# Swarm traps



## Wilson Farms Apiaries (Mar 15, 2021)

Any suggestions on types of swarm traps and where to buy them?
Thanks! 😎🐝


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## MJC417 (Jul 26, 2008)

Used brood and nuc boxes work great.


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## Johnnymms (Feb 7, 2020)

There are plans out there for making 3 swarm traps from 1 sheet of 1/2 plywood. If you are handy and have the tools it's a breeze. If you want to buy them just about any bee supply company big or small will sell them. Just be prepared to pay up.


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## Tom McCaffery (Mar 31, 2021)

Search “$8 swarm box” on YouTube. It is a great step by step tutorial on building your own.


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## Emmett (Mar 24, 2021)

Ive never trapped a swarm, but I've seen some swarm traps. The best way I've seen is attaching a pulley to a limb, running rope through it and tying it to your trap, then you put a nail in the tree so when you hoist the trap up you just tie it off to the nail. Once the pulley is up you never have to get on a ladder up there again.


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## ifixoldhouses (Feb 27, 2019)

These plywood ones work well, swarm commander and old comb.


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## amk (Dec 16, 2017)

MJC417 said:


> Used brood and nuc boxes work great.


This is all I use don't even need swarm commander.


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## Wilson Farms Apiaries (Mar 15, 2021)

Tom McCaffery said:


> Search “$8 swarm box” on YouTube. It is a great step by step tutorial on building your own.


Thanks Tom!


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## Jack Grimshaw (Feb 10, 2001)

Good resource.Size it to your frame size.
Add a strip of wood to the side with a hole to hang on a screw or nail and a screw in the bottom to the tree.
I make the top hole big enough for a rope so I can lower with a pulley for those heavy swarms.






Natural Beekeeping | Free Plans | Swarm Trap Lite







horizontalhive.com





I use a ladder to keep them out of sight and to keep them from being stolen.


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## hankstump (Jul 30, 2014)

I use old equipment mostly. but the Swarm Tropper is a pretty good swarm trap, and is good for about 2 move-ins per year for me. A std. 10 frame deep, or medium box works just fine. I second Swarm Commander. not necessary, but it is the flashing neon sign that brings them in to check out your trap in the first place. Don't know of anything that works better, and a $30 bottle will dose your traps for 2 years. The three pillars of swarm traps. Scent, Accommodation, and Location. Scent is swarm lures, old comb, some yellow comb, propolis, old boxes and old frames. Accommodation is ~40 liters of space (10 frame deep is 42 liters) some yellow comb for the queen to lay in directly, and some open