Gauteng Smallholder November 2015 | Page 20

BEEKEEPING The tribulations of bee removals W ith Gauteng's bee swarms on the move at the onset of summer, beekeepers have been kept busy over the last few weeks catching and removing swarms that have chosen the “wrong” place to set up their new homes. However, life is often not made easier for the bee removal expert by the dangerous and often unsuccessful attempt by homeowners to do the job themselves first. One bee removal expert comments, “One cannot believe the mess people leave to a poor old beekeeper to fix up after they have tried to sort out the bees themselves. “They expect you to wave a magic wand and t Z