FREE Honey Bee SWARM REMOVAL.

It is swarm season, and we don’t want your neighbors getting scared and destroying a swarm. Instead, here’s some information from MCBA’s FREE SWARM REMOVAL service.

REMOVE BEE SWARMS: If a swarm of honey bees lands on your property, MCBA will rescue the bees for FREE. A swarm is a football sized cluster of bees you might see hanging from a tree, bush, wall, lamp post, etc.  They are NOT aggressive.  They are simply taking a pause on their way to a new home. They’ll move on in a few hours.    Unfortunately, only 1 out of 5 swarms survives the winter in the wild.  So, if you see a swarm, report it as soon as possible on MCBA’s website under the “REPORT SWARM” tab, and MCBA will send a beekeeper to carefully collect them.   https://montgomerycountybeekeepers.com/honeybee-identification/

FIND LOCAL HONEY: If you want to buy LOCAL honey, MCBA’s website lists neighborhood beekeepers selling fresh honey.  A link is on MCBA’s homepage   https://montgomerycountybeekeepers.com/local-honey/

BEE FRIENDLY GARDEN:  If you want to choose plants that help bees, MCBA has a fantastic chart of plants that grow well in our area. It includes pictures and info like sun/shade, etc.   https://montgomerycountybeekeepers.com/plants-for-bees/

EFFORTLESS BEEKEEPING:  If you like the idea of having a beehive in your yard (to help your garden, and to be cool), but don’t want to take classes and do the beekeeping work, MCBA is building a list of beekeepers seeking places to keep their hives (win-win!).  The website has information about lending a corner of your yard to a beekeeper, and a sign-up form, under the “Help Bees” tab.  (Fair warning: requests for hives outnumber beekeepers in most neighborhoods)

BEE LECTURES:  If you are interested in bees,  MCBA has free monthly presentations by bee experts. With Covid, the talks are on zoom, so even more convenient to attend. Upcoming topics and other details are on the association’s homepage. montgomerycountybeekeepers.com

BEE SPEAKERS FOR YOUR ADULT GROUP:  MCBA has an outreach program that provides a knowledgeable beekeeper to speak to clubs, and other groups.  The service is free, although not every request can be accommodated, and during Covid it would be via Zoom.  A form to Request a Speaker is on the website under “Speaker Request”

B.I.G. WAY FOR YOU TO SUPPORT BEES:  MCBA’s Bee Impact Grant (B.I.G.) gives 100% of donations to support bee research and other efforts that help honey bees.  MCBA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, so donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE.  You can see previous B.I.G. recipients, and donate on MCBA’s website https://montgomerycountybeekeepers.com/donate/