What to Do If Bees Start Swarming Near You

'Tis the season for bees to swarm

I just spent a few days with Lucie the Bee Lady from the British Beekeepers Association, and her phone was ringing non-stop with bee swarming incidents. She dealt with these in a number of ways, usually involving boxes and gently moving the swarm.

If bees start swarming near your home and you can’t get assistance straight away, it can feel very unsettling very quickly. You want to handle it safely, calmly, and without harming the bees.

Here’s a testimonial from a local friend who avoided a swarm settling in her home using essential oils.

Why Bees Start Swarming Near Your Home

When bees start swarming near you, it often means scout bees are out looking for a new home. A few hundred may appear all at once, exploring roof lines, gutters, loft spaces, or other sheltered spots that seem suitable for the queen and the rest of the hive.

It can go from zero bees to bees everywhere within a matter of an hour, which is why it feels like such an emergency. But in many cases, they are not being aggressive. They are simply house-hunting, and unfortunately your home may have caught their attention.

What to Do First If Bees Start Swarming Near You

The first thing to do if bees start swarming near your home is stay calm and keep a sensible distance. If possible, contact a local beekeeper, swarm collector, or beekeeping association for advice.

That is always the ideal first step. Someone experienced may be able to safely relocate them, especially if the swarm is still accessible and has not fully settled inside the structure of your home.

When Help Isn’t Immediately Available

My friend discovered that sometimes help isn’t immediately available. She was told that because bees are protected, there was only so much people could do. The advice was generally to allow them to set up home for a while and trust that they would eventually move on after a few months.

The other option was to try to get a local beekeeper to capture the queen and transfer her safely to a new home, but that becomes much more difficult once they have entered the actual house.

That is where many people feel stuck. Waiting it out may be possible, but it’s not always practical when bees are flying inside your home.

A Real Story of a Plant-First Approach

“Had an essential oil emergency….

I had a small swarm of scout bees surround and invade our house. As explained by the bee people, if a few hundred bees just appear and flood your house all of a sudden, it’s scout bees looking for a new home.

I went from zero bees to bees everywhere within a matter of an hour. They started to try to nest in our roof line. There was a gap just under the gutters that they thought would be a great place for the queen and her thousands of followers to set up home in. In a matter of hours, there were bees all inside my house.

When I called the bee people to relocate them they said that they couldn’t really do much as they are protected. The advice is to generally allow them to set up home for a while and then they will eventually move on after a few months. Or you could try to get a local beekeeper to try to capture the queen and transfer her safely to a new home, but that’s difficult to do once they enter your actual house.

So I remembered what Jennifer said about peppermint and moths, and I looked up what essential oils to use for bees. My friend Vanessa loaned me two diffusers and peppermint, lemon and lavender. You are supposed to open the windows for them to find their way out, and they really wanted out when the oils were being diffused into the air.

The diffuser was in my loft near to where they were going in, and the smells would have come out through the roof felt. I also put a diffuser by my bathroom window, which was just underneath them so they were getting a double dose. Within hours, the bees all decided that it was no longer their new place, and left. I kept the diffusers going for another day just to make sure that the scout bees didn’t return with the queen and the rest of the hive.

It was a brilliant thing to have just met Jennifer a few days before that happened, as I don’t know how I would have safely moved them on otherwise. We would have been living with bees everywhere for months on end. It was amazing and bee-friendly.” Karen, Mum, North London

Why Strong Scents May Make a Space Less Appealing

What stands out in this story is not that anything harsh was used, but that strong plant scents may have made the space feel less suitable to the scout bees.

Peppermint, lemon, and lavender each have a very distinct aroma. In this case, diffusing them near the entry points appeared to make the area less inviting, while open windows gave the bees a route out.

It’s a good example of reaching for plants first when trying to solve a problem. Not force. Not panic. Just a gentle shift in the environment.

If Bees Start Swarming Near You, Try This Calm, Simple Approach

If bees start swarming near you and you are unable to get immediate help, begin by opening windows so they have a way to leave. Then place diffusers near the area where they are entering or gathering, such as a loft space or nearby window.

In this story, peppermint, lemon, and lavender were used. The diffusers were left running for hours, and then for another full day after the bees had gone, simply to discourage the scout bees from returning with the queen.

As always, keep yourself safe, avoid disturbing the bees, and seek local expert help where possible. A calm response matters.