# A free hive for you!



## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

The presence of foragers doesn't mean bees will swarm to those locations. Of course, it doesn't mean they won't, either. Foragers may check out a swarm trap, but unless the queen comes along with some thousands of workers, that's all it is. Swarms don't usually fly as far as foragers can, and your odds of success will be better if there are hives fairly close.

In Texas, do be leery of any swarms you catch, as they have a fair chance of being africanized.


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

I never can see where they are going. I try to see which way they are heading to get their stores, and they fly up in a circular spiral and out of view. I probably wouldn't get anywhere with that lining box. Good luck.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

You don't need to know where the hives are. You already know there are hives within flight range of those gas stations. All you need are spots in the neighborhood to set your traps. The bees will come to you. I catch bees all the time that later die to mites and other pests, they have not permanently adapted to them, just survived for a season or two.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

It is a valid plan but there are easier ways. Join a bee club and make yourself available 24/7/365. Very quickly you're the go-to guy on swarm calls and cutouts. Cutouts are sweet imo. Get paid to take honey AND bees...what more can you ask for?


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

aunt betty said:


> Cutouts are sweet imo. Get paid to take honey AND bees...what more can you ask for?


The trouble with that plan is doing cutouts is a learned art requiring an innate sense of how to treat bees, the proper know how and the proper equipment. Beginner beekeepers slaughter the first few colonies they cut out, hundreds a year across the country. I heard a story yesterday. Beginner tries to obtain his first bees cutting out a four foot deep valve box. Many of the bees died in the vacuum. Many died in the flood of honey from the honey combs that were also added to the cutout colony. Robbers finished the job. 

With bait hive a strong viable swarm naturally establishes itself in a proper box, if a proper box was used. Usually 85% plus success rate.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

my first cut out was a mess, tons of dead bees, but somehow the queen came out unscathed and they did fine untill I killed them over winter by not getting enough weight on them and they starved.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

odfrank said:


> The trouble with that plan is doing cutouts is a learned art requiring an innate sense of how to treat bees, the proper know how and the proper equipment. Beginner beekeepers slaughter the first few colonies they cut out, hundreds a year across the country. I heard a story yesterday. Beginner tries to obtain his first bees cutting out a four foot deep valve box. Many of the bees died in the vacuum. Many died in the flood of honey from the honey combs that were also added to the cutout colony. Robbers finished the job.
> 
> With bait hive a strong viable swarm naturally establishes itself in a proper box, if a proper box was used. Usually 85% plus success rate.


If I could offer some "defense" to aunt betty (not like he needs it, I don't think), but... He and I talk nearly daily via email, he is a general contractor there is usually quite a few guys helping including guys who have been keeping bees for a long time. They do good work, he's sent me pictures of what they do and he might have posted some one here at some point.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

aunt betty said:


> It is a valid plan but there are easier ways. Join a bee club and make yourself available 24/7/365. Very quickly you're the go-to guy on swarm calls and cutouts. Cutouts are sweet imo. Get paid to take honey AND bees...what more can you ask for?


If it were only that easy Ronnie Elliot, you might have a better shot of putting a GPS on one of the bees, and finding their hives. Just put up your traps where you can, keep them baited, and check them periodically.


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## jadebees (May 9, 2013)

Ronnie, beelining can be fun, a good outing for kids. I learned some of the ways as a kid. My old neighbor could not see as well as shiny 10 & 12 yr old eyes, so he got us helping. You'll need a few small containers on small stakes, syrup with smell, and a tiny bit of flour paste, with a tiny art brush. Place a tiny feeder of scented syrup, (mint works) on a stake, near them. As they start collecting, dab 2 or 3 with paste on their butt. You can tell direction like this: the bee will make an orientation circle. As it figures out which way it will suddenly seem to dive at the ground, but, thats a way to get up to full speed when full. Usualy thats the way home, roughly. Even older eyes can see it, marking helps that, and thats when you follow, to where you last see the bee. After a few of them, move your feeder to there. If you lose your marked bees, they were not hive mates. So mark a few more, its better to follow 1 colony at a time. When they discover the new location, repeat. Scent helps them find it faster, so you can move along sooner. They dont always fly a straight line. But you will get to them with patience. It can take a few days, but it's way faster than the box method. Thats very slow. Ocasionally you find them in an hour or two.I have great memories of beelining, and you will too. Have fun!
BTW, if there's that many bees, that whole area would be good for placing swarm lures.
-edit- ------Something inportant I forgot, when you have your 3 or 4 feeders in a line, move the last up to the front of the line place. Move the bees too, if they will stay while you walk. The ones that do, will return to the front of the line sometimes. It speeds things up.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

I'm gonna HAVE to try that!


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