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I started this season with around 10 hives, they first swarm I saw was on march 11th. Since then I have had at least 11 swarms that I have seen, with most being either too high or leaving before I could catch them. Also during most of this time I have had between 1-3 bait hives out that have not caught one swarm. Early in the year the bees built up quicker than we thought and I am sure that was part of the swarming. Lately we have been checking them every 2 weeks or so and they are not crowded and have plenty of room to grow.
I am in SE Georgia and we have boxed packages in July with them making it through the winter so that is no problem. My question is this; should I go ahead and split the strongest looking hives now to prevent them from continuing to swarm? Or should I just hope that the swarm season is over and plan on splitting them next March? I know that by splitting, a lot of time you cut back on honey production, but right now I am most interested with increasing my number of hives. Sorry forgot to put that I run Medium 8 frames.
Thanks for your time and help!
I am in SE Georgia and we have boxed packages in July with them making it through the winter so that is no problem. My question is this; should I go ahead and split the strongest looking hives now to prevent them from continuing to swarm? Or should I just hope that the swarm season is over and plan on splitting them next March? I know that by splitting, a lot of time you cut back on honey production, but right now I am most interested with increasing my number of hives. Sorry forgot to put that I run Medium 8 frames.
Thanks for your time and help!