swarm trap

[rober]

my brain broke wind again. I have used my trap out box & some old nucs for swarm traps & was thinking about building a couple more when I had an idea while picking up some plumbing parts. I took a free 3 gallon icing bucket from a bakery, drilled an 1 1/2" dole near the bottom with a hole saw, & added mated threaded PVC fittings. when you catch a swarm install a PVC cap to transport the girls. the lids snap on so it's secure. I haven't done it to the trap in the photos yet but I drilled a hole thru the cap & fittings so I can drop a 16D nail thru the hole to secure the cap. add some burr comb & lemon grass oil, & a queen cage from a recently released queen if you have one, & you're good to go. if you wondering about the cavity size I've already caught 2 swarms in these. if you want more room use a 5 gallon bucket. these will stack when stored so they take up less room in the shed.

[tedh]

Brilliant, rober, brilliant!

[rober]

I do tend to think out of the box & try to find things that can be repurposed so I can use things off the shelf without having to fabricate parts. this trap cost less than $5.00 & takes about 20 minutes to build. the threads on the male fitting need to be trimmed roughly 5/16" to allow the fittings to be drawn tight together on the bucket. in one photo you can see some blue on the inside of the fitting. on a trim job one time I ran out of beeswax for lubricating wood screws & had another brain fart & used liquid soap to lube the screws. it worked great. when the fitting was trimmed the threads were a bit glitchy so I used dish detergent as a lube.
 my wife says i should have pointy ears like a vulcan because of the way my brain is wired.

[neillsayers]

Nicely done. Looking forward to pics of it's first catch.

[Bakersdozen]

I like the idea of using what you have.   How do secure it down?  I would have trouble removing any comb they built in there to place it in a brood box.

[Mikey N.C.]

What are percentage 's of catching swarms in your yards?

[rober]

I have a swarm trap at every bee yard & a couple near bee trees. most are boxes of some type I have 3 of the bucket traps now & have caught 1 swarm in one to date. they're not in the bucket long enough to make enough comb to worry about. all the traps are mounted on metal shelf brackets that are attached to trees. this spring has been a swarm fest around this area so i'm checking traps often. I've had more hives swarm this year than I've in the last 10 years total.

[Green bee]

Thanks for sharing Rober I’ll be trying this out. Just one question how does it ventilate?  Also would painting the bucket black bother anything. I have always heard the bees like the darkness. Seems like the white bucket would be kinda bright inside. What’s your thoughts.

[rober]

I tried painting one & the paint did not adhere very well. the buckets are PVC & had bakery icing in them which is really greasy. there is no ventilation but some tree cavities & building cavities often have no ventilation either. also, as I said i'm checking these traps every 3 days or so.

[Green bee]

   I been thinking about making some from sheet metal and painting them white. We have a plasma cutter at our shop . Could cut one out in just a second. I just wonder if the bees would use it. Of course I could add ventilation. They would last several seasons and would Weigh to much. What’s you thoughts?  I could also make it fit some old deep frames.

[rober]

bare metal can get reeeeaaaaally  hot. you'd likely be building a solar oven.

[Green bee]

Lol that was my thoughts. I was thinking about a insulation of some sort. Idk. But your right probably be a bee oven.

[Mikey N.C.]

If there's housing being built near by . New ,  they usually have enough scraps they throw away. You can find what ya need to make traps, there not permanent housing just traps

[Mikey N.C.]

Go buy new housing development , they have lots of scrap wood enough to make traps, remember not permanent housing, just temporary for bee's.