Has anyone tried the swarm lures? I am going to try to make a bunch of swarm lure using 1:1 mix of geraniol and citral, then run a "trap-line" by setting out 100+- deep supers. These will be suspended in trees ten feet up, and fixed with a top and bottom with a bore hole in the middle face of the deep super. I will set this up in march-april-may in east Texas.
Anyone done this before? A May 2004 article in American Bee Journal titled "Catching Swarms" detailed the work of Dr. Chip Taylor in creating swarm lures while capturing Africanized swarms. Great article.
Yup, I do this every year. I use a single deep hive body and I place them on the edges of feilds. I use lemon grass and canola oil for a lure. Works great.
>I am going to try to make a bunch of swarm lure using 1:1 mix of geraniol and citral, then run a "trap-line" by setting out 100+- deep supers. These will be suspended in trees ten feet up, and fixed with a top and bottom with a bore hole in the middle face of the deep super. I will set this up in march-april-may in east Texas.
Sounds like fun.
>Anyone done this before?
Not on that scale. Location is everything. Once you find a good location put more there and remove them from places where you didn't get a swarm. Usually if you find a good spot you'll get one every year.
I use Lemongrass oil, but the geraniol and citral should smell and work the same. I'm not sure in the long run which is cheaper but I got the Lemongrass oil pretty cheaply. Also, I dump all my old queens in a jar of alcohol to get rid of them and use that with the Lemongrass oil for lure.
I've only gotten about a 10% success at randomly putting them out. But, as I said, if you find a good spot you can usually get one every year there. If you find a LOT of good spots, then you may get where you can get quite a few every year.
I have one location where there is 2 hives in this house. We got 3 swarms off this house this year. They have been in this house for over 10 Yrs. Better than letting them fly off into the wild blue younder.
Micheal...How does one use lemongrass/ lemnograss oil as a lure for swarms ? Is it applied to the drawn frames ? the the capture box suspended near a yard or other probable location to catch a swarm ? Thanks Rick
I have used just lemongrass oil and empty foundationless frames. I've also used it in combination with some drawn comb or with some "queen" lure from old queens in alcohol. I just use an eyedropper and put a few drops on the top bar of one or two of the center frames. I do the same with the "queen" lure.
Thanks Micheal ...I have watched a couple of swarms from my hives head to the woods this year ...very fusterating for me ...Rick
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