[mothergoosemagic]

I built & installed my first swarm trap today. Slightly wider than the norm, so I wound up with 6 frames instead of 5, but that's fine. Standard nuc size with a 1 inch hole about 3 inches from the top on the short end. Tacked 1/2" hardware cloth inside to limit anything else getting into the hole. 2 folded paper towels inside a thin baggy with a few dabs of LGO inside on the bottom. I also tacked 1/4" hardware cloth over part of the bottom, so the aroma should get around just fine. Finished off by putting in 6 frames of clean, old brood comb and closed it up.

Was *going* to put it in the nice neighbor's apple tree, but wound up setting it on the roof of her shed next to the tree. Nice & shady, made sure everything was fairly level. Lots of brushy shrubs around the back of the shed.

Probably still too early for swarming here, but with the hot weather we've been having, everything blooming like crazy. I know there's at least one of beek within a mile of me, plus I've been seeing thirsty girls visiting my nursery beds. So this might be the ideal time to start.

I think I've done everything I can--any other suggestions? I tried to orient the entrance to the trap S/SE.

 

[Budster]

Just wait. You might have decent luck with it. Do you know when the bees swarm in your area? I know the do here in Central Ohio right before Memorial weekend. You might want to ask around so that you can keep your eyes peeled for visitors. Seeing many visitors to an empty swarm trap is exciting to me.

 

[mothergoosemagic]

Our official last frost date is mid-May, and from what I've heard the local beeks say, that's pretty typical to start looking. Last May, we had wet weather almost the entire month, so there were swarms later in June/July. This year, we've gone from winter to summer, and everything's early & abundant, so I have a hunch the swarms might be as well. My package (this Monday) is coming up from NC--very similar recent weather conditions to ours--and the packages are now earlier than projected.

Either way, it won't hurt the trap to be out & ready. I'll keep an eye on it in the next few days to see if I spot any interested takers. There's no honey in the combs I put in there, so I shouldn't have a problem with robbers.

I've got a bunch of fencing to install in the next couple of weeks, so that should keep my mind off the bees for a while. Good to have a distraction...

 

[Budster]

There's no honey in the combs I put in there, so I shouldn't have a problem with robbers.

:no:
I've actually found that ants will find the honey. The bees will investigate, but won't move in if there are a bunch of ants working the honey...

 

[mothergoosemagic]

One of the local beeks has an actual apiary website, so I just checked there. According to him, anytime from late March to June is possible, depending on the weather. So I might get lucky sooner than I thought.

 

[odfrank]

I like baits to get some sun so that the warmth make the smells of the wax emanate.

 

[devdog108]

i had about 30 bees in my garage today inside my box of foundation