Got a question on trapout. Read your how to Iddee.
My question is... #1. I don't have a frame of brood/eggs to spare. Is trapout still possible?
#2. I was thinking if not, can I still "cone" the entrance, let the bees beard around the entrance,
and every evening I can drive over and vacuum some bees. Then I can actually use those
bees and combine them with my weak colony that I have.
If #2 is possible, about how long enough I can empty the hive of most bees? 3-5 wks?
Use the weak hive on the trap until it is full of bees, then take a frame of eggs from it for the next box. It can spare them if it has another 3 lb. of bees added to it.
I'm doing a trap out that I've been experimenting on. I chose not to give them a frame of brood (had a hive beetle disaster with that a while back). Instead, I started the trap and once the trap hive had enough bees in it I grafted 6 queen cells into it. It worked like a dream! Tomorrow evening I plan to bring the trap to an out yard and make some other splits (4 of the 6 grafts took). If there are still a lot of exiting bees (haven't been able to check for two days) I'll leave a trap nuc with a ripe queen cell in it...cells are due to emerge on Friday.
Scott
Hardwood, so the bees would march in after dark just for shelter because they cannot enter their own hive?
Lemon grass oil inside this experimental hive trap?
I put a frame of drawn comb with a couple of drops of lemon grass oil and 9 undrawn foundationless frames...seems to work.
Scott