Medium Frame Swarm Traps

[whodoctor]

I have a TON of boards that are the perfect depth for making medium frame boxes. I want to make medium frame swarm traps, but I'm not sure how many frames wide I should make them. Thoughts?

If anyone has experience with this, please let me know!

[greengecko]

The volume should be about 40 liters or about 2,440 cubic inches.

[odfrank]

Why make a bait box? Just make them the same size as the supers you use with a thin top and bottom, then they can double as supers. I attach the top and bottom with straps with a round hole drilled in the top for the entrance.

[whodoctor]

Thanks guys. I want to keep my supers for supering, but I suppose I could do that. I just don't want to spend any more money this year after dropping 5K last year. The bleeding has to stop for a while. I just remembered that I had all those boards...enough to make anything I could need for a couple of years. I really hope that swarm trapping works. I need to get my colony numbers up to the 25 range and maintain that. With a treatment free style, I need NUMBERS to continue finding the resistant genes without getting decimated.

[McSpadden]

Get your numbers up to 25 and you spent 5k last year. What am I missing. I'd like to get up to 25 in the next couple years but 5k. What did you spend this on? If you don't mind me asking.

[lovettvineyard]

I have had much better luck using bait hives made from deeps.

[mike haney]

I have had much better luck using bait hives made from deeps.

2 mediums stacked is about the same to the bees. consider making a BUNCH of mediums to sell and to make splits into(and sell as nucs or complete hives) good luck,mike

[Grant]

My bait hives and swarm traps are deeps, six frames wide.

If I wanted to do the mediums, I'd do two medium supers, or maybe make them into 8-frame mediums, two high.

All the best,

Grant
Jackson, MO http://www.swarmtrapping.homestead.com

[whodoctor]

McSpadden,

I don't mind your asking at all. Its what we're here for, lol.

I bought a 20 frame extractor ($1000) and the following list, cut from my excel spreadsheet:

supplies (misc)
supplies (misc)
supplies (misc)
supplies (misc)
supplies (miscI
bees from Geroge (2)
Bees from Dan (4)
Oops paint from Ben Moore
supers assembly (labor)
supers painting (labor)
jars and equipment
Queen Rearing stuff
Kids bee suits
4 Bob Brachman Queens
2 Ray Revis Queens
Electric fencing and Charger
Sugar 30 bags for year
shims, snellgroves, feeder
(2)Mike Palmer nuc system
Beekeeping Conference (year 1)
Bee school (year 3)
queen castle, nucs, ob hive
20 Pollen Patties

Guys, thanks for the advice regarding swarm traps. I'm going to put them in an area where I get a lot of in-house (wall / chimney ) swarm calls. I'll try all these different configurations and see what I end up with. I'm really excited because I'm counting on swarms to be part of the plan for increasing my apiary numbers up to 25 (I started last year with 3, and looks like I'll start this year with about 10 colonies) Each time I catch a swarm I'll order some geographically similar treatment free or survivor genes to replace the swarm queen with (I'm stubbornly Treatment-free) and this will allow me to keep standing on the shoulders of more mature breeding programs to bolster my own.

New few years should be good.

Check out and join our "Bee Buddies" Facebook page if you're interested. A lot of newbies there that could use some advice. Its just another posting board for helping each other out. Largely specific to Central Mass.

[Budster]

WHODOCTOR
"after dropping 5K last year. The bleeding has to stop for a while."

This has been my whole beekeeping experience... Spend, spend, spend. I didn't spend that much though.

I have used wooden nucs which I buy knocked down and use these for swarm traps and swarm captures. If you put some used frames in them, the bees just love them around swarm time! They are so easy to close up and move to the bee yard or home,

[whodoctor]

Budster. What % of swarm traps catch swarms for you? How many do you put out over what sized area?

I have decided to go with standard medium super sized traps as some of the posters have suggested. I have some old honey super comb coming from a downsizing beek and I have some old laboratory stuff kicking around that I've converted into free and very simple scent diffusers for LGO.

I'm going to try singles and doubles and see if there is a 'statistically significant' difference in results. I'd prefer to use just one super as its easier, lighter, and less equipment intensive, but I'll try both configurations so I'm not missing out on larger swarms or getting passed over by scout bees looking for larger accommodations.

I'll post my results at the end of the swarm season and see how we made out.

As a side note:

I'm trying to standardize all of my equipment to medium supers only, and resist the temptation to keep trying all of these other sizes and tools that are out there. Its my nature to complicate, and my focus and need to simplify.

I'm going to start selling my deep equipment, the oldest of which is only 3 years old, as nucs and standard sized colonies, starting this year.