# Chinses Swarm commander



## DANger-is (May 3, 2019)

I've been trying to find reviews for the ebay Chinese version of Swarm Commander but had no luck. Does anyone on here have any experience with it? It is significantly cheaper


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

Ask your self this.. if the whole bottle of the real deal vs knock off or LGO catches you just one more swarm over the few years you use it whats the cost per swarm difference?


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

Lemongrass works exceptionally well. Add a little fresh beeswax and some propolis to the trap and you are set. Works great.


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## Andhors (Dec 7, 2018)

Have not seen any testimonials or swarm commander lately. Seems the consensus opinion is: Meh!
Anyone done a convincing lemongrass vs. swarm commander experiment?


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## R_V (Aug 20, 2016)

I try not to buy anything from china if I can help it.
The real Swarm Commander has caught 8 swarms for me so it was well worth the price.
I haven't tried lemon grass oil but it's super cheap.

there's a DR here in the local bee club the sells little "1 per trap" ampules that last the entire season for about $2 a vial.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Andhors said:


> Anyone done a convincing lemongrass vs. swarm commander experiment?


I don’t know if I’d call it convincing. A side by side comparison. Turned out that I caught 10 swarms….5 for each. 
https://youtu.be/uHtivqGNyMo


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

I have used both and really haven't seen anything that would make me feel it is any better. It does work, but so does Anise. Having hive smells like combs, propolis, and a decent cavity size is more important than the lure IMO. The lure helps, but I have caught tons of swarms in deadout boxes with no lure at all. I have a bottle of lemon grass I put retired queens in, and that with the hive smell reels them in.


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## John_M (Aug 13, 2019)

Infuse your discarded/replaced queens in alchohol this together with lemongrass oil, old combs, and used bee'y smelling gear is probably plenty.


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