Bees are vital to our environment, helping pollinate plants and sustain our ecosystem. This page provides guidance on understanding bee behaviour, reporting bee issues, and the regulations surrounding beekeeping.
Swarming is a natural way bees reproduce and expand their colonies. Swarms usually emerge in spring or during warm weather. They cluster together to safeguard the queen while scout bees search for a new home.
Swarms are generally harmless if left undisturbed. Typically, they'll move on to find a new location, especially if the weather remains clear.
If you encounter a swarm:
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Avoid actions that might provoke the swarm: don't hose, pelt with rocks, or use smoke
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Ensure children and pets are kept at a safe distance
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Steer clear of the swarm's immediate vicinity
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Wear suitable footwear to avoid bee stings on the feet.
Australia is home to 2,000 species of native bees, with 800 endemic to Western Australia. These bees play a vital role as pollinators, ensuring the reproduction of many native plants. However, the familiar European Honeybee, introduced to Australia, can disrupt this delicate balance.
European Honeybees can display aggressive behaviour if they feel their hive is threatened and deliver a painful sting. While bee sting deaths are rare, bees cause more hospitalisations than any other venomous creature. When a hive is threatened, the honeybee sting releases a pheromone that rallies other bees to attack the threat. Luckily, most people retreat before receiving a fatal dose. Unlike other bees, honeybees leave their barbed stingers behind after stinging, causing a fatal injury to themselves but ensuring maximum delivery of venom.
While important for agriculture, European Honeybees compete with native bees for food and nesting sites like hollows in trees. This competition, combined with shrinking natural habitats, puts additional pressure on native fauna that rely on these hollows, such as black cockatoos, ducks, bats, and possums. Cockburn treats unmanaged European Honeybee hives found in bushland reserves as feral.
To safeguard native species and if the bees pose a safety risk to the community, whenever possible the hives are relocated, otherwise qualified personnel treat them on-site, prioritising the conservation of vital habitat for our native wildlife.
If there's a beehive on private property, it's the responsibility of the owner or tenant. However, there is a process to report and handle beehives located on council-managed land.
Reporting hives on council-owned land
If you encounter a beehive on council-managed land, contact the City’s Parks Services team at 08 9411 3444 or email [email protected].
Complaints about bees on private property
If a hive or swarm on private land causes issues, it might be considered a nuisance.
Try to raise your concern with the property owner first. If the problem persists, you can make a complaint to the City by completing the Submit a Request Form. Attach an accurate record of events to your request.
Your complaint will be assessed according to the nature of the problem, how often it has occurred, and the views of other people affected.
Keeping bees can be a rewarding hobby, but it comes with responsibilities to ensure both human and bee safety.
Approval to keep beehives
Residents may be approved to keep up to two beehives on a residential lot subject to conditions.
On non-residential land, residents can keep more than two beehives with the necessary approval.
For more information about approval to keep beehives, call the City’s Health Services (contact details below).
Beekeeping guidelines
After receiving approval, beekeepers must adhere to the following:
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Position the hive outdoors, at least 10 metres from any structure apart from a fence
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Place the hive a minimum of 10 metres from public spaces like footpaths or streets
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The hive should be at least five metres from the lot's boundary
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Enclose the hive on all sides with a fence, wall, or other barrier
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Provide a constant water source for the bees.
For more information about bees and beekeeping contact the City’s Health Services team on 08 9411 3444 or email [email protected].