OK I totally understand now. I have everything in the back of my car ready to go.
But I did have a question about the sugar syrup. I have to make up some sugar syrup to put into the spray bottle. That would be 1:1 ratio correct??? Also how far in advance can I make the syrup up. If I make it up and it sits around for a few weeks, is it still good to use???
One other question. If the swarm is say 10-12 feet up, is it ok to place the box on the ground and shake them into the box at that height?? (the reason I am saying that height is I do not plan on going much higher, as I am not planning on climbing latters)
See only 2 more questions!!
1:1 is fine for swarms. If you will be keeping it a while put it in the fridge. It will keep for weeks.
I would not shake them down from more than maybe 4'. Anything above that I bring the box up with me and shake them in, descend to the ground, hit the box against my leg and put the top on. Or better yet, if you have permission from the owner to cut the branch, if its not terribly large of course, bring it down with you. Then, you can gently shake them in at that point.
If you do remove the branch, it would not be a bad idea to spray the area where the bees were with a little beequick. This will discourage them from going back to the branch after the shake. Just be sure to move the box 10' or so away from the tree so no beequick gets in or on your catch box.
The higher they are the longer it usually takes for them to orient to the box. If I can, I'll set the box up on the ladder as close to the limb as possible. It speeds things up a bit.
...JP
