# When to pull traps



## Kevinpdolan (Jun 6, 2016)

I am new to this and am wondering when to bring in my trap . I have only used one and caught a nice swarm within 24 hours- lucky!! I have moved it to another location and have seen no activity around it for 2 weeks and am wondering if ther will be any more swarming activity in my location, south western ontario. Wondering what other people in my neck of the woods think or do with their traps?


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

kevinp...
If you caugt a swarm once, why didn't you leave the trap in the good spot.

I leave my traps out all year and refresh in the spring. The ones in deer stands got mice in them the ones on the side of the trees once in a while got a wasp nest in them. I don't use the deerstands anymore and on the side of trees I put where I can take down while standing on the ground. It makes it easy to rebait and tear out a wasp nest if needed.

I aint in your neck of the woods though.
Good luck
gww


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

Swarming is extremely minimal in your area now. and as a beginner you probably do not have the resources to deal with a September swarm. So if you do not want to leave them out all summer you may as well pull them. You have to think about the time it will take the bees to become winter ready.


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## Kevinpdolan (Jun 6, 2016)

Gww I thought once I used a spot it would not produce again - not sure why but will try that spot again. I have my trap at eye level for ease of handling same as you. Thx for your reply.


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## Kevinpdolan (Jun 6, 2016)

Tenbears I did wonder about getting a swarm late in the season and what would need to be done for winter prep. If I did get a late swarm what would be the key things that would need to be done to it for winter?
Last year, my first I had a swarm leave one of my hives in late August and that hive struggled but came thought winter really well and swarmed twice this year and is now just getting back to being a hive filling the first honey super. It sure has been a learning experience and swarming seems to be tough on a hive if you expect honey that year. Should I keep feeding the hives that swarmed with sugar until a strong nectar flow?
Thx for your info.


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

kevin
I don't have a lot of experiance but every thing I read says where you just caught one is you best place to try for an after swarm and also that some spots are just better then others. I believe them. I caught one with two traps close together and I had some scouts looking at both later and the one that had caught earlier was the most active. Both traps are the same and I didn't get bees that time but do think if you find a spot that worked once it should work again.
Good luck
gww


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## datsdajoke (Aug 17, 2012)

Kevin:

If you get a swarm in a spot move the bait hive and immediately replace it with a new one. I got five swarms out of my deer stand this year doing just that. 

It is past the prime swarming season in our area, but I am sure some swarms are still happening. If you get a swarm this late you may have to feed, and adding some drawn comb if you have it really gives them a head start. 

Good luck.


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

Keven,
When capturing a late swarm you must get then up to strength and enough stores for them to overwinter which means you need to feed them heavily. swarms are usually comb drawing sons of a guns. and capable of drawing out a hive. However, if you have drawn comb available it is a big help. You can feed 2x1 syrup then so they can store more. If excess comb is not available then feeding 1x1 helps them draw comb faster. You have to watch for that pivotal point when you need to switch from 1x1 to 2x1 syrup to maximize effective resources. Many times it becomes necessary to combine late swarms either with each other or week hive to ensure best overwinter odds. I keep several hives with deep supers on them exclusively for the purpose of supplementing hives that for whatever reason do not have the resources to overwinter. A good queen is important to the overwintering colony. she nust be able to produce ample brood prior to going into winter. And do the same early spring to build the colony rapidly.

In order to maximize honey production you must manage swarms. A hive has greater trouble producing a surplus of honey when it is trying to build numbers to overwinter. preventing a swarm is far more productive for the beekeeper. I suggest you spend this winter researching swarm prevention methods to improve your honey production. I will tell you this. The walk away split method is an excellent tool for beekeepers wishing to control swarms and increase honey at the same time. An added bonus in the additional hives it develops. they can increase your hive count, or become sellable commodities. But there are other swarm reduction measures that may be better suited to your needs or style. 

Gww is correct when I capture a swarm particularly the first of the season in a given spot. I return the trap to it's location. the trap now smell more BEE than before and an after swarm will find it more readily. If I know the parent hive to be a particularly large one I sometimes place a second trap in that area. as often multiple after swarms will leave at the same time. Providing the parent hive overwinters and remains strong enough to produce swarms the next year. That spot will be a good choice each year. Just because it catches nothing one year does not mean it is done. sometimes the main hive does not swarm, or may not have a colony in it a particular year. But bees usually return as long as the hive is not destroyed.


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## Fishmaster50 (Apr 30, 2015)

Kevinpdolan said:


> Gww I thought once I used a spot it would not produce again - not sure why but will try that spot again. I have my trap at eye level for ease of handling same as you. Thx for your reply.


Buddy called me about a swarm in his yard on a Friday. Went and got it. The next Friday he called again with another swarm. Went and got it. Found out a hive in the neighbors house and that's where they were coming from.


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## crmauch (Mar 3, 2016)

Kevinpdolan said:


> I am new to this and am wondering when to bring in my trap . I have only used one and caught a nice swarm within 24 hours- lucky!! I have moved it to another location and have seen no activity around it for 2 weeks and am wondering if ther will be any more swarming activity in my location, south western ontario. Wondering what other people in my neck of the woods think or do with their traps?


Not in your neck of the woods. I don't have bees yet and my swarm traps were not successful. There might be an uptick in swarms late summer, so I've decided to leave my traps out to mid-September. I figured to store them after that, so that they'll last longer (the traps). 

What I'm hoping is that if I do get a swarm, perhaps even if they don't survive the winter, I'll get enough comb that I can use in the swarm traps for next year.

And everything I've read indicates that places where bees swarmed, tends to become swarm locations again.

Good luck!!!


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## plong (Jul 13, 2016)

Only my second yr in keeping & first for traps. I caught a swarm in one of my traps 2 weeks ago and just had a chance to move it to a top bar hive 2 nights ago. I covered the entrance with branches etc and it seems as though there are plenty of bees around the hive today however, I put another trap in the same spot that the first trap was in and it is full of bees going in & out. Could it be that the original swarm has went back there or is it possible that a new swarm took over the new trap??


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

This mirrors what a lot have already mentioned but I have a couple of trees that are swarm magnets and produce multiple swarms per year. Frequently I've had swarms moving in while I'm trying to install the previous bait hive's replacement. You can see a noticeable drop in the size of the swarms as the season progresses, I combined the last two swarms and it's still smaller than the earlier swarms. I've pulled my traps for this year.


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