Joe's Swarm Bucket

[naturebee]

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John F Writes:
Joe,
Describe the bucket and how you typically use it. Give it a subject line of "Joe's Swarm Bucket" and stick it in the equipment forum.

This sounds cool and I have buckets too. Do you think a 3 gal. bucket is ok for this as well?
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Hi John,

I would use a 5 gallon bucket because it would be large enough to catch most swarms.
Also, I havenÂ’t had any problems with overheating swarms in these buckets, but the extra space would certainly help with ventilation and encourage the entire swarm to enter the bucket more readily, and provide a wider mouth for shaking the swarm into. A light color bucket will help keep them cool also. If a swam is caught in the direct sunlight, I place a small white towel over the lid for shade.

I prefer using the buckets because it is safer on ladders and my back. And these things are cheep to make, so I have no problem with letting the buckets anywhere and coming back later for swarms. I can also pick swarms up in the wifeÂ’s car without trying to fit a bulky hive body into the trunk.

The bucket consists of a 1 ½ PVC drain fitting and a queen excluder and screen fitted into the slip joint nuts. Simply cut a hole in the bucket using a 1 ¾ hole saw and screw the fitting on to the bucket from the inside. You may have to trim the hole out a bit with a razor so that it will thread on properly.

HereÂ’s some links:

To use the catching bucket:
* place under swarm and shake, slip lid on quick.
* Sit on the ground or hang near the clustering point with a bungee strap.
* Watch for the queen, if she is spotted, she can be thrown in thru the lid or remove the includer and let her in that way.

Here are some pics of swarms entering the bucket
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/naturebee/detail?.dir=1b05&.dnm=20f4re2.jpg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/naturebee/detail?.dir=1b05&.dnm=dedere2.jpg&.src=ph

Swarm Bucket with lid:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/naturebee/detail?.dir=1b05&.dnm=1c3cre2.jpg&.src=ph
Here I want the bees to be comfortable so you may see
* A number of 1/8 inch holes in the bucket for ventilation
* Two wood strips with bead of wax for comb building
(this can be replaced with a piece of carpet so the bees feel comfortable having something to cluster on)
* All but two tabs are cut off the lid and gasket removed, this aids in ventilation and ease of lid removal
* The inside of the bucket must be scuffed so the bees can walk on the sidewalls up to the clustering point on the lid

Here is a close up of the swarm catching bucket fittings:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/naturebee/detail?.dir=1b05&.dnm=ee6cre2.jpg&.src=ph
* one with screen for transporting and one with queen excluder

How to Safely Transport Bees:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/naturebee/detail?.dir=1b05&.dnm=821fre2.jpg&.src=ph

I prefer to wait till after dark to dup them in the hive:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/naturebee/detail?.dir=/1b05&.dnm=153fre2.jpg&.src=ph

[power napper]

Good job Joe, nice photos! Thanks for sharing.

[Sundance]

Nice idea Joe..... Thanks for the pics. I have a couple of buckets that would work fine for that.

[John F]

Yes, thanks!

[magnet-man]

Joe have you had any success with using these as swarm traps? I have been thinking that 5 gallon pals could be used as such.

[ May 13, 2006, 01:12 PM: Message edited by: magnet-man ]

[Sundance]

Interesting magnet-man........... You could mount 2 or 3 frames to a block of wood and arch the bucket side of the block. Then screw the block to the interior of the bucket......... I will give it a go.

[naturebee]

--Joe have you had any success with using these as swarm traps?

I have tried a few bucket traps without success. Will try again this season.

This year I was focusing on testing 10 of these Quik Tube traps:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/naturebee/detail?.dir=1b05&.dnm=a4a9re2.jpg&.src=ph

I made these traps for about 4 dollars each.

The idea was to make a trap that would hang nice, light weight, cheep and able to blend in with a woodland or urban environment.

The cavity volume is not as large as I would have liked, but it does exceed the 20 liter minimum that swarms prefer.

Joe

[Sundance]

Interesting Joe........... What are they made of?

And why the beeswax on a rope??? :eek:

[Joel]

Joe, here's one of those ideas/inventions that are long over due and how much easier could it get! Great idea, ingenious set up and simple. I'm guessing too the bees easily slide out of the bucket into a hive when you get them home.


Thanks for the pics and the idea!

[wayacoyote]

Check out a yahoo group Joe is running. It is the link under his by-sign on his posts.

Plastic buckets as swarm traps:
1 think that has had me doubtful about them is that they would have to be dark, dark, I think. Also, plastic buckets don't seem to have much insulative properties.

Joe,
A guy I met yesterday said he's got 2 traps made of concrete-forming tubes. He's caught 1 swarm right next to his hive. I told him to get on line and post his results for us. I didn't get his name but he's from Bolling Green, KY.

