OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Division of Plant Industry –
Apiculture 8995 East Main Street Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068-3399
“SWARM PREVENTION AND CONTROL” When honey bees swarm it is a
natural process where the colonies divide. In essence, it is
nature’s way of trying to increase bee colony populations.
Beekeepers can not stop all swarming. However, swarm prevention
should be incorporated info a beekeeper’s management program, if
he/she is interested in obtaining a good honey crop. The
following are some things that can be done to reduce swarming. -
Colonies should be requeened every 2 to 3 years. This can be
done in the spring, fall, after a honey flow or as conditions
dictate. - Clipping the wings on a new queen is another attempt
to prevent swarming. This procedure slows down swarming, but may
resutt in the colony swarming anyway with a virgin queen. -
Reversing the hive bodies in the spring results in having an
empty hive body being placed above the brood chamber, thus
providing more room for queen laying,