# Lets talk swarm trap location



## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

Ferg said:


> How many traps?


Five.



Ferg said:


> Where would you locate the traps on new property


Spaced out on the south side of shady trees as high as you can reach.



Ferg said:


> and how long would you leave them out before relocating them if they were not successful?


This time of year, a month.


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## Scott Gough (Dec 10, 2015)

I would not put out more than two traps in 100 acres unless you have extra traps and just want to put them somewhere and do not have anywhere else to go. I like mine spread out by a couple miles if I can. Of course if you know of several feral hives on the property it would be good to increase the number of traps.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

I would not relocate them. put them out and leave them for the season.


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

Keep them on the edge of the pasture areas, along the tree line—a location that you think the bees will easily find. I don’t like to put traps inside dense plots of trees. If there is a lone tree in the middle of a pasture, I would probably try that also. 

In each of my locations I usually hang four or five trap hives. Some trees seem to work better than others, because of their location or the type of tree. It is sometimes a matter of hanging up the boxes and seeing what happens.

Keep them up for the season. I probably wouldn’t relocate them, but I might need to rebait them (adding a couple more drops of lemongrass oil). If a tree catches a swarm, keep using that tree every year. I have trees that I use year after year with success. I catch one or even more swarms in those trees yearly.

If you know another beekeeper in the area who has been using swarm traps, try to find out in what type of trees he/she has the most success. This makes a difference in my beekeeping. For example, I don’t like to use pine or oak.

Check out the latest post on my blog:

“Musings about Swarms and Trap Hives: Getting “Free-bees”
http://musingsonbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2016/03/musings-about-swarms-and-trap-hives.html

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Tom


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## flyin-lowe (May 15, 2014)

I set traps last year in April and one of them didn't catch a swarm until sometime in July. Based on that the ones I hang this year will probably stay for the season.


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## crmauch (Mar 3, 2016)

flyin-lowe said:


> I set traps last year in April and one of them didn't catch a swarm until sometime in July. Based on that the ones I hang this year will probably stay for the season.


Given that it was a somewhat late season swarm, did it survive the winter for you? Did you have to feed continuously? Thanks.


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