Wanting to get the queen from a trap out. HOW?

[Gypsi]

I waited on brood, but I did have a cone on there, so any bees in the outer hive might not have been able to return, and while we didn't get to freezing, they might have gotten chilly. Hope to get to check on the trap in the next day or 2. Other work has been very busy and I've been driving the wrong direction. We have nice solid warm weather now, at least for the next week.

Gypsi

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

Here is a link to my photobucket account. The first two photos shows one trap, Horse Cave trap, with the brood comb wrapped around the transition to aid in getting the queen,( the bees actually go through the frames to enter the trap, and the second photo , Ridenour trap, shows the frames placed along side the tunnel for getting starts.

http://s841.photobucket.com/albums/zz339/cchoganjr/

The second line of photos show the transition on the trees at Horse Cave and Ridenour. You can see how the transition is attached to the trees. and how the entrances are sealed off.

If you have questions, let me know.

cchoganjr

[Gypsi]

I don't know if there are even bees in that trap. Regular work keeps pulling me away. They'd best be self-sufficient bees.

[Dynasty]

great, just what i need, more ideas of what to do
this is cool, another thing i can plan while waiting for bees

[RobWok]

Lots of good info here. I have a current trapout running right now. It's an extra deep super. I've removed several hives from the ceilings of homes, and this one was in the ceiling, but the celing had a very expensive radiant heat copper system embedded in the plaster, and I just didn't want to do that much work.

The deep is supported by 2 heavy steel reinforced shelf brackets. I think they hold 200 lbs each. (happened to pick them up in a surplus store).

The cone was about 1.5 feet long, and pointed down just about to the entrace of the hive box. The end of the cone was just larger than 3/8 inch.

The siding was aluminum on the 2nd floor, and brick below, and the entrance to the hive was between them. The best tape in this situation is aluminum duct tape. You peel off a backing, and it's moldable, waterproof, and bonds to everything. Great stuff.

I put the cone and the decoy hive up near evening on one day. I put some old brood comb in there. The next day, I brought my donor frame of eggs and capped brood with nurse bees. When I opened up the deep, a lot of the trapped out workers were already on it. As soon as I put my frame of larva on, within minutes, the bees started fanning, and I watched a lot of the clustered bees start marching to the entrance. It was awesome.

I'm going to set up a swarm trap a few hundred feet away. Eventually, I hope to clear the old hive of bees. I'll close up the cone to see if I trap any bees in it, then I'll open it back up again and let the hive rob whatever is left of the old hive. Then, I'll seal it, and fill the cavity with spray foam.

This has been my first trapout. Seems to be going very well. Any pitfalls I need to look out for?

[Ranch84]

If you want to get the queen out of the feral hive, would you put in the cone in right off the bat to get them to not go back in the building or do you think she would not come out as soon with it in place even with the uncapped brood in your trap?

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

Ranch84 If you have it, put some drawn comb in the trap from the beginning. This will entice cleaners to start cleaning it and the trap. Let the bees go through the trap for a day or so, then introduce the uncapped brood. This will entice the queen to investigate who is laying eggs in her house, it will also bring out more cleaners, fanners, nurse bees etc., You will need to check each day or so to see if the queen is on one of your frames. When you have three or more frames covered with bees, I recommend moving them, adding a queen and starting a new hive.
Fill the trap again and keep trapping and you weaken the hive, and it dies.

send me an e-mail. cchoganjr@scrtc.com and I will send info that will tell you everything. Also some photos of actual traps in progress from start to ready to move.

cchoganjr

[Ranch84]

Thank you Very Much

[RobWok]

trapout2.JPG My current trapout. Unfortunately, we're have a big early nectar flow (well, only unfortunate in this case) This deep box is almost full of nectar at only 10 days. What I've observed so far is that I have about 4 emergency queen cells, and some swarm cells that have eggs laid happhazardly, and some with 2 per cell. I had one emergency cell that was empty, but it didn't have the brown hairy remains of a hatch and it's only been ten days, so my guess is that they were forming a swarm cell and I have a laying worker somewhere in the box.

The box will probably get honey bound really quick. I don't really like the idea of adding a honey super on top of this hive. The weight might be too much for the tapcon screws that I used. About the only thing I can think of right now is to just pull any capped honey and replace it with empty frames until I'm sure that the old hive is empty.

