Swarming is a natural event that is next to impossible to force in a feral colony. Not all colonies swarm and can/will survive(actually just persist) without ever swarming. They just exist. Are you sure this colony hasnt swarmed? I would put a swarm trap 50-100 yds away and see what happens.
Ha, do women need to be taught how to shop, no force needed they will swarm on their own.
Trick is knowing when they are swarming and getting there to catch them in time.
When I find a new feral colony I give homeowners and neighbors a one page flyer that show them a couple pictures of what swarms looks like, describes when they are likely to occur, where to look, and has my phone number to call me when they see one. Works like a charm, I catch 20+ swarms a year without even trying hard.
last spring i put out 1 deep with 5 frames, will try many more this spring, 2 1/2hr drive to Joplin Mo area, will check into getting house owner to feed sugar syrup, he had bees in the past.
supposedly this hive has been active in portico since the 1940. ( I ? that) but I do know there has been activity on warm winter days since 1998
The bees are in swarm mode in Southern California. I'm in a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley (Near Los Angeles) and my piece of suburbia is loaded with feral hives. I have trapped many over the years here.
I left out my extracting equipment last month and the ferals were all over it. I bee lined a few and realized there was a monster feral hive two houses away. Last Saturday I noticed a few sniffing around equipment i was renovating, so Sunday I put out a bait hive. On Monday it was full. There is no way to prove it, but I think feeding all that honey gave them the bump they needed to skeedadle.....
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