While I'm waiting for swarms to fly...

[mtndewluvr]

Since swarm season appears to be another 2 weeks off for us here in Salt Lake City, I was inspired by minz to try painting a couple of my bait hives with a camo pattern. Here's how they turned out. (There's a little more info on my blog about them.) If you get a chance, please post your camo pics here.

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Happy Swarm Catching!!

[KPeacock]

I wonder if it is "better" to have white, or highly contrasted colors for the scouts to see and orient to. i have never placed a swarm trap, so this is just a random thought from some newbie.

[Mr.Beeman]

Nice camo job. I read your blog, but it didn't specify why you used the wire rack pattern.

KP, bees use their keen sense of smell to find the trap, not their vision.
Camo is to hide the traps from predators (people).

[mtndewluvr]

Nice camo job. I read your blog, but it didn't specify why you used the wire rack pattern.

On one of the youtube vid's I watched (a guy painting his hunting boat), he used different things like leaves, long grasses and even a cargo net, for cool effects. I didn't have a cargo net, so made due with the wire rack pattern simply to break things up a bit further. If I can get my hands on a good leaf, or long grass, I may still add them to the pattern as well.

[shannonswyatt]

I tried with leaves before, but it didn't seem very realistic, it actually seemed to make it worse. I ended up just free handing it. When you camo your face you basically want to put light camo in shadowed areas and dark colors in the other areas. This breaks up the outline of your face. I basically did the free hand and it look pretty decent. And it is a lot faster than the using stencils. In the end, you pick out the box by picking up on the straight lines of the box, be it vertical or horizontal. But the ones that I put out are pretty hard to find if you don't know were they are. Then again, I have a bunch that are just a solid dark tan color and they are hard to see as well.

[mtndewluvr]

Yep...I created a couple stencils out of one of those flat Fed-Ex light cardboard 9x13-ish mailers with just a pair of scissors and used them for the darker markings on the bottom. Then mostly free-handed the rest. Took about 15 min per box. It's kind of fun. I'm thinking about walking around the house to see what else I can use for something different on another box. Hmmmm!

[minz]

Well I think you got me beat. I have another pile this year that I primed in tan oops paint and my stencils should return from painting a duck boat today (paint job was done last fall with the idea he return them for the next set). I will need to step up my game! Lines make it look digital, maybe mask about every third square it may really trick it out.
Before somebody messes with them the first have to see them. Of these that are sharp enough to see them they have to want to mess with them.

[mtndewluvr]

So I did go looking around the house last night and found an inexpensive basketball net that we had picked up several years ago. Opened it up and spread it out and this is the pattern it gave me:

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[minz]

Well here is this year’s new traps. I used 5/8 siding rather than the 3/8 from last year. I used solid hemlock for the end pieces (rather than the coates nucs) and to increase the volume to the suggested size I added a shallow super. I am attempting to hang these in a bit more public area but figure I had better get up early on Sunday morning. Bottom line, too heavy.
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4d5f9932.jpg

[mtndewluvr]

They look great, minz! Did I hear you are gett ing swarms there already? Hoping we will start any day here. Finally thinking about warming up a bit!

[minz]

I have heard of a few, still pretty early. It is supposed to hit 70 this week (although that magical day remains 4 days out in forecast) 58 and crab apples blooming so I figure I would try to get motivated. I used the cedar branch idea from the video you posted. Rather than just spraying base color 45 degrees I used the cedar. When it loaded up with paint I whipped it on the other boxes.

[mtndewluvr]

I just showed my wife your new boxes, telling her you tried using something similar to what I had done. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Did he buy a different color of spray paint?...It didn't turn out at all like the can of paint you used!" I forgot I had told her that I used just one can of paint...kind of like 'Camo in a can' when she obviously didn't get that it took four separate cans. I love that girl!

[minz]

No, she is correct! I buy a black can of paint and just don’t shake it as well. It separates and comes out as stripes (LOL). I keep saying I have more in paint than just about anything else. I figure primer is about $15/ gal, first coat is ‘oops light gray’ acrylic , $8/gal, then a couple of spray cans at $3.50 each.

[mtndewluvr]

I scored 5 gallons of oops paint for free by posting on a site similar to craigs list asking for FREE leftover paint. Had a painter call me up saying he's just got too much in his garage left over from jobs. I did pay about $7/can for the camo stuff...probably won't do that again. Our biggest local swarm catcher doesn't even paint his, and get's all his plywood for free by hitting construction sites/dumpster diving. He's got about 85 bait hives out right now on his way to a goal of 100. I've only got about 25 out right now.

[minz]

Just because you can, does not mean that you should capture every free swarm in a 10 mile area. That is a certain way to decimate a feral population (IMO).
I love me some buffalo hump!

[mtndewluvr]

I've got mine spread out over 4 counties...I have many people at work who are putting them in their mostly suburban backyards for me. The other thing to remember is that the swarms have to make it past the humans who are looking to cherry-pick them off of their first landing spot before we ever get a chance at them in our bait hives. I think I give them a sporting chance.