Any other suggestions?

[Gypsi]

I'd remove capped honey and swap for empty frames. Can't wait to go see mine today.

Gypsi

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

RobWok..... Apparently the trap is too far from the feral brood nest for the queen and the nurse bees to come out into your trap and they are using it for honey stores. If this is the case, what you have in the trap is likely field bees, a few cleaners, a few fanners, and the guard bees. Not exactly what you want for a good start. You need nurse bees working the unsealed brood you put in there, lots of cleaners, fanners etc.

I would not put another box on top of that one, instead, i would move the nectar filled frames (give them to a weak hive or one that needs a boost) and start again. This time, when you add the unsealed brood, wait 24 hours and check, if you have three frames of bees, move them (bees on frames) (leave trap in place) and start again. Repeat until you so weaken the colony and it dies.


cchoganjr

[Gypsi]

Update on my trapout. Got zero bees, but the homeowner has zero bees too. I pulled the trap today and plugged the hole with a wad of duct tape. She needs that piece of siding replaced, I'll bid the replacement.

Meantime, have a licensed pest control guy for a partner for a cutout on Friday. It has at least 250,000 live bees. Time to catch some. They have not been sprayed and will not be sprayed. A bit of smoke and into boxes... and boxes. and boxes.

Gypsi

[Gypsi]

New update on trapout. I plugged the hole, pulled the trap, and the bees started flying across the living room to visit the windows. Reinstalled Hogan swarm trap on Sunday 3/25, a little brood from my cutout. Hope to have some uncapped brood to add later this week, don't have any right now. But the bees are still there, they just never moved out into the trap, not even for honey storage. They are in a brick wall. It is trap out or sevin dust, and I'm not in favor of sevin.

Gypsi

[CaBees]

I hope it works Gypsi...stubborn bees! Would hate to see them poisoned! Can you plug all the other holes (how were they getting into the house)?

[Gypsi]

When I plugged the exterior hole, they pushed my foam insulation out of the crack in the wall and started exiting through the house again. I need to more permanently seal that crack. But they do need to come out. On the bright side, I have uncapped brood, freshly laid eggs, in the top frame from my cutout. So I can now add uncapped brood to draw the nurse bees out. I have a fairly loose screen cone - the queen could get through even if she is plump. I may be too far from the broodnest, that I don't know about. But I am where they were entering and exiting, and the broodnest is in a brick wall that must be getting kind of crowded, it being spring and all.

Gypsi

[heaflaw]

Gypsy & Rob: Please keep posting your experiences. I want to start one myself in a few weeks.

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

I started my first one of the year yesterday, on the tree identified as the "Horse Cave Trap" in my photobucket account, and the photos I have sent to several of you. It is still early here to be trapping, but I thought I would let them get used to going through the trap. There were lots of bees flying, so it appears to be strong again this year. I took three good starts from this tree last year.

I will get some photos in the next few days and get them posted.

cchoganjr

[hilreal]

I started a trap out in an old house about 10 days ago using Mr. Hogan's method. The entrance is only about 2 feet off the ground in some rotten boards. My idea was to use a graduated nozzle (tapered) from a shop vac. I attached it to the wall and drilled a hole in a MiteAway II spacer board and sat that on top of a deep box. After a few days I realized that I missed a crack around my funnel so plugged the hole. Hope to get back today to check and see how the progress is coming. Will try and get som pictures of my contraption posted.

[CaBees]

Yes please do keep posting on your progress. I am still searching for a tree away from a the trails I can try this method on but the beehives all seem to be 2 feet from the trails and I'm afraid my equipment would get stolen! The fence bees do not seem to have survived the winter. Now we are into our 2nd week of rain, rain, rain and I am just hopful my one and only hive will survive! I am so ready for spring for real!

[BeeGhost]

I checked my trap out really quick today and seen a few bees sneaking out from around the "tree shroud" that I put up. More duct tape and then I stuffed the heck out of everything with stuff I could find on the ground. Looked good when i left! The bees are using the trap out box but I just dont want any using an alternate route! I will set the funnel tomorrow and see if the frames load up with bees and hopefully have a strong start by the weekend!

Will the queen go through the funnel trap, or should I just add a frem of open brood first with the funnel off and hope the queen comes out to check things out? Also, if the tree is already crowded, would the bees push the queen out into the box to lay eggs?