I need to build some swarm traps pretty soon. I have plans for traps that are the size of a 5-frame nuc. That seems to be too small for a good size swarm to want to move into(ie no room for potential colony growth). A trap the size of a brood box would be pretty awkward to handle. Last year I built a few boxes slightly narrower than a brood box and scouts showed interest in them but no swarms ever moved in. What is the most successful size swarm trap?
Take your 5 frame plan make them and stack so you have 10
I myself have been thinking the 5 frame looks small
I built Dcoates plans and left the bottom off one
I just put 2 small pieces of wood to keep it square
Then screwed together
I don't have it here or I'd take a picture for you
Good luck
Tommyt
But on the flip side of the coin, I caught a couple of swarms in five frame mediums last year. Ive got both hung right now-deeps and mediums, only time will tell.
Thanks for the ideas! I like the idea of stacking two 5-frame boxes. That way after swarm season, I can convert them back to regular nucs.
Lemongrass essential oil stacks the deck more than size, but a ten frame deep (or two eight frame mediums) is about the right volume to be optimal for attracting a swarm. I've had good luck, though with five frame deeps and single eight frame mediums.
Here are some tips......
10 things to consider for swarm trap success
Honey Bees.....
* prefer a swarm trap (colony location) about 8 to 15 feet off the ground.
* will disregard a trap with light coming in from above.
* prefer a trap equivalent to a cavity size slightly larger than a deep brood
box.
* will select sites in the afternoon shade. They may abandon a site within a
few days if in full sun and heat is an issue.
* prefer bait hives with entrances facing south.
* prefer a entrance towards the bottom of the cavity.
* prefer a unobstructed flight path from the entrance.
* will not take up residence in a bait hive that has other insects in them.
Keep them free of wasps, yellow jackets, etc.
* prefer a bait hive that is dry.
* prefer a previously used site that has a honey bee smell of old comb, or
one that has baited with bee scent.
I have yet to actually catch any swarms, but I have built some bait hives. I worried myself over the size of the cavity until I just decided if the things didn't catch a swarm, I would have a whole bunch of ugly wooden boxes laying around without being used. I'm using the Dcoates 5 frame Nuc design.
Bjorn, I have been trying to get some bees to notice my swarm traps. They seem to be attracting:
- Wasps
- Mice
- Some bees around what I realized now is the old Honey House
- And Roaches.
I can understand keeping the Wasps and Mice out, but will the Roaches make all the fastidious bees go "ewww!" and go look for a different place? They don't seem to want to get in the comb, these are a smaller version of what we used to call "Palmetto bugs" down in Florida. They seem to be hanging out on the bottom board, enjoying the dark.
I've used Coates-style nucs as traps before to no avail. This year, I am trying the same but with a medium super added. I plan to set some out with a deep super added.
Has anyone ever experimented with using a nuc plus a medium super vs a nuc plus a deep super? If so, what are/were your results? Recommendations?
Thanks.
-James Wagner
I hang medium dcoats nucs and catch a lot.
Bailey
Last year I put out a pair of swarm traps in 11 different locations. Each location had a 20 litre and 30 litre volume trap within 2 feet of each other. I caught 9 swarms in these locations and 8 out of the 9 chose the 30 litre trap.
http://beevac.com/swarm-traps/ (http://beevac.com/swarm-traps/)