# Is there a distance from an active hive for swarm trap?



## lemmje (Feb 23, 2015)

I had a formerly occupied hive in my apiary become reoccupied during swarm season a few years ago, but i have not had much luck with bait hives, so all i have is that anecdote.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

In the place I used to keep bees, I'd get swarms flying into empty boxes in the bee yard every year, or most years. Where I live now, no swarms fly in. I don't think my location now is good for bees, they don't seem to like it here. I think it's more location and housing opportunity oriented than whether or not there are already bees at the location.


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

shaneTX said:


> I am setting up a few swarm traps and I was curious if swarms avoid areas with active hives? In nature do colonies try to spread out?
> 
> For example, could I set up an empty hive next to my other hives and have a normal chance at getting a swarm to move in?


I noticed that my traps that are at least a couple of hundred yards from an established bee yard did better than traps in or near a bee yard. So I quit putting traps close to my hives. Other folks report catching swarms in empty hives close to their existing colonies.


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## MichiganMike (Mar 25, 2014)

I have a trap about 100 feet from my colonies and it catches swarms.


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## stan.vick (Dec 19, 2010)

I have found that empty hive boxes catch swarms in or near my bee yards, but observing my home yard over the years I find the swarms are from elsewhere and swarms from my yard leave my property. makes sense that mother nature would discourage inbreeding.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

I set out a handful of swarm traps this year...most being a hundred or so feet from my backyard bees. I've caught a number of swarms in them...including several from my own hives in that yard. I don't believe that the bees 'know' the difference. Once they start scouting for new nests they aren't looking at who lives nearby.


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## flyin-lowe (May 15, 2014)

Last year I set a trap a couple hundred yards from a tree with bees in it. I set the trap between the bees and the closest water source and it caught a swarm.


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## fatshark (Jun 17, 2009)

The last couple of years I've got swarms that have travelled a mile to bait my hives (away from my apiaries). However, I also always have a spare bait hive in the corner of my apiaries 'just in case' ... if a swarm arrives they're usually mine (and they're *always* mine once they're safely hived ).


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## BuckeyeBeek (Apr 16, 2013)

Last year I put out 10 traps, caught 10 swarms. All traps are within 1/4 to 1/2 mile of each other and my bee yard on same property. None of the swarms were from my own beeyard. I know this because all my queens are marked, all the swarm queens were unmarked. I have no idea where they come from. So far this year trapped 3 swarms.


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