Swarm Rescue Information and Guidelines

Before proceeding, please note that swarm rescue is entirely at the risk of the parties involved.By engaging anyone from the swarm list, or by requesting that you be included on the list, you are agreeing to indemnify the Rhode Island Beekeepers Association for any claims that might arise from anything you might do in connection with a swarm rescue.Some members of the Rhode Island Beekeepers Association are available to help anyone else catch and hive honeybee swarms.Please note that the members whose names are on the swarm list have asked to be included. While the list is maintained by Rhode Island Beekeepers Association as a service to the community, including local police and fire departments pest management companies, and to help non-members become familiar and comfortable with bees and beekeeping, Rhode Island Beekeepers Association does not recommend or endorse any particular person for any particular job, or for the swarm rescue in general.Rhode Island Beekeepers Association Members included on this list have met the following three criteria as per Rhode Island Beekeepers Association Policy:

1. They have been a Rhode Island Beekeepers Association member in good standing for at least two years;
2. They have kept bees for at least two years;
3. They have some experience catching swarms.

If you wish to be included on the swarm list, please reference the three criteria above, then send your request to the RI Beekeepers Association, PO Box 61, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, 02818. Any complaints brought against any member on the swarm list will be reviewed by the Executive Board, which shall have the authority to suspend said member from the Swarm List for up to two years.

Swarm List

Names marked by an asterisk (*) have notified the Association that they are also able to remove colonies from structures such as houses, barns, sheds, etc., where the colony is not simply a swarm, but an established brood-rearing colony. Usually, some construction expertise is required to accomplish this. All construction costs will be subject to a separate agreement between the owner and the person removing the colony.