Swarm Problem? Who You Gonna Call? Beekeepers!
DENVER (CBS4)- As bee swarm season continues, a hotline operated throughout Colorado continues to field calls for help for homeowners and help preserve the bee population.
The hotline answers calls from those who have located swarms. Then, a dispatcher sends a bee keeper out to the location, for free, to handle the problem.
Gregg McMahan is a dispatcher for the hotline. Friday, he was called to a location in Denver, where one of the larger swarms of the year was colonized in a hollow tree.
"There are 15,000 to 20,000 bees right here" McMahan said.
McMahan is with Rocky Mountain Bee. He said bees are fascinating to him. Without fear, McMahan climbed to the swarm, at one point plucking some of the bees from the tree, without a protective suit on.
The bees were very calm and were not aggressive when he approached their colony.
Olivia Smith is the homeowner who called the hotline for help.
"I noticed a swarm of bees circling around," Smith told CBS4's Dillon Thomas.
McMahan said the swarm was waiting for the queen bee to leave the colony, in search of its next-nearest home. He said the swarms will often relocate to homes.
"You don't want 100 pounds of honey in the ceiling of your house," McMahan said.
McMahan called in beekeeper Robert Clearwater Jr., who brought gear to move the bees.
Using a protective suit, and a specialized vacuum, Clearwater removes the bees from the tree. They are sucked into a bee hive box, in which they will be transported.
McMahan said Smith did the right thing by contacting the hotline. By doing so, her concern with the swarm was removed, and an expert beekeeper saved $150 by obtaining the queen and swarm for free.
"I want them to pollenate. But, I want them to do it somewhere else," Smith said.
LINK: Colorado Beekeepers Association
Colorado Beekeepers Association Hotline: 1-844-779-2337
Dillon Thomas is a reporter at CBS4 and a Colorado native. He believes everyone has a story, and would love to share yours! You can find more of his stories by following him on Twitter, @DillonMThomas.