Why Idaho’s ‘Swarm Season’ Isn’t As Scary As You Think
I’ll never forget that scene in the movie ‘My Girl’ where Macaulay Culkin’s character tries to retrieve his girl’s favorite ring only to get wrecked by a whole mess of bees. In my mid-30s today, it’s not as scary but as a child, it was somewhat traumatizing. At the time, I couldn’t figure out why the kid from ‘Home Alone' didn’t have his trusty traps or wits to fend off the bee swarm. Now, we’re in the year 2022 and the way the public views bees are much different.
According to the Food Drug & Administration, bee pollination accounts for about $15 billion in added crop value and “are like flying dollar bills buzzing over U.S. crops.” We all know about their importance to the ecosystem and how essential the bee population is to the planet.
Now, I’m from Texas where bugs are as big as you can imagine but we don’t encounter too many issues with bees in particular (Texas had ‘murder hornets’). So, yesterday I was at a live broadcast we had for Boise Music Festival (had to plug it, what can I say?) and while meeting some amazing locals, I was shocked to learn that the Treasure Valley has a ‘swarm season.’
What is ‘swarm season’?
According to HonestBeekeeper.com, swarm season is typically between April and May… which means that we’re in the thick of it. The site says that the season is for bees to relocate and reproduce, leading to bees creating new hives all over the place.
I even came across a post on Reddit where a user named Timm0208 shares his “first trap” of the season. Now, all I can think about is little Macaulay Culkin’s encounter with the bees.
Here’s the dilemma most people deal with – do you “save” the bees and have them removed professionally? Do you wait for them to wrap up their business and take off? Or, do you become a villain to the ecosystem and take a flame thrower to a swarm? Hint: put the flamethrower down.
What do you do?
The obvious answer is to contact a bee removal service. With bees being so important to the ecosystem, the last thing we want to do is hurt our ecosystem. Here’s a list of bee removal services right here in the Treasure Valley:
- Treasure Valley Bee Rescue, Inc. – (208) 602-4881
- Located at 9706 W. Mossywood Dr. in Boise
- Idaho Free Honey Bee Rescue/Removal – (208) 982-8298
- Located at 972 W. Broadway Ave. in Meridian
- Boise Honey Bee Removal FREE – (208) 283-3615
- Located at 3892 Baja Way in Boise
- Idaho Honey Bee – (208) 899-9712
- Located at 6115 W. Russett St. in Boise
Or you can leave them… “bee”?
Apologies for the dad joke but this is one option if the bees aren’t causing any trouble for your home or pets. While honey bees aren’t typically aggressive, if they feel threatened or are provoked, they will be ready to throw down. When in doubt, call the experts.
Now, for the following creatures? Feel free to grab that flamethrower.