Swarm Collection service

Our Beekeepers will do all they can to remove honey bees for you.  If you think you have a swarm the please visit the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA) here:  Swarm Collection .  They will help you to check that you do have honey bees and if so will provide contact details for local beekeepers who have registered as collectors.

However, they cannot be called out to assist with other types of bees or insects!   Honeybees form large colonies and usually need a lot more room than within a wall. They have no stripes or fluff and actually look like brown wasps. Most bees in walls are  likely to be another sort of native bee. These form small colonies, do no harm, and as valuable pollinators are best left alone if possible.

If you have wasps or other insects, you will need to contact either Calderdale Council or a private pest control company (or of course just leave them alone!)

A Swarm of Bees is one of nature’s wonders.  However, if a swarm lands in the wrong place it can create a nuisance to the public or cause expensive damage if it enters a cavity in a building.

The Halifax and District Beekeepers Association, as with all UK Beekeeping Associations,  runs a volunteer swarm collection service.  This is a free service, it is not run for profit and the bees are safely re-homed.

2025 saw a very significant outbreak of European and American Foulbrood in the Calder Valley.  These are serious diseases which kill Honey Bees.  These two types of Foulbrood are also Notifiable Diseases, which means that have to be reported by law.  These diseases can be spread by Swarms coming from Beehives infected with Foulbrood.

The National Bee Unit, which is part of DEFRA,  have been working to tackle this specific outbreak and their work is ongoing during 2026.

As a consequence of this outbreak the Swarm collectors from Halifax Beekeepers Association will be following these protocols.

  • All swarms collected will be taken to isolated (isolation) apiaries.
  • They will only be moved on, once they have be assessed by Inspectors from the National Bee Unit and found to be free of disease.

We would strongly advise any one else who collects swarms in the Calder Valley to follow these same protocols.   They should contact the National Bee Unit if they have concerns.

Members of the public can find more information about these diseases from Bee Base, which is the Bee Unit’s website at www.nationalbeeunit.com