trapping

danno · April 20, 2012, 09:24:15 AM

I assembled 20 swarm traps yesterday. Get them up this weekend and start filling them next week. With pass trapping odds I would guess 15 or 16 will make catches

beyondthesidewalks · April 20, 2012, 09:31:37 AM

Good luck with it. So far in my area, swarm season has been very slow. We've had plenty of rain but few if any swarms. Holding out for some.

CBEE · April 20, 2012, 09:34:35 AM

Thats a passel of swarms :-D Good for backfilling the yard if you have a bad winter with a lot of dead outs. If thats the average how many do you keep or do you sell some off ?

danno · April 20, 2012, 10:04:51 AM

Quote from: CBEE on April 20, 2012, 09:34:35 AM
Thats a passel of swarms :-D Good for backfilling the yard if you have a bad winter with a lot of dead outs. If thats the average how many do you keep or do you sell some off ?

I have sold some in the past but keep most. They usually replace deadouts but this year I only had 4 or less the 10%. I will start 1 or 2 more yards this year so have plenty of room for all I can get.

Joe D · April 20, 2012, 10:17:34 AM

I have seen 5 swarms so far and caught 3.

forrestcav · April 20, 2012, 12:04:23 PM

are these from your yards or just random placements?

danno · April 20, 2012, 01:05:22 PM

I always hang a trap or 2 near my yards but most are random. Funny thing is I quit marking queens 5 or 6 years ago but while I did I never caught a swarm with a marked on.

beyondthesidewalks · April 20, 2012, 01:20:41 PM

I always try to put mine near:

1) Where I have successfully trapped a swarm before
2) Where I have caught a swarm before
3) Where I have done a cutout before
4) Where I know there's a feral hive

My thinking is that I want to catch swarms where I know they have happened in the past. I've read and heard that it helps to put them along creeks and rivers and also along east-west right of ways. I don't know how true that is. My thought is that where bees will swarm is very random as most things with bees tend to be.

danno · April 20, 2012, 02:39:20 PM

I use the same spots year after year and in fact in a few I have built perminent shelves in the trees to set traps on.

forrestcav · April 20, 2012, 03:39:42 PM

I had heard bees will often swarm to the same spot year after year. This is my second year for me and my hive, kinda figuring on a swarm from it. I built one trap and placed it facing east with foundation and LGO in it. I've got five more boxes built and painted. I just need to decide where to hang them. I don't see many feral hives around here, but would like to trap some.

beyondthesidewalks · April 20, 2012, 04:02:11 PM

I've always used "permanent" shelves for my traps. Whenever I find one has succeeded I always bring another to take it's place. You'd be surprised that the same spot will catch a few swarms a season. I mount the shelf level so that my foundationless frames work out for me. Here are some pics of some of mine:

http://s972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/beyondthesidewalks/2012%20Swarm%20Traps/

vmmartin · April 21, 2012, 11:20:04 AM

Quote from: forrestcav on April 20, 2012, 03:39:42 PMI built one trap and placed it facing east with foundation and LGO in it.

My limited experience with a few traps last year was very poor. I had placed foundation in the trap as you have. This year, I put empty frames with only a little wax and propolis in the trap and so far I have caught two swarms in two traps in three weeks.

CapnChkn · April 22, 2012, 12:02:44 AM

I've been out running my trap line, I've been trying to pick spots where there are lots of woods hoping I'm getting feral swarms. So far out of 7 traps I've caught 2. Funny thing is I spent years wishing I had bees, being raised with them, and never knew it would be as easy to catch them as I have been doing!

Of course my idea was to put them on the porch to keep the neighborhoodlums out of my yard...

I've got them all in tick infested, no trains, spots where briars keep ripping me up and I surprise deer and turkeys. So far the spots without any sun getting in are ignored, on the treeline are catching them about ten to 13 feet up. I've been tossing a rope with a rock on the end over a branch, tight enough they don't spin around, and if I see enough activity I lower them to the ground to come back in the dark and screen them in.

tefer2 · April 22, 2012, 11:15:47 AM

My trapping season doesn't really start until the local guys bring their bees up from down south. Last year I ran out of equipment after one week of it. I noticed this morning that he droped a 100 in his favorite spot.
Let the fun begin! :devilbanana: