# Sono Tube swarm traps



## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

Great. Now I'll be dumpster diving tomorrow looking for sono tubes.

The pictures look great.


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## jamiev (Sep 14, 2005)

Nice idea? I am also going to look for some of these on my own construction sites. I do not quite understand the glue on the piece you fabricate for the ottom What are you gluing it to in the center of a hollow tube?


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Sorry for the confusion: I glue three of the circles together to make them thicker. Then I glue one of the ends in place and just seal the other in with wax, so it is easy to remove later.


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## Jeffzhear (Dec 2, 2006)

I talked with an oldtymer beek friend of mine this morning on the phone, and we were talking about the location and how big the entrance hole should be on swarm traps. He said the hole should be about an inch and a quarter in diameter and located four or five inches up from the bottom. Just thought I would share this with you for what it's worth. Oh, you might want to affix some wire mesh over the hole to keep the birds out.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I always put 1/4 hardware cloth on the entrance to keep out the finches. If only it would keep out the paper wasps...


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

O.K sorry I gotta ask Sono Tube







? Is this the tube that carpet or floor covering comes on. Where did the solid pieces come from?

[ January 01, 2007, 09:01 AM: Message edited by: sc-bee ]


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

MB, 1/4 inch screen? Is that correct?

I have tried this size previously, and really think its a deterrant to swarms using the traps. Could be just coincidence, or some other reason. But I have gone to a slightly larger size, and seem to have better results.


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Sono tube is used for making concrete piers. It is just a round cardboard tube that comes in 6" 8" 10" 12" and 14" diameter. You can buy it pretty cheap at a building supply place, but it comes in 12' lengths. Homedepot sells it in 4' lengths, but the cost is alot higher than you can get it anywhere else. 

Question on the screening: Why not just make the entrance to the trap too small for birds, or elongate it like the entrance on a hive?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>MB, 1/4 inch screen? Is that correct?

It worked for me.

>I have tried this size previously, and really think its a deterrant to swarms using the traps. Could be just coincidence, or some other reason.

Or I got lucky...

> But I have gone to a slightly larger size, and seem to have better results.

What size?

The finches and the paper wasps were what seemed like my traps (they had frames in them). A finch is pretty small.


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

1/4" effectively stops drones, a fact I discovered when using 1/4" mesh mouse guards. Have since switched to 1/2" mesh guards.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I don't bait bees onto or into anything other than standard frames and equipment. Saves the step of cutting out the wild combs and transfering the bees, and the setback in colony progress the transfer causes. The time spent constructing these oddball size traps would be better spent nailing scrap lumber together into standard boxes. In this era of mited spring deadouts, most beekeepers have a surplus of attractive black combs available in spring to fill standard size bait boxes.

[ January 01, 2007, 11:57 AM: Message edited by: Oliver aka odfrank ]


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

I use cardboard because I can't afford to loose and replace standard equipment. These traps cost almost nothing to make and take all of five minutes to construct and if they vanish I am out nothing.


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## Jeffzhear (Dec 2, 2006)

George, you got me thinking, and so I stopped at one bee yard on the way home from work today to look at my mouse guards, and I made them with 1/2" mesh. I guess I just forgot what quarter inch mesh looked like and I thought to myself, oh lord, did I use quarter inch or half! That's what happens when you suffer from CRS! 
Jeff


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

>I guess I just forgot what quarter inch mesh looked like

Yup. 1/4" mesh is pretty small. The workers can crawl through it OK, but the drones get stuck. 1/2" stops all the mice we have around here i.e., field mice and such. I've heard shrews can get through 1/2" mesh but I can't remember the last time I saw a shrew.


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## Morris (Oct 12, 2004)

bluegrass, The Sono tube is a very clever idea. How long do you cut the tubes?


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Morris
The tube pictured is 18 inches, but that is just because that is the length it was when I found it. If I am cutting them I usually make them around 15 inches, but I don't really think the length matters much. I used to cut wood plugs for the ends, but switched to cardboard as it is easier.


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## Sarge (Jun 26, 2006)

Resembles an old Bee Gum hive. If mounted vertically it could used the same way. And any bees transfered the same way to standard hives.

wayne


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Good point Sarge, one I did not think to mention. I have a cover that has a 12" circle cut in it that the tubes slide right into. All I do is set up the box and put the cover on without an inner and the bees do the rest! No cutting and wiring required in most cases.


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## Batman (Jun 7, 2009)

The tubes can be purchased at Lowes in a 4 foot section. A few people have used these tubes for construction of a bigger bee vacuum. If you using a Langstroth hive, you're better off doing going with the plans for a 5 frame nuc. for about $15, your getting 4, 5 frame nuc boxes that you'll be able to pull the bees out on frames and transfer them to a standard box later on.

Craig


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