Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: gregted on October 11, 2011, 07:03:01 pm
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Anybody had any luck with swarm traps in oz and if so, what was your configuration.
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Yes, I had luck.
Bad luck.
It washed down the Burdekin River in the floods last year.
I believe one bee had sniffed around it one day.
Lone
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I put out an 8 frame deep with a pheromone lure, near my front window where bees had come in previous years. No luck, but did have bees trying to move into the brick vents upstairs. Blocked them with fly screen (and a fly screen funnel). Put a five frame nuc on the roof near them with a lure. They seem to have moved in, but It must be a very small swarm. Haven't looked in the box yet though. Will keep you posted when I climb up and open the box on the weekend.
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Hit an miss. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Given the cost of them, its a cheap option to gain another hive locally if there are swarms about. Should be few down here this here with the weather the way its been.
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I agree with Mardak. This sounds like an easy and cheap way to get a swarm. I accept that this is hit and miss but you never know..
Do you face your bait hive in any special direction, do you include frames with comb and what do you use for bait?
Swarms have started here as well but no calls yet. Drove through one last week.
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I too have had no luck with swarm traps.
However I have witnessed a swarm fly into a queen-less hive. Had I not seen it happen I would not have believed it.
Yanta
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I've had a swarm move into an empty hive but no problems catching them around here. My limitation is the number of spare hives I have. Do you have the opportunity to catch swarms? If not, why don't you try a split?
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Sounds like I'll have to come down your way next spring with a ute load of hives, Johny 253.
I have just dine a split a week and a half ago and waiting for results.
I am on the swarm register locally but it all seems quiet at the moment. Hopefully when they start, I will be in the same boat as you.
I have some spare boxes and just thought the idea of a swarm trap might be interesting to try.
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Im far from the Land of Oz, but what I have found out about swarm traps, is that its a lot like fishing. You increase your odds of catching a fish by increasing the number of lines you have in the water. Swarm traps are the same. Build several and hang several at a time and place them in as many different places as you can. Ive caught swarms in the round paper type, 5 frame medium nuc size and 5 frame deep nuc size. All were baited with old drawn comb and lemongrass oil.
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I put out 6 frame nucs as swarm traps at the farm this past year. When I took then down, they were full of mud dauber wasp nest, on the sides and on foundation. I don't know if that stops the bees from moving in.
Jim
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Thanks for all your replies. Think I will give some a try. Do you just place a few drops of lemongrass on top of frames or some other type.
Would lemongrass tea bags work?
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Thanks for all your replies. Think I will give some a try. Do you just place a few drops of lemongrass on top of frames or some other type.
Would lemongrass tea bags work?
Not sure if the lemongrass tea bags would work or not. All I generally do is put a few drops of the lemongrass essential oil on a cotton ball. I then put the cotton ball in a small ziploc bag and cut a very small hole in the bag (seems to help the LGO from evaporating too quick) I then just put the bag in the bottom of the swarm trap. If anything else takes up residence in your traps, I seriously doubt that a swarm would be real keen on moving in. So a few visits to check on them periodically is necessary.
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The pheromone lure is quite inexpensive from the bee suppliers. It comes in plastic vials that you can tack to a frame. I think I paid $15 for a pack of 5.
Seeley's research indicates they will do bettering boxes approaching 40litres in size, that are well off the ground a few meters.
Despite the science, I think it is like fishing, and you just need to watch and try locally. Your local club will have a swarm collectors list, collecting swarms in Oz is really quite easy and prob less work than bait hives.