Welcome back to the Bee Sanctuary! Today we’re out in Benoni for what looked like a textbook “easy” removal. A small swarm landed here about two weeks ago, choosing a rather classy spot for their new home: the hollow base of a garden water fountain.

The space was about 30cm in diameter and 40cm high—perfect for a starting colony, but not so big that we expected a massive, multi-day operation.

The Plan: Slow and Steady

When bees are tucked into a hollow pedestal like this, they usually attach their comb to the underside of the top “cap.”

Our Strategy:

• The Lift: We carefully removed the top block of the fountain to expose the cavity.
• Containment: The goal was to keep them all inside. In a confined space like this, if you aren’t careful, the bees will scramble into every little nook and cranny to hide from the vacuum.
• The Vacuum: We turned on the bee vac and slowly worked our way down, vacuuming small clusters at a time to ensure a thorough job without harming the ladies.

The Surprise: Small Space, Strong Start

Even though they had only been there for a fortnight, these bees had been busy! As we cleared the top layers, we revealed quite a bit of brood (baby bees) already established.

Seeing that much brood straight off the bat is a great sign. It tells us that despite the small size of the hive, this is a strong, healthy colony that is going to thrive once we get them into a proper hive box.

The Cleanup: Leave No Trace

One of the most important parts of a removal is the “final sweep.”

1. The Perimeter Check: We did a full 360-degree check of the fountain and the surrounding garden. Not a single bee was left wandering the outside, which is exactly how we like it.
2. Scraping the Edges: We spent a few extra minutes cleaning out the small bits of wax and comb stuck to the inner edges of the fountain base. If you leave that behind, the smell can actually attract a new swarm to the same spot in a few months!
3. The “Upside Down” Test: We even tipped the base over just to be 100% sure we hadn’t missed a single straggler in the shadows.

Mission Accomplished

This was definitely one of the smoother removals we’ve done lately. The bees stayed contained, the comb was fresh, and we got the whole family safely into the transport box for their journey to the apiary.

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Quick Question: Have you ever seen bees move into something unusual in your garden? From birdhouses to old flower pots, they love a good hollow space! Let us know your weirdest find in the comments.

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