# need help How many ?



## RAFAEL/PR (Feb 23, 2012)

Hi all am a newbee on beekeeping , it only my 3 post, im trying to catch my own bees ( they are the africanized type plz dont worry and im not crazy, the bees in Puerto Rico are gentle africanized bees)here poof before you attack me like anger bees,lol ,http://graduados.uprrp.edu/inventio/vol5_1/fight_against_mites.html anyway to improve my odds of catching them how many traps should i make and set up ? could i set one on the roof also besides a tree , i have a small koi pond should i set one up near it because i see alot of them drinking water and drowning at the same time. should i paint the outside of the trap to attract them? what is the best design trap around ? so you see this newbee have a lot of questions to ask , help your guys that been around could answer them it also been said that africanized bee swarm more then the nomal honey bee is the true?


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## rkereid (Dec 20, 2009)

Just hang a bait hive, with lure or lemon grass oil and some older comb (if you have it) in it, in a tree anywhere. There are lots of details on the internet if you google it, but it is pretty simple. If you have bees around, the chances are pretty good you can catch one.

Good Luck, Richard


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

The more traps you can put out the better. Put them anywhere you think bees frequent. 

I don't think paint would help or hinder the bees, but, it will make your trap last longer. 

I have two on my shop roof and caught one there, year before last. Did not catch one there last year. It is hit or miss.

cchoganjr


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

A deep box, full frames in case you get lucky, with either foundation or drawn comb on at least every other frame (they might cross-comb foundationless if not perfectly level or if they feel like it, without some kind of "guidance) Opening facing east. At least 1 inch diameter and easy to close when you move them. I've got 4 traps out here, two about 20 miles east at different sites, and one 10 miles south. As far as I know, I haven't caught any bees yet, but our weather has been up and down a lot. None of mine are far off the ground. I don't want to climb a ladder to get a full box down. 

Gypsi

(all but 1 of my traps is within 35 feet of an ornamental pond.)


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## oblib (Oct 28, 2011)

As many as you can make. I only made eight and as of today I have friends of friends of friends calling me to tell me to come put traps out on their property. Once word starts to get around you keep bees and want to put out some traps it seems almost everyone wants to help. As for me I'm going to build another dozen this weekend


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## RAFAEL/PR (Feb 23, 2012)

thanks for the info guys , could your guys link some of your traps so i have a very good idea what to make, i made a quickly swam trap out of a bird house it 14 by 10 by 16 inches deep here a link
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1896678954195.53013.1758242520&type=3 i cover the bottom entres and made a one inch hole in the middle of the box ,the bee you see on my photos are from my front lawn and these guys are africanized , they are smaller i think compare to the ones in New York i use to play with, i get real close to them and they dont even notice im around taking picture of them. the only thing i see missing on this forum is a photo Album of each member like the forum im in for pigeon at pigeon talk each member could have up to 40 picture on their Album , would have been great for this forum ,it will have taking this forum to the next level, maybe in the coming future , i hope


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

RAFAEL/PR Reference your comment on photo album. You can establish a photobucket account and then when you wish for people to see your bee photos, you can link your beesource comments to your photobucket. Below is an example.

This is my link to photobucket that I use when I post something that needs a photo on beesource.

http://s841.photobucket.com/albums/zz339/cchoganjr/

Hope this helps you.

cchoganjr


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## RAFAEL/PR (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks cchoganjr just made a account, nice set up too,


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## rkereid (Dec 20, 2009)

RAFAEL/PR said:


> thanks for the info guys , could your guys link some of your traps so i have a very good idea what to make,


Here is a link to a few photos of bait hives that I have up every year. https://picasaweb.google.com/103329915957501702913/SwarmTraps2010

The boxes are old deeps with a 3/4" or 1" hole and plywood screwed to top and bottom. There is a vertical board screwed to the side. This has a 1" hole at the top that I hook over a nail on the tree. I then screw the bottom of the board to the tree to stabilize it. I fill the inside with a combination of old empty frames, old comb in frames, and full foundation frames. Of course, some lure as well. Good luck.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

rkereid.....Very nice and very informative.

Thanks for posting the link to these.

cchoganjr


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## RAFAEL/PR (Feb 23, 2012)

Rkeried ,wow!! awesome, you got your area fully cover,lol and successful to boot , thanks for postings the pictures of your traps


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## rkereid (Dec 20, 2009)

Thanks. 

Cleo I have also really enjoyed your informative articles on different beekeeping tricks of the trade.

Rafael- I was in PR about 5 years ago helping my brother with some research. What a nice place. I know there are beekeeps there catching bees in traps. You might also advertise for doing removals and cutouts. I think it is good business with all the Africanized, swarmy genetics.

Richard


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## sasquatch (Mar 13, 2010)

man,i hope i get the same results.rk you got it down pat.i have allmost 40 traps out now with lgo,and comb.all near ferrels or where ive cot sworms,trapouts.sowfar all the traps have had visiters when i was there looking at them.none are painted.the naturel wood is the perfect camo.sworm season hassint started hear,but close.corse im hopping for a lot of captures,but id be happy with 5 or sow.i love hunting bees,and im lurning a lot about where to look,lust the other day i went to screw a trap to a tree and hurd buzzing,walked arround to the other side of the huge tree and there was a ferrel hive in that tree.cant get eny luckier then that.ive also had bees going into my trap as i was mounting them to treetrunks.im now expert at traping bees but im shure giving it a deasint gow.


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## rkereid (Dec 20, 2009)

It's interesting to see how quickly they are attracted to the LGO. Nothing like fishing for bees!


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

Saludos Rafael. If your africanized bees act like the ones here in Honduras, you shouldn't have any problems getting some. They definitly swarm more than the bees back in the States.

Most of my new trap hives are baited with some bees wax that I melt and drip inside the box. On the outside I rub some lemon grass (I have the real thing so no need to by the oil). That's about all I need to do.

Some of my older trap hives that have had bees in them several times are just getting hung up with out any additional baiting. Swarms have been moving into them without even using any lemon grass.

I use top bar hives so my trap hives have the same disign. No frames are used. Since wax moths are a problem here, I don't put any old comb in them. 

So far this year I've caught seven right in my back yard--three of them on the same weekend. One moved into a trap hive I had setting next to the back door on the ground. Another moved into a box I hung underneath the roof eaves (I saw some bees checking out the roof and wanted to prevent them from actually moving into it. It worked. The swarm moved into the trap hive.) The third moved into a swarm box I had hanging in a mango tree. I have a hammock tied to it so I got to lie there while I watched that one move into the box above me. It was a big one, maybe five or six pounds of bees.

In another area where I hang trap hives, I tried a new tree this year. Caught the first one in less than two weeks. I took that one down and hung up a new box and within two weeks had another one. That's happened three times now. I may very well have swarm number four in the latest box I hung in that tree. The owner of the farm just told be that one of the other trap hives I have hanging on the farm now has bees in it. 

I'm averaging about one swarm for every box I have been setting out. I have 15 so far this year, since the beginning of February. Swarms will keep flying until the last part of May. For pictures of my trap hives, click on the link in my signature line to go to my photobucket page.

Buena suerte.

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Tom


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## RAFAEL/PR (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks for the info . from what i was told swarm season start in April in Pr


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