Swarm Control short course

We will explore why honeybees swarm, and how beekeepers can detect, manage and control this swarming. We will compare and practice all of the main swarm control methods - Pagden, Demaree, vertical split, shook swarm, nuc making, etc. We aim to give students a deeper understanding of the honeybee behaviour behind swarming, and a good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the commonly encountered swarm control and prevention methods. The course is classroom-based and does not use live colonies - however this allows us to step through various methods, pausing, repeating, or undoing specific manipulations without concerns of distress to colonies, concentrating on the principles and method in question.

Course tutors are Ken Basterfield, NDB and Dan Basterfield, NDB.

Instructions and venue information

Joining instructions with course outline, what to bring, and venue information will be sent to students upon booking.

Target Audience

Our Short Courses can provide valuable discussion, learning, and hands-on experience for those planning to take the BBKA Assessments above Basic level. The Short Courses are aimed at those beekeepers with some experience of the craft; they are not aimed at novices. We recommend that applicants have kept bees for at least 3 seasons.

Cancellation Policy

We reserve the right to reschedule or cancel advertised courses. Should this be necessary then you will be given the option of a refund or a transfer to another course/date. We will give as much notice as possible, but regret that we cannot be responsible for any other costs such as those relating to travel or accommodation that might result from this.

Students who have booked on courses may cancel and receive a full refund if notice of cancellation is received at least four weeks before the course start date. If notice of cancellation is received less than four weeks before the course start date, refunds will only be issued if the cancelled place(s) can be re-sold.

If a course has to be cancelled at any point due to government restrictions relating to COVID-19 we will refund course bookings in full. 

A course booking indicates an acceptance of this cancellation policy.