What constitutes a swarm trap?

[Wombat2]

Is it just an empty super? Do you fill it with frames? Half fill it? What do you do to make it attractive ? Hang it in a tree or leave it on the ground?

[Oak]

Hi Wombat2,

I followed the advice in this article and I caught a swarm:

http://www.vicbeekeepers.com.au/bee-my-guest.html

Oak

[kalium]

Is it just an empty super? Do you fill it with frames? Half fill it? What do you do to make it attractive ? Hang it in a tree or leave it on the ground?

I've read a lot about swarm traps, but am short on experience.

I built one that is about the same volume as a 10 frame deep (its basically a 5 frame nuc
but double the height). I put it out with a bought swarm lure, but its late summer so I don't
really expect much.

From reading up on the nasanov pheremone, it's mostly citriol and geraniol, about 2:1 ratio apparently.

Come swarm season I will build a few more, but am going to bypass buying the commercial lures (price is pretty steep...) and just get some
lemon myrtle and palmarosa oil, a couple of drops on cotton wool in a sealed sandwich bag and see how I go.

Of course, I may catch nothing.

[hjon71]

A swarm trap is any container purposely set to entice a swarm to live there.
Of course the better the trap the better your chances.

[amun-ra]

Dont give up yet I got one swarm last saturday and another big one today.Not with traps though just boxed em up

[jayj200]

I DIVIDED a 10f deep Lang with center board of Masonite.

rubber banded some old comb from a cut out a friend had done.

I had filled both sides of the Lang the same way.

old comb one foundation the rest foundationless on each side of the Masonite.

 put 5 drops of lemon grass oil on the right side let the wood absorb the oil.

then flipped the box over on the left placing 5 drops LGO allowing that to absorb before righting the box.

then put 5 drops LGO on the inside of the top cover.

closed it up, baited trap put that in a tree about eye level.  and waited.

thought we probably wait a month or two. nay, nay

in just four days tree was awash in bees I mean a cloud we watched for an hour.

WOW!

I wasn't sure it was swarm season was on at all.

then they bearded the front of the box just as in all the videos.

Cool

that mess of bees is stronger than my weak hive.

 
remember 15 drops total, no other lure
 



my one and only experience worked well