Waya

[wayacoyote]

I'll also mention that I've learned my lesson, FINALLY. Yet again, after saying that I wouldn't (not 2 days ago), I was found without a container. At our field day yesterday, we got a swarm call. I had to buy a cardboard nuc from a guy who really probably wasn't ready to sell it, just to have something to put them in. Sure anything would work, but I wasn't interested in driving up and down the road looking for a Kentucky Fried Chicken box. The good thing is that now I do have a swarm box for the truck.

Waya

[PA Pete]

Where do you get your 5 gallon buckets that aren't full of concrete-like sludge or driveway tar? Especially with a lid! I prefer *free* to store-bought any day of the week, but I also shop quality ;)

[Sundance]

Check out any large bakery, like the ones in mega grocery stores. I get loads of food grade buckets there.

Resturants are another option.

[onlygoodSHBisdeadone]

12" by 12" priority mail card board box with one inverted over the other and taped togather gives you a 12"x12"x24" box. If you cover outside with shipping tape does a good job of weather proofing and duct tape to tree. From what I here you can order 25 of them at a time from ebay for free but I'm not for sure. ;) But you can only use theirs for shipping not swarm boxes. :cool:

[ May 14, 2006, 05:08 PM: Message edited by: onlygoodSHBisdeadone ]

[PA Pete]

Great - thanks Bruce - that's where I'll check - we have two big groceries nearby and a large bakery a couple miles up the road smile.gif

[naturebee]

--Interesting Joe........... What are they made of?

Quick tubes for cement deck footers

--And why the beeswax on a rope???

Something I'm still working on

[naturebee]

--I'm guessing too the bees easily slide out of the bucket into a hive when you get them home.

The pic shows dumping the bees in the have at night. The bees kinda pour out like thick paint.

[naturebee]

--Where do you get your 5 gallon buckets that aren't full of concrete-like sludge or driveway tar?

Serwin Williams paint store has them for 5 bucks or so. I do allot of painting from 5 gallon buckets, so I rinse this out and use them.

[Joel]

Every donut shop, bakery and ice cream joint in the nation has them too!

[Michael Bush]

>Every donut shop, bakery and ice cream joint in the nation has them too!

And they are food grade. smile.gif

[Pappybee]

<<A guy I met yesterday said he's got 2 traps made of concrete-forming tubes. He's caught 1 swarm right next to his hive. I told him to get on line and post his results for us. I didn't get his name but he's from Bolling Green, KY.>>

Waya,
I actually made three of these traps, and hung two in the woods near a feral hive in a fallen tree. We know the ferals have been there for at least 2 years, and possibly longer.

Two weeks after I hung the traps, baited with lemon grass oil, a drop of honey, and some old comb, I found a swarm in one. I took it home and hived it in a TBH I had just finished. Pictures at, http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h147/pappybee/

As soon as I had the swarm hived, I took that trap back and hung it in the same tree, just in case there is a secondary swarm.

The other two traps are still empty, so far.

The hived swarm is doing great, much better than the 2 packages I hived two weeks earlier.

Pappybee

[ May 22, 2006, 10:52 PM: Message edited by: Pappybee ]

[Sundance]

The link isn't working for me....... take me to your sign in page.

[Pappybee]

Sorry Sundance,all others. Should be working now.
Pappybee

[ May 22, 2006, 10:53 PM: Message edited by: Pappybee ]

[Sundance]

You may want to delete your signin and password then change it. Not good to have other get access to your site..... the may post nasties.

To post pics got to your page and cut and paste the "URL" into your post. The URL is clearly marked and below your loaded pic.

[wayacoyote]

Thanks, Pappybee.
I sent you a PM about the photos..
waya

[Parke County Queen]

I'm very interested in the swarm bucket. My husband is a painter so we have lots of 5 Gal. buckets. I noticed someone else said they use paint buckets. I was thinking they might be toxic. Any thoughts?

[John F]

Any thoughts?

Well, I think chocolate is mighty tasty.

(Sorry, even my Dad calls me a smarta##)

I would imagine that since folks paint the inside of their hives with latex paint (other types too, but latex is common) that once it is dry it should be fine.

Now I have some questions too.

Joe, I notice that you have two "caps". One has queen excluder and the other #8 hardware cloth.

I assume that you don't ever use the bucket without one or the other on.

Why not fix the quee excluder and have only one screw on cap.

I'm thinking something like a cone or cylinder or maybe even a division of the bucket with the queen excluder on the inside and then the only part you have left to loose is the #8 cap.

What's the magic behind a queen excluder anyway? Does it have to be a slot or is there a hole size that will work? What keeps her from traveling through, her abdomen size? If her abdomen gets stuck does she need the slot to turn around?

