Author Topic: Can't wait for swarm season! (Read 18329 times)

tbonekel · « **on:** March 03, 2015, 01:41:36 pm »

Wanting to get my traps ready and out. Can't wait! Hope I get some swarms this year!

Jen · « **Reply #1 on:** March 03, 2015, 01:52:33 pm »

I hope you do as well tbone, as for me... I'm doing everything to avoid swarms this year

efmesch · « **Reply #2 on:** March 03, 2015, 03:39:31 pm »

On Sunday, March 1st, I was called on to collect my first swarm of the season. Unbelieveable---it's a whole month earlier than the usual date for swarming locally.
The "catch" went quite easily. The swarm had setttled on a fence and surrounding shrubs about shoulder high. The only real challenge was getting through the wild shrubbery that blocked access to the fence. The location wasn't far from my home so I answered the call by biking there. I wasn't suited up and had brought no tools with me, so I had to be careful as I broke off the branches where bees had settled. I placed a nuc on the ground nearby, broke off the branches with bees on them and put them in the open nuc. I didn't see the queen, but the bees that were on the frames showed that they were accepting of their re-location. After most of the swarm was inside, I took a pole and jostled the fence several times. Either I had already placed the queen inside or she decided to follow the invitation of her girls. The bees re-settled in the home I gave them (three built frames and one frame of foundation) without any further need for encouragement.
When nightfall came I returned to the spot, closed up the nuc and moved the family to where it was convenient.

If the owner of the property hadn't pointed out the exact location of the swarm, I never would have found it. It's amazing how a swarm can "disappear" into the background once its cloud of bees condenses and settles down.

Jen · « **Reply #3 on:** March 03, 2015, 04:52:42 pm »

Nice swarm story Ef. I love swarms, even tho I'm trying to discourage them this year. Standing in the middle of a swarm is magical to me

efmesch · « **Reply #4 on:** March 03, 2015, 05:00:22 pm »

In my opinion, collecting swarms is the most "fun" part of beekeeping. They are generally docile, yet they always provide a challenge of some sort. And of course, best of all, they are free!!

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #5 on:** March 03, 2015, 08:46:56 pm »

Got my Honey B gone and Swarm Commander today..
I will say, that if the Honey B gone works I will be impressed, the stuff smells good enough to eat.. or maybe drink. Looking at 60's next week so I should have a chance to try it out. Apparently you can spray rag, put that in your smoker (unlit) and puff it at the bees to make them skeedadle.. will see if it works for that.. Will also be digging all the swarm boxes out and getting them ready.. With 60 degree days upcoming I will also be doing some hiking to check on feral colonies. I have high hopes for survival this year, and with survival, comes NICE swarm catches.
I have not been overly excited about spring yet, its been too cold, but with TWO (2) days of COLD weather, then a few days of 40's, a couple days of 50's and THEN.. we are supposed to be in the lower 60's!!!! Spring fever just hit HARD, I am standing in the window tapping my foot impatiently.....

Slowmodem · « **Reply #6 on:** March 03, 2015, 09:04:31 pm »

Quote from: tbonekel on March 03, 2015, 01:41:36 pm

Wanting to get my traps ready and out. Can't wait! Hope I get some swarms this year!

From what I've read, I guess I've been doing it wrong. I set out a couple of hives last year with lemongrass cotton balls to lure them. This year, after reading posts here, I'm going to put an empty box between the bottom board and the box with frames. Maybe I'll have better luck.

Jen · « **Reply #7 on:** March 03, 2015, 09:32:28 pm »

Slow, what that accomplish?

Slowmodem · « **Reply #8 on:** March 03, 2015, 09:35:32 pm »

Quote from: Jen on March 03, 2015, 09:32:28 pm

Slow, what that accomplish?

Well, I can't go back and quote the posts, but several people said swarms look for a cavity, so I figured an empty box might help entice them in.

Jen · « **Reply #9 on:** March 03, 2015, 11:47:32 pm »

Hmmm, seems to make sense. This trap would have to remain closer to the ground then?

See, in my position, the swarm generally lands smack in the middle of this cedar tree just out of arms length, of course, so I have to get a ladder. I'm trying to figure a way to secure a swarm trap about halfway up this cedar to the right. That is our house below the cedars. Don't want to cut any more branches off of this tree.

