Who to call when you find bees in your home in Singapore

Most certainly not pest control! We have a shrinking population of native bees in Singapore and we need to protect them. While they might seem scary in a big swarm, don’t let it intimidate you and your family members, because they will not sting anyone unless they feel threatened. They are important pollinators in Singapore and it breaks my heart each time I hear about pest control companies killing bees.

There is a humane, constructive, and gratifying solution to this. Get in touch with the following parties if you require bee removal services:

1. Xavier Tan of Nutrinest – Xavier has been relocating bees in Singapore for several years now, and is highly experienced when it comes to bee removal. He also runs education programmes at The Ashram in Sembawang to raise awareness on the need to conserve bees. He can be contacted at 91474065.
2. Clarence Chua of The Sundowner – Clarence rescues bees and rehomes them to The Sundowner, located at Siglap, and organises events for people to experience a bee hive up close and learn more about bees. Whatsapp Clarence at 96177164 to get in touch.
3. John Chong of Bee Amazed Garden (above photo) – John runs a bee education centre at Singapore University of Social Sciences in Clementi. He runs education workshops and tries to spread the love for bees. Contact him at 96696370.

Unfortunately for me, termites took over my apiary, and a pest control company had to treat the wood for me (my area has historically been termite territory, Rentokil’s van is on my street very often, and I wonder why they don’t co-ordinate home visits so they can visit the whole street on the same day). As bees are very fussy when it comes to sanitation, it’s unlikely for them to move in to spaces which have been inhabited by other insects, they also stay away from chemicals.

There’s a lot to learn about bees, I’ve heard from the folks at Edible Gardens that our local bees are not as productive as bees in colder climates because they don’t have to store food for winter. More on this topic soon!