Central Iowa Honey Bee Swarm Rescue

If you come across a swarm of bees, please contact me. I rescue swarms all over Central Iowa. Feel free to use the form on my contact page, call or text at (515) 520-2433, or you can reach me by email at: brian@bloodmoneyhoney.com.
If you can, snap a picture of the swarm and send that with your text or email.

I get this question a lot. Simply put, when a colony of bees grows to a point where it needs more space, a queen and half of the bees will leave their hive to find a new one. They usually settle in a ball on a tree branch, bush, or fence, really anywhere, and hang out for a day or two. That's how most people will encounter a swarm. Swarming is part of a honey bee colony's natural reproductive cycle.

I service pretty much all of Central Iowa, including Boone, Hamilton, Hardin, Jasper, Marshall, Polk, and Story Counties. That includes the towns of Ames, Ankeny, Boone, Des Moines, Gilbert, Huxley, Kelley, Luther, Madrid, Nevada, Roland, Slater, Story City, and other central Iowa locales. I also know a lot of beekeepers, so if I can’t help you I can guide you to someone who can.

If you encounter a swarm of bees, I will attempt to catch it and take the bees to one of my apiaries. What this often looks like is me shaking the ball of bees into a box and carting them away (see video below). Be assured, if you find a swarm and I catch it, those bees will go to a wonderful apiary where they will live, thrive, and survive. All of my apiaries are rich in resources. My bees do very well.

A swarm of honey bees is an amazing thing, but it can be a scary sight to see. Be not afraid! Honey bees are often at their most docile when they swarm. They fill up on honey before they swarm, so they're stuffed with honey and just care about getting to their new home. This is why you can often find pictures or videos of people picking up handfuls of bees from a swarm. The bees don't really care about you, just getting to their new home.

Yes, home, but that swarm's new home may be in the wall of your house, in a soffit, roof, or nearby garage or barn, or anywhere else human beings make structures (in addition to trees and such). At that point they can become a problem for the homeowner. This is why it's a good idea to call someone like me if you see a ball of bees, instead of letting them go on their way and into someone's wall.

If you have bees in your home or barn or other location, feel free to message me about that. I can help inform you about doing a cutout (opening up the wall to remove the bees) or a trap-out (setting up a trap to get them out without cutting into your wall). This is a paid service and it can be expensive. Feel free to contact me for more information.

Yes! Sometimes honey bees swarm to the same location multiple times over multiple years. If you’ve seen a swarm at your property or elsewhere, please let me know. I can put out what we call a bait hive or swarm trap to try to lure a swarm. And if I catch bees on your property, you get free honey from me as a reward! Pretty sweet deal, huh?

Swarming most often occurs in the late Spring and early Summer while resources are plentiful. I find that swarm calls in the late summer or early fall are usually not about swarms but about wasps. Like bees, wasps are natural pollinators and they are beneficial to the environment. If you would like those wasps removed please contact a pest control service.