Bait Hive Wins again!

[harvey]

This makes four swarms collected in my bait hives this year.  All of these swarms are within a half mile of each other.  This one looks to be pretty good sized too.  I was going to pull the box this afternoon as the weather is lousy and I figured the bees would be in the house.  Had thunderstorms this morning and expecting more tonight.  The bees were working pretty hard though and was worried I would miss to many field bees so I will wait till after dark.  This year has been pretty good to me.  Now I have to learn to manage them so they don't all swarm on me next year!  I am still going to keep my two bait hives out for at least a few more weeks.  I have enough boxes now to add two more hives. 

[melliphile]

    Wow! That's great!  What are you using as a box? What do you use for lure?

[Grandma_DOG]

I'm glad someone else is having a great bait hive year as well. I've caught 5 this year using 10 field deployed traps. I even caught one swarm that went in a trap that was under my outside stairs waiting to be put up the next day.

I've made a few videos about bait hive traps and how to build them. Then one on how to transfer.

Traps
Beekeeping 101 - Swarm Traps and Bait Hives | LearningBeekeeping

Building traps
Advanced Beekeeping - How to build a Bait Hive / Swarm Trap | LearningBeekeeping

Transferring traps to Hive bodies
Beekeeping - Extracting a Hive from a Swarm Trap | LearningBeekeeping

[harvey]

I only have two that I am using.  Basically I took the measurements from a Dadent deep.  Built the box out of pine.  screwed a 3/8 inch piece of plywood on for a bottom and cut another piece for the top.  I put in one old drawn out frame.  nine frames that are foundationless with starter strips.  I bought a small bottle of lemon grass oil.  I put a few drops on the inside of the box, a couple drops on one of the frames and few drops on the front of the box near the entrance.  The entrance is about four inches long by about a half inch in the front on the bottom.   I use cargo straps around the box and tie a rope to the top.  I also tie a rope to the bottom.  I throw the rope over a limb and hoist it up about 15 feet in air.  Tie off that rope.  Then I pull the other rope tight to prevent the box from swinging in the breeze or lately storms,  When I bring them home I just staple a piece of screen over the opening.  Then once home i set the hive next to where it will remain permanent and pull the screen back off.  The next day unscrew the top and transfer the frames into the new hive and set the trap up again.  Funny these swarms I have gotten so far are by passing the two three pound packages that I bought to start this year.  I started a nuc to but cant compare as the queen ended up missing and they are replacing her! 

[skflyfish]

Congrats.

I am zero for 3 traps, but my budget could not handle more hives. I thought 1 hive would be nice. Now I am at 10 and counting. :-D

I can see you scanning Ebay for a bee-lining box, so you can find the mother nest(s).  ;)

Jay

[TwoHoneys]

Thanks for the videos, Grandma_DOG. I watched all three. Now I'm eager to build a few traps over the summer and catch a few swarms in the spring.

Liz

[harvey]

I was thinking that maybe in February or March I would be able to locate it by circling trees and looking for either dead bees or yellow spots in the snow!  Course If I find it or them I am going to leave them alone.  Just figure I know where to put the bait hives.  Big question now is how many hives I want to try and play with.  At first I thought 3 or 5, now have seven with enough boxes to go to nine.  I could see next year maybe going to 12 or 20? :) not sure why though.  I would like some honey for me and my friends, not sure I want the trouble of selling?  Course I know a lot of people lined up to buy raw honey.   I think it would be an easy sell.

[Grandma_DOG]

Winter!  Swarm trap building is a winter job.   There's much beeking that should be done in summer, I don't waste time building traps. But do look for spare wood and ideal locations throughout the year.

My plan has been to hang traps and leave them up all year. I only visit in February to get them ready for spring. Why make more effort to remove and store only to have to move and reposition?

Thanks for the videos, Grandma_DOG. I watched all three. Now I'm eager to build a few traps over the summer and catch a few swarms in the spring.

Liz

[dp]

Checked one of my traps today....lots of bees coming and going.  Go back at dark...nothing?  Did I have a swarm that left?  Do I have bees just checking things out?  I bet there were 10-20 bees coming and going at any one time, so it was a lot of bees, not just a bee or two checking it out?   :-x

[Titus]

Maybe they were all in the box for the night.  Did you tap on it or hear anything inside?   Out of 5 traps, I caught one swarm this year.  I put the trap right next to where a ferrel hive lived in a tree that broke in half during a storm and died out or left.

[TwoHoneys]

Winter!  Swarm trap building is a winter job.   There's much beeking that should be done in summer, I don't waste time building traps.

I meant winter. It doesn't matter, though...I'm never gonna have any honey anyway at the rate my hives swarm, so there's not much for me to do during the summer other than read about bees and plot and plan and wait for next year and hope to manage my hives better.

[TheMasonicHive]

I'm confused about something. I'd really like to make bait hives for next years bees, but I have NO idea how to build them.

Sounds like you have to completely shut the bottom of a deep box?  Where is the entrance?

I'm confused!

[TheMasonicHive]

Disregard, watching the videos carefully!  Very excited to build them!

[luvin honey]

I got a free white styrofoam cooler at work this year, put in a baggie with cottonballs soaked with lemongrass oil, then put topbars along the top of the cooler, some with old comb, some empty. Does this sound like a good plan? I then tightly covered and duct taped the lid onto the base.

However, my family that agreed to put the cooler up in a treestand right near an ENORMOUS and really OLD feral hive in a bluff crack (I would really love these genetics--can you tell? :)) neglected to mention the stand was owned by someone else. The hunters came to check their stands recently, saw this weird white box in the stand, took it down and tore it apart. Grrrrr!!!

Otherwise, does it sound like a good plan? And, Harvey, congratulations again! I would be buying these from you if we lived closer :) (well, if you were selling...)

[harvey]

Not sure how a cooler would work?  This is my first year trying bait hives.  I just made mine out of pine.  I don't know if the bees would like or accept styrofoam? Can't hurt to try though, I think you can pick them coolers up pretty cheap at wallmart or K-mart.  Sure would be a lot lighter carrying around!!  DP  in regards to the bees in the box?  I had one bait hive which looked to have a few dozen bees storming it around noon.  I waited a couple days and went back at night to bring it home.  It was empty?  I think a swarm or a swarms scout bees were checking it out but decided on someplace else.  When I do have a swarm in them I don't have to look in the box.  Even after dark the outside of the entrance is covered in bees.  There is no question.  I have also noticed that most of the times when I am hoisting the bait hive up in the trees, by the time I get the box tied off there are five or six bees flying around it.  I don't know where they come from and all it means is that they can smell it.  Not that there is a swarm in the area.  I have noticed that when I have actually caught a swarm they are real busy,  just like my full blown hives,  They work like crazy when the first start setting up home.  And again at night they are always around the entrance on the outside.  Then I know to put a screen over the entrance and bring them on home.   

[danno]

good job Harvey.   As for you empty trap what i do is leave the trap out even when I see bee's going in and wait until I see them bringing in pollen.