Are you one of those people who absolutely loves bees? Are you interested in learning about bee swarms and find bee hives fascinating? Ever think about keeping a hive in your yard someday? If so, you may be wondering how to get started with a swarm of your own.

Over the years many of our customers have asked for information on how to get started with backyard beekeeping. Often they want to know if we give away swarms or hives to hobbyist beekeepers.

Most of the swarms we remove live end up at the bee clinic. The bee clinic was created by Hive Savers, a Southern California co-op network dedicated to saving the bees. That being said, every now and then we will donate a swarm or two, to the right candidate. We don’t just give swarms away to anyone who asks. For safety reasons, we only donate swarms to beekeepers who meet certain criteria.

So what are the criteria we require before we donate a swarm?

1. The recipient must be a member of the San Diego Beekeeping Society. If you are going to keep bees, you need a support system where you can find answers. For only $20 a year, you can join the beekeeping society online and speak with other beekeepers about the best practices of beekeeping. In addition to the online message boards, the society also meets once a month at Balboa Park.

2. The recipient must sign a waiver. The waiver states that the recipient will comply with all city or county beekeeping laws. Every city has different laws regarding beekeeping. There are laws regarding the amount of space that is required and the number of hives allowed. Certain homes near hospitals or schools may not be zoned for beekeeping. The waiver also states that the hives will be managed and re-queened. We donate wild bee swarms. About 70% of the wild bees in San Diego are africanized. Your swarm will need to be re-queened. Remember: Keeping bees is a liability. You can get in trouble for keeping an unregistered hive illegally.

3. The recipient will have a proper setup where the bees can be housed safely. We can’t bring you bees if you don’t have a place to put them. Recipients of bees will need more than just a hive box and a smoker. Proper protective equipment (a bee suit, gloves, and veil) is mandatory. Beekeeping can be an expensive hobby. For a basic starter kit, we recommend you check out Bee Happy Beekeeping Supply in North Park.

So there you have it. The three things any recipient must have in order to receive bees.

You should also know there are other ways to attain a swarm. You can actually purchase swarms and queens online. The benefit of purchasing packaged bees is that they are genetically more docile than wild bees.

For more information on where to buy packaged bees, just Google the term “packaged bees”.