Don't let your hive get too full of bees!


The East Bay has a particularly long swarm season. Swarm prevention begins in February and continues through June. Be prepared!

This class shows you how to keep ahead of your bees’ expansion and keep their broodnest open, so they don’t swarm. We'll dive into bee biology and the natural urge for the bees to reproduce (swarm). Lastly, we’ll cover how to catch a swarm. 

We will touch upon splitting your hive in this class but not go into the details/how-to. We highly recommend you also take a class on Splitting Your Hive, as that is an effective way of keeping your hive from swarming especially with overwintered hives.

Why Don't You Want Your Hive to Swarm?



If your hive swarms, a football size bunch of bees will land on a tree in your yard or your neighbor's yard. This will happen 2-3 times in a course of 2 weeks. 

Keep neighbors happy and keep your bees in your hive.

Splitting your hive is good way to have the bees multiply (that's their goal when swarming), but in a calmer way for an urban area with close neighbors.

Self Study Course Includes over 2.5 Hours of Video Lecture by Jennifer Radtke




  Swarm Prevention Video Lecture
Available in days
days after you enroll
  How to Catch a Swarm
Available in days
days after you enroll

Choose a Pricing Option

Instructor: Jennifer Radtke



Jennifer Radtke has been keeping bees in her backyard for 20 years, and has developed the beekeeping education program at the BioFuel Oasis Cooperative. She keeps up with her bees’ growth in early spring and splits her hives every year around April 1st (& sometimes a second time at the end of May). Her bees have swarmed about once in 10+ years.