Caught same swarm 3 times and still absconded!

[jdesq]

I've caught 9 swarms this past 3 weeks, but 1 swarm will not stay in the box. 3 times I've caught it and 3 times it has left and returned to the tree near by. Tomorrow I am going back out there with a different super and frames and will see what happens. Any one ever have this problem? I hate to lose 1 but may give up on it soon.

[AllenF]

Find that queen and trap her.   If anything cage her with wire mesh on a frame of comb. 

[Joe D]

maybe time to put a queen excluder on the bottom of brood box, at least until they start building up.  You keep the queen and the rest will stay.  Nope never have run in to that  "yet".  Good luck

Joe

[BlueBee]

Wow.  Never had one leave 3 times, you're lucky (I guess) to keep catching them. 

I usually add a frame of brood into a hive before dumping a swarm in; seems to help make them think this is a nice new home. 

Could it be that your hive is too big (or too small) for this contrary swarm?

[Blackwater Bee]

I've caught 9 swarms this past 3 weeks, but 1 swarm will not stay in the box. 3 times I've caught it and 3 times it has left and returned to the tree near by. Tomorrow I am going back out there with a different super and frames and will see what happens. Any one ever have this problem? I hate to lose 1 but may give up on it soon.

The Queen does not like the color of her House  :evil:


What Joe D said  :-D

[D Coates]

I've caught 9 swarms this past 3 weeks, but 1 swarm will not stay in the box. 3 times I've caught it and 3 times it has left and returned to the tree near by. Tomorrow I am going back out there with a different super and frames and will see what happens. Any one ever have this problem? I hate to lose 1 but may give up on it soon.

Did you have a frame of open brood in there?  I've never lost one when I put a frame of open brood in there.  Before I started doing it consistently I lost 3 of 10.  I was sick of putting in all of that effort to lose them.  Landed 9 so far this year with 2 being yesterday.  The one that tried to reissue this year was in a new nuc with drawn but empty comb.  It was too cold to get a frame of open brood in the morning so I went back at lunch to put the open brood in there.  There they were a foot away clustered and ready to leave.  Put the frame of brood in the nuc and shook them back in.  They marched in with great vigor.  I went back that night and hauled them all off.