did. This probably won’t help you sleep at night.