Swarm Officer Role

[Brian Bush]

I think I am going to take the job of swarm officer for my local association. I have supported my colleague for 5 or so years whenever I can. As I am now semi-retired and working only odd and part days near home I have offered to take over from the incumbent who wishes to give up owing to age and the inability to climb steps and ladders.
SWMBO put up the usual initial opposition but has come round to being supportive. I also have 2 relative newbees who I know will do all they can to help out.
I am wondering if any forum members have any advice, words of caution/wisdom they can impart before I take this leap into muddy waters?

 

[For want of a better word]

You will receive praise from the recipients to whom you pass swarm detail to... and criticism from those to whom you do not !

A thankless task maybe .

 

[REDWOOD]

I would keep the swarms in an isolation apiary before giving them to the recipient as you might be giving them more than what they bargained for

 

[VEG]

You will receive praise from the recipients to whom you pass swarm detail to... and criticism from those to whom you do not !

A thankless task maybe .

I agree with the above, but good on you for doing it

 

[Dishmop]

SWMBO put up the usual initial opposition

Thats because she realised it might mean you being out from under her feet for longer..

 

[drstitson]

"I would keep the swarms in an isolation apiary before giving them to the recipient as you might be giving them more than what they bargained for
"

only possible surely if you have an isolation apiary outwith the catchment area for recipients of your swarms, otherwise swarms will need to be homed in one go.

 

[Itchy]

Thats because she realised it might mean you being out from under her feet for longer..

Which is the point of volunteering I guess

 

[Itchy]

Duplicate?

 

[mbc]

Which is the point of volunteering I guess

Lol.
Seriously though, I would consider charging a reasonable amount for each swarm passed on, people tend to look after things they've handed over some hard earned cash for with a bit more respect, and it wont do the associations coffers any harm either.

 

[Barbarian]

I'll bet there was the usual rush of eager volunteers when the post became vacant.

You may wish to look on the BBKA's swarm collectors list. You could find the contact details of neighbouring Swarm Co-ordinators. Some polite winter phone calls may get you details of how their schemes work. You will probably get some horror stories too.

As a BBKA Swarm Collector I viewed Mondays with trepidation. The public would see bees at the weekend then ring the council on Monday. Pest Control would duck with great speed and refer the caller to the BBKA site.

 

[user 6228]

Lol.
Seriously though, I would consider charging a reasonable amount for each swarm passed on, people tend to look after things they've handed over some hard earned cash for with a bit more respect, and it wont do the associations coffers any harm either.

thats a serious point... perhaps a portion going to an environmental charity as well, if the BKA is replete with cash and to sweeten the pill a little.

 

[rockdoc]

I would certainly consider making a small charge to the person who called with the swarm problem. I know this is a sticky subject, but perhaps we need to view the service of swarm removal a bit like calling in a professional to clear your drains or fix a leaky tap. In my experience I make a judgement depending on the circumstances of the person making the call. If its a little old lady in a cottage then no charge as opposed to someone in a large expensive house. Okay, I know that's a bit simplistic, but we are conducting a service for these people and I have never been refused, with the person often offering before I mention it more often than not. I'm sure this subject will open up a whole hornets nest, but lets see what others think.

 

[Tim.S]

To collect a swarm is to offer a service - I see no harm in charging for it. If you choose not to charge the little old lady, or charge more to those who who you deem able to pay, then so be it.
After all there is your time and skill set, both of which have a value. If a swarm of bees are saved and end up going to a good home after then everybody wins. (I expect there will be a good few wasted hours to compensate for any feel good factor!)

 

[madasafish]

75% of this year spent on Tree Bumbles... the joys of a Swarm Collector..

 

[itma]

You should sort out a script for distinguishing honeybees from bumbles, wasps, etc. And work out what you will tell people to do about their non-honeybee problem.

I think it is entirely reasonable in theory, but hard in practice, to charge people for calls when they have given false answers to your questions and someone has turned up to discover that they are not honeybees.
// The businesslike thing to do is to charge everybody - and not to turn out without prepayment - and then refund if it is a honeybee swarm.

