I caught a swarm that came out of one of my hives, they stayed till the next day and came out. I was able to catch them the second time and placed a queen excluder between the bottom board and hive body. My question is how long should I leave the excluder in place before removing ?
I would wait until there is eggs or new brood, something to hold them there. Also the queen slims down for flight before swarming so its still not a gaurntee they'll stay, she might be able to slip thru.
If you are sure the original queen is in this swarm waiting for eggs is OK. If this could be an after swarm with a virgin queen then give them a frame of unsealed brood. Open brood will usuall hold the swarm without using an excluder.
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