Not everyone would be happy to stand in the middle of about 30,000 bees, me on the other hand wouldn't bat an eyelid.
I have a swarm of bees - help!
First thing - If they are indeed honey bees you're in luck as they are NOT DANGEROUS as long as they are not provoked. One of the reasons I can say they are not dangerous as a swarm is just prior to leaving the old hive each bee will have eaten as much honey as it can in order to quickly fill emergency wax cells in the new hive with this honey. Once a bee has eaten this much honey it actually makes it very difficult for the bee to extend it's body enough to actually sting.
This said a bee will endure the discomfort in order to sting if it feels the swarm is in danger.
KEEP ALL CHILDREN AND PETS AWAY FROM THE BEES - IF THE BEES ARE PROVOKED THEN YOU COULD HAVE A HIGHLY DANGEROUS SITUATION TO DEAL WITH.
CHILDREN ESPECIALLY TEENAGERS FIND IT AMUSING TO THROW STONES AT THE BEES - DON'T ALLOW THIS OR YOU COULD BE DEALING WITH SEVERAL THOUSAND VERY ANGRY BEES.
REMEMBER BEES WILL ONLY STING WHEN PROVOKED OR TO PROTECT THE COLONY ESPECIALLY THE QUEEN.
Honey bees swarming is their way of ensuring their survival, when conditions in the hive become too overcrowded, too hot or the bees perceive the hives current position is unsuitable for whatever reason the bees rear a new queen and just before she emerges the old queen and up to half the workers leave to look for a new site to build a new hive (this is known as swarming).
When a huge number of bees decide to land and cluster together from a branch of a tree in your garden or hang from the underneath of your garden table LEAVE THEM ALONE.
Chances are the queen needs a rest and where the queen lands so do the other 10,000 -20,000 bees with her.
KEEP CHILDREN AND DOGS AWAY FROM THE BEES.
If after a few hours the bees have not moved on then you can contact your local council or local police station who will have the number of a local beekeeper who will be happy to come and assess the situation and possibly safely remove the bees.
What to do if stung by a bee.
If a bee stings you remain calm and remove the stinger as quickly as you can use your fingernail or an object like a bank card. Scrape from under the site of the sting, do not grab the stinger with your fingers to try and remove it. You will only force more venom into you. It is important to remove the stinger as quickly as possible as the bee that has stung you has left a muscle that continues to pump venom into you as well as sends out a warning scent to other bees to sting at the same spot and if not removed quickly more and more bees will sting you.
Chances are you will not have a smoker nearby so if you can quickly move away from the nearby bees, preferably indoors even after you have removed the stinger. This will give the bees time to calm back down.
This is why it is extremely dangerous to allow children to throw stones at a swarm of bees as 1 sting will soon become 10 then 40 if a bee sting is left in place.
If after being stung you begin to feel unwell or find it hard to breathe then without hesitation you need to dial 999 and ask for an ambulance - tell the operator your location and you have received a bee sting or stings and are now feeling unwell. They will send an ambulance immediately as you could be suffering from an life threatening allergic reaction to the bee sting.
It is not unknown for an Air Ambulance to be dispatched as time is critical in dealing with an allergic reaction from a bee sting.
Many beekeepers, myself included carry an epi-pen auto injector in case we develop an allergy to the bee stings.
