# Swarm Traps & Obstinate Bees



## JoeMcc (May 15, 2007)

Grant said:


> http://www.swarmpics.homestead.com
> 
> Grant
> Jackson, MO


Wow... interesting.

Thank you for sharing!

JoeMcc


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## Zane (Mar 28, 2008)

Grant, thank you for the pics and story. It looks like your still getting swarms around there to get. I like your idea on attaching the box to the tree. Do you just notch a board on the box and slide it onto the nail in the tree?


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

There are more pictures of alternative traps at:

www.feralhoneybees.homestead.com

I prefer the six-frame nuc box. The "hanger" is a 1x4" board that is probably 8" taller than the trap is high. I screw it to the side of the trap with simple dry-wall screws, coarse threaded. In that section that sticks up above the trap, I drill a 1" hole toward the top.

I went to my local True Value Hardware store and bought 60-penny nails. They're about six inches long and very sturdy. I drive the nails into a tree and hang the trap through the 1" hole.

Most of my traps are 8 to 10 feet off the ground. In some of the uneven ground and ravines, where a ladder is not safely balanced, I'll hang them at shoulder height. So far, height is not a strong determining factor as I catch swarms equally at both heights.

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## Cobbler (Jan 6, 2021)

Grant said:


> I posted this above in the "Forum" but thought those more interested in pictures might also look here.
> 
> I had two swarms that wouldn't go into the swarm trap, but rather chose to build underneath the trap.
> 
> ...


I know it’s super late to respond to this thread, but if I’m reading it, maybe somebody else is too.

I have had 2 of these under the box swarms. My best assessment of the observable facts lead me to believe that this happens when the smell inside the box overwhelms the chemical communication of the bees. I have had this problem when a swarm arrives very soon after I have applied the LGO.

A smelly box may attract the scouts, but once they move in, they can’t smell what the queen is doing, so they move back out.

One of mine built several small combs on the bottom, but then moved in after a few days.


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