Nice and inventive! Is it the edges of the box that keep the bars and cover in place? Did you consider adding some weight (small brick, bungy), or is the top blowing off not a possibility?
File drawer swarm trap
I found some old wooden file drawers in a dumpster. A few modifications later and its a top bar swarm trap.
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Nice reuse/recycling of dumpster treasure!
I see some kind of metal mounting bracket attached to the tree, but what does the part that supports/connects to the box look like?
I see some kind of metal mounting bracket attached to the tree, but what does the part that supports/connects to the box look like?
Each bar has a kerf cut down the middle, with popsicle sticks glued in and wax coated as a comb guide. They keep the bars from sliding side to side.
The front and back of the box have raised edges to keep the bars on top. There is a thin spacer in the back to wedge the bars in between the edges, so the bars are tight.
The lid is a piece of recycled political campaign sign plastic cardboard, stapled in the back, and stretched tight over the bars and stapled in the front, also keeping the wedged bars held down.
We dont have bears in South Texas, and ***** have not been a problem yet.
There is an old recycled 1x4 stapled to the box back that extends about 1' above the back. There is a hole in the 1x4 which slips over a nail in the tree trunck. This setup is just an adaptation of McCartney Taylor's design in his Swarm Traps and Bait Hives ebook.
When a swarm gets established (they are bringing in pollen - usually in about a week), I just show up after dark, plug the hole with a rag, take the trap home, transfer the bars with comb and bees to a top bar hive, add new bars to the trap, and then go hang the trap back up. I caught 13 swarms with that method last spring and summer. In two trees I caught 3 swarms each. Its a great system
The front and back of the box have raised edges to keep the bars on top. There is a thin spacer in the back to wedge the bars in between the edges, so the bars are tight.
The lid is a piece of recycled political campaign sign plastic cardboard, stapled in the back, and stretched tight over the bars and stapled in the front, also keeping the wedged bars held down.
We dont have bears in South Texas, and ***** have not been a problem yet.
There is an old recycled 1x4 stapled to the box back that extends about 1' above the back. There is a hole in the 1x4 which slips over a nail in the tree trunck. This setup is just an adaptation of McCartney Taylor's design in his Swarm Traps and Bait Hives ebook.
When a swarm gets established (they are bringing in pollen - usually in about a week), I just show up after dark, plug the hole with a rag, take the trap home, transfer the bars with comb and bees to a top bar hive, add new bars to the trap, and then go hang the trap back up. I caught 13 swarms with that method last spring and summer. In two trees I caught 3 swarms each. Its a great system
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