I guess I better do a search on queen excluders now. Doggoneit if asking questions doesn't just make more.

[naturebee]

--I'm very interested in the swarm bucket. My husband is a painter so we have lots of 5 Gal. buckets. I noticed someone else said they use paint buckets. I was thinking they might be toxic. Any thoughts?

I use the 5 gallon paint buckets from Sewrin Williams. It's latex, so it washes right out. As soon as I open a new bucket of paint, I dump the paint into another 5 gallon bucket and it rinses our real nice and clean.

[naturebee]

--Joe, I notice that you have two "caps". One has queen excluder and the other #8 hardware cloth. I assume that you don't ever use the bucket without one or the other on.
Why not fix the quee excluder and have only one screw on cap.

ThatÂ’s a good idea John! I first started making these catching buckets about 10 years ago. At the time, I wanted to be able to remove the excluder if I happen to notice that the queen was outside to let her in, because back then I was not keen on picking up a queen. Now I just pick her up and throw her in the top so I would imagine that fixing the excluder permanently would be a good idea, then the screen can simply be screwed on, leaving the excluder in place. Thanks for the idea!

Why I like to use paint buckets is because they have the spout at the top that can be removed to throw the queen in without having to remove the whole lid.

--What's the magic behind a queen excluder anyway? Does it have to be a slot or is there a hole size that will work?

It was cut from a queen excluder and screwed in the slip joint nut. I donÂ’t know the hole size that would work, but the spacing is just about as wide as a 16 penny nail. I thought of making holes at one time, but was concerned about ventilation and keeping restrictions at the opening to a minimum in order to speed up the orderly process of bees marching inside.

--What keeps her from traveling through, her abdomen size? If her abdomen gets stuck does she need the slot to turn around?

The thorax is the restricting point for queens. For drones, I think its the abdomen which is probably why you tend to see so many drones get stuck in excluders.

--I guess I better do a search on queen excluders now. Doggoneit if asking questions doesn't just make more.

HereÂ’s some stuff on excluders on Daves site:
http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/excludertypes.html

The plastic queen excluders work real nice for cutting and inserting into the slip joint nuts. Also, if you decide to use a metal excluder, they are a real pain to cut right, and you have to grind them to a circle a little at a time till it fits. Then to be sure the spacing is not messed up, I use a 16 penny nail to gauge the opening, if the bars are spaced much wider than a 16 penny nail. the queen may slip thru.

If I get time, maybe I could cut some the proper size and mail them to you, as I have several excluders that are basically scrap because I cut them. smile.gif

[John F]

<Pcolar>
... you have to grind them to a circle a little at a time ...Since we are fixing the excluder couldn't we use something like JBWeld to tack the excluder to the inside and not need to do any critical trimming?

I came across the stuff at Dave's site when I did my search as well. Apparently, slots are important so the idea of just drilling some holes into the side of the bucket won't work. (Close off with duct tape Red Green style)

Actually, it looks like maybe the length of the slot isn't critical, just the width... Hmmm...

[tom h.]

can you give me the plans for that Quik Tube Trap?

[tom h.]

do you hang these bucket traps by the bail or do you lay them on therer side?
Are you using some swarm lure of some sort in the bucket and tube

[naturebee]

--can you give me the plans for that Quik Tube Trap?

Sorry, I have no plans,

But I am now recomending that you go with the 12" quik tubes to provide a more attractable trap and ease of comb removal.

Simply cut a wooden circle that fits into the tube, and another one bigger than the tube and nail them together.

They can then be secured by using 4 drywall skrews in the top edge of the quik tube into the wooden lid

[naturebee]

--do you hang these bucket traps by the bail or do you lay them on therer side?
Are you using some swarm lure of some sort in the bucket and tube.


These are "swarm catching buckets" not swarm traps. These are to be used when shaking a swarm for catching and transporting purposes only.

Some type of lure must be used in the quik tube traps.

[ June 18, 2006, 01:30 PM: Message edited by: Pcolar ]

[RAlex]

two weeks ago I had a hive swarm into a large cherry tree out back where they clustered about 25 feet off the ground. No knowing if they would enter a bucket I got a line over the limb and hoisted up a 5 gallon bucket with a piece of comb and some lemongrass oil in it. They stayed there for almost three days before leaving for parts unknown. So I left it in the tree. A week ago I got a swarm call and left to collect it while I was gone a swarm arrived and took up residence in that swarm bucket. After hiving the other swarm I hived the buckets swarm . They are doing nicely and drawing comb on my foundationless frames.One note the cover of the bucket had about a 2 1/2" hole at the top as it hung horizontly...Rick

[naturebee]

That's great Rick!
I never had a swarm take to a bucket, but I'm still trying.