It would be nice for the Swarm Officer to present a proper report at the end of the year (AGM?) detailing his work, the source (map) and destination (member names and number of swarms) of the bees taken.
Where there is mere hand waving rather than proper transparent accountability, there are the seeds from which resentment can grow.

 

[rockdoc]

I completely agree. I follow the questions suggested by the BBKA and find this, plus my own experience, filters out the bees from the bumbles. These questions have also been copied to our local council who have found them very useful when answering calls. The only time I was caught out this year was with a colony of tree bumbles that had taken up residence under a gutter on a three storey house. There were so many and so high that at first glance they looked like honey's. However, when I explained what they were and their life cycle, the lady of the house did offer and send a donation to our local association for my trouble. End result, happy bees and happy house owner!

 

[MuswellMetro]

I completely agree. I follow the questions suggested by the BBKA and find this, plus my own experience, filters out the bees from the bumbles. These questions have also been copied to our local council who have found them very useful when answering calls. The only time I was caught out this year was with a colony of tree bumbles that had taken up residence under a gutter on a three storey house. There were so many and so high that at first glance they looked like honey's. However, when I explained what they were and their life cycle, the lady of the house did offer and send a donation to our local association for my trouble. End result, happy bees and happy house owner!

Bumblessssssss, 25 calls on bumbles to 1 on Honeybees this year and drone Tree Bumbles can easily on telephone questioning of the house owner appear to be a honey bee colony

swarm ok, but beware of going too high, ten feet off the ground in a telephone call often turns in 30 feet up when on site

Cut outs, well I no longer do them but now pass them to a contacted , remember yuo are only insured by the BBKA to collect swarms NOT to OPEN UP ,roofs, wall and floors, biulders do that ( or you under THEIR insurance) then you remove only the bee colony (ie not the roof or floor)

There is a rumour that the BBKA insurance will be extended to cover relocation of bumbles in march 2014

and i had a question this year on bees, answers were, small number of bees, in soffit, no never seen a cloud of bees, never seen in winter or autumn....dont worry i said probably tree bumble bees......looked out of interest as i was passing, clouds of honey bees on verge of swarming ,well established in flat church hall roof

 

[peterbees]

Have a look at the C0nwy BKA website page on Nuisance Bees http://tinyurl.com/plz3vmc This includes useful info on different types of bees.
Scroll down to click on a list of beekeepers all over our area (north Wales)who can help with bee problems, including collecting swarms.
You will soon get fed up fielding calls from householders.
I put a message on my ansaphone referring callers to this website page, and that stopped nearly all the calls to me.
Callers could refer to the list and contact their nearest beekeeper. Note that the BBKA list of swarm collectors only covers England.

 

[Polyanwood]

It is a public service and some people are really grateful. When the swarm is low and the recipient is happy too, it all seems worthwhile. It takes longer than you think. It is best to go later in the evening, then you can avoid 2 trips to make sure you get the foragers.

The worst bit is all the phone calls. I got one last week about bees in a hole in a flowerbed. He would not have it that they weren't honey bees. Several times I had people shouting down the phone because they had a bumble in their bedroom. People want you to drop everything and come straight away because they have dogs or children or are frightened of insects. They are not always nice when you say you can't help with bumbles or wasps. I have found getting people to take a picture of the 'bees' and telling them if they are honey bees you will definitely come to get them works well.

The other thing is that on average, the swarms I collect are much more pingy and stingy than my bees. I keep them in a separate apiary. Good Luck.

 

[BeeNice]

We have 2 co-ordinators at Sheffield, any calls that come in goes out as a text to all on the swarm list, once answered, a message goes out to say someone is dealing with it. It works well. Although this year spent most of the time sorting out bumble bee inquiries, only had a few honey swarms. Last year was a different matter, ran out of equipment with so many swarms. What a different a year makes in beekeeping.