Slowmodem · « **Reply #10 on:** March 04, 2015, 12:46:26 am »

Quote from: Jen on March 03, 2015, 11:47:32 pm

Hmmm, seems to make sense. This trap would have to remain closer to the ground then?

See, in my position, the swarm generally lands smack in the middle of this cedar tree just out of arms length, of course, so I have to get a ladder. I'm trying to figure a way to secure a swarm trap about halfway up this cedar to the right. That is our house below the cedars. Don't want to cut any more branches off of this tree.

Get or build a bee vacuum!

Jen · « **Reply #11 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:00:34 am »

A bees vac would pull them in gently, and then do you blow them back out into hive body?

Slowmodem · « **Reply #12 on:** March 04, 2015, 03:12:38 am »

Quote from: Jen on March 04, 2015, 01:00:34 am

A bees vac would pull them in gently, and then do you blow them back out into hive body?

Nope, just take off the top and dump them in the hive.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #13 on:** March 04, 2015, 09:55:28 am »

The biggest problems I have had with swarm traps is placing them too close to the parent hive. i can only GUESS that bees perefer to be further away. On the order of up to 1/4 to half a mile away. i have better luck with my swarm traps at that distance...
Having said that... i have watched bees move 50 feet from the original hive into an OIL barrel, that still had Hydraulic oil in the bottom of it.. what a NASTY mess to get the bees out of...
I think... what it comes down to, is availability. if there is Nothing for them to move into further away, they will do what they have to.

Jen · « **Reply #14 on:** March 04, 2015, 12:31:17 pm »

Scott, I only have last years swarm episode to go by. Although one of the swarms asconded, the other nine landed in the cedar tree or on the ground. It sure made it convenient

I have an empty deep with pulled frames ready for the bee taking, and I've seen a vid of you retrieving a swarm strapped onto a ladder. I would have to go buy a $40 ladder for that process. I would like to put a swarm trap at the height of the cedar tree to the right, right about the middle. Got any idea's up you sleeve?

efmesch · « **Reply #15 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:33:55 pm »

How about pruning away all the branches directly below the place where you want your bait hive to hang. Then connect a pulley to a strong branch above the cleared area. Run a rope around the pulley and you can use it to lift the bait hive to hang where you want it. When bees move it, you can simply lower the captured swarm and take it wherever you want, replacing the now occupied hive with another empty for the next swarm.
Of course, you will still need a ladder for the pruning and setting up the pulley-----Oh Well----- $:-\$

Jen · « **Reply #16 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:47:13 pm »

I like the pulley idea

however, these are not my trees, they belong to the house on this upper bank. And these cedars have very thin wobbly slippery limbs. You can't even hang a christmas ornament on them, they just slide off.

Maybe I could stack about 6 empty deeps and put the swarm trap on the top. Wondering if that tower would withstand the March winds?

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #17 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:49:38 pm »

The problem is, those bees moved to that tree as a staging point. they congregate there, and the scouts go out searching for suitable locations. When they find a suitable location, they return and tell the other bees about it by dancing on the cluster.. Other scouts will find other sites, etc, etc, and eventually a decision is made to move into ONE of those locations. usually the location is some distance from the mother hive so that there is less competition, provided of course, that there IS a suitable location further away...
It all comes down to suitability..
if there is no other suitable location for them to go to, they will move into the hive Jen has on her back porch that was readied for her to do a split etc.. That is just my understanding of how it works. Like everything beekeeping, once you think you have it figured, they ruin all that effort by proving you wrong...

Jen · « **Reply #18 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:55:21 pm »

Interesting you say that Scott, cause last year I had readied and bated traps on the ground right between these two cedars and the bees never went in, they kept landing in this cedar or on the ground near a shrub. The Nerve.

We do have some undeveloped land a short crows flight from our house.... hmmm

Yankee11 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 04, 2015, 06:25:06 pm »

I've used the Honey B gone and I can tell you, that stuff worked. Bees want nothing to do with.

Get this- I had honey supers set up and everything set up ready to do some extracting at end of summer. Had to run a quick errand, forgot and left door open. Well the bees found the supers, room was full of bees. SO, I turned the fan on and squirted a couple of sprays of Honey B Gone into the back of the fan. Cleared all the bees outta the room in about 20 minutes. That was funny.

Make sure you don't get your mixed up and put that Honey B Gone in the swarm traps