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How do you "bait" your swarm traps?

63K views 85 replies 39 participants last post by  shannonswyatt 
#1 ·
I'm wondering about your methods of keeping lure scent in the swarm trap.

What kind of scent of lure do you use?

How do you make it last? Or do you revisit often?

I know about using comb, but what about slumgum, or something else that's not so common?

What are your approaches to luring or "baiting" the swarm trap?

Thanks,

Adam
 
#38 ·
I catch many a year set at reachable heights. But at my home last year, I caught more than usual on my second story deck.
 
#43 · (Edited)
I found a metric conversion site and converted 40 liters to cubic feet. I got 1.41 cubic feet....I thought that the five frame volume was close to the 40L......but it is not as big as I thought (its .7 Cu FT), only 50% of the 40 liters....I would have bet a lot of money it was closer than that. I'll drive by some building sites and scrounge in their rubbish bins to find scraps enough to make a few of the larger boxes.
 
#46 ·
I have never felt a need to renew LGO scent. I have caught swarms in bait boxes after they are emptied of their first catch, and last summer I caught a swarm on a follower board sitting alone in an uncovered box. The LGO penetrates comb and wood and lasts a long time. More is not always btter.
 
#49 ·
I think it lasts a long time and you don't need much. It takes a delicate touch on the little bottle to only drop on three or so drops. I just do a couple inside the entrance.

Two hard learned rules of swarm trapping:
Don't set LGO baited traps close together, swarms will divide leaving you a small Zombie swarm in one box.
Tighten those Kelley disks well after moving the swarm.
My new rule for this year: use full size brood chambers.

Three weeks to go here....come on HONIES, coochie coo BABIES come on in!!!! DADDIES WAITIN!!!

That reminds me....I'm not ready for them. Calm down Ollie, compose yourself....get those traps ready.
 
#51 ·
What about using something like Pro Health? It has lemon grass oil in it and smells real lemony.... I had a hive swarm on me last year and took a deep and dabbed some Pro Health on a paper towel and put it inside...But it was of course, on the ground, and the bees were on a tree limb about 50 feet in the air and had been there for 2 days. It didn't work, but I don't know if maybe it was because the deep was so low/bee so high up, or after that length of time they had found something else...they were gone the next day and I had only tried the Pro Health like in the late afternoon, so it really wasn't there that long...
 
#52 ·
Tree Plant Membrane-winged insect Bee

This is a wild swarm that set up shop on a limb 6 1/2 feet off the ground. Had to cut it down and frame the combs up with rubber bands. Only took 18 stings doing it though with the suit on. Very docile....till dark came and the lights come on. Enough comb to fill 2 10 frame deeps with comb left over. 13 layers of comb in that hive. I think hiving them saved their lives as they are still kicking it. They would of froze on that limb for sure.
 
#53 ·
>Placed 3 meters (10 feet) off the ground in a cool shade of a tree.

I prefer to place my traps in full sun facing south. The heat helps to "vaporize" the scent of the lemon grass oil and old wax. I have had success with traps close to the ground, my first for the season moved in this past week. Picture attached. Beehive Bee Insect Honeybee Apiary
 
#56 ·
Property ownership in the main problem with a larger scouting area. It's my grandparents property and it's only a couple acres. I have 5 traps out there so basically the only way to space them out would be to remove some of the traps. The place is about 2 hrs away so I can't exactly check them every week. I was hoping to have multiple swarms the times I do go check them.
 
#63 ·
I've had the same thing happen. Thinking I would give them a choice between two boxes of different sizes close together when actually they split up into both boxes. Most are queenless or virgin queens. No more putting them close together.
 
#64 ·
a post was asking about nerolic acid- that would be oil of neroli- also called orange blossom oil or absolute (pure essential oil , not adulterated and quite expensive).If one lives near orange groves and the orchardist will let you gather some blooms ( you'll need at least a bucket full over a couple weeks as you replace petals once brown) you can extract your own with cotton batting and oil or purified fat - unscented is the key- a light oil being better than a heavy one- like canola over olive, peanut over rendered lard, etc..use your brain to figure out the light oil..anyway in a covered glass dish lay the cotton batting/wool ( 100% cotton as for first aid , available in rolls) pour on the cleaned petals removing all green parts, stem bits, leaves, etc. then pour on the oil to cover,make as many layers as you have petals, then place the glass lid on the whole, set in sun.check for mould- remove immediately if hinted at. Press the oil from the used cotton batting.Replace the petals when brown in layers as initially setting it up- when picking flowers, leave at least 2 per cluster to insure you don't harm the citrus production.
Neroli oil is available in health food stores, on line, etc.
Citral- can be lemongrass oil , oil of lemon, or oil of mellissa , or lemon balm- lemon balm and lemon grass having a green herbaceous component.
Some recipes call for spearmint oil- why? I think it has to do with the location of the hives- regionally- in places where they get wild mint pollens, eucalyptus pollens, etc. I can see using it, otherwise i am not certain why its in some recipes and not others- Anyone have a thought on this??
I can also see adding a drop or two per hive to wax on crossbars in lure traps to prevent mite infestation- it kills em in chicken coops, ( some 'chicken ranchers" use sassafrass cross poles for roosting to prevent lice, mites, etc. the oil is the active principle so it makes sense to me.
I can also see geraniol ( rose geranium oil, geranium bourbon, scented geranium leaf oil if you're growing your own and distilling your own) as the scent is used in a bunch of lures ( pantry moth traps for instance), but so is carnation oil- its floral spicy scent way more pleasant than geranium.the main quality in having geranium bourbon handy is it kills bee stings 100% in seconds- keep a swab with a tip dipped in the oil wrapped or sealed in plastic with you when danger lurks! it will also kill a number of other insect bites and stings..however if you need an epi-pen keep it with you too. geraniol will only kill the bite's pain and neutralise some insects venoms..
anyway I'm facing a north wall hive moved in when a neighbour cut a tree down- its been a few months and I can smell propolis in the room when i open the door.As spring is impending I need to have a CHEAP plan of action ready.ALL suggestions carefully considered.Anyone In New Orleans that wants free bees ( thousands of em) can help for the bees and portion of the comb and honey provided its usable when we get into the wall..Have tools so all needed is some clean hive parts- or at least transport containers to your house! I will try to keep a few skeps to see what happens after sealing the house.( they are coming in between brick and fascia of wood at the joint- then into the room by a poorly installed window frame job that was not caulked on the parents house- old parents= workmen taking advantage of trusting people..very bad contractors around this area after Katrina..anyway bee problem is driving me crazy. I'm poor and disabled so it complicates everything tremendously, and can't afford to set up hives or would as the plants in the yard attract honeybees when no others are in the area in this number so attribute it to the sweet olive,old rose varieties and abundant flora otherwise..All HelP APPRECIATED IMMENSELY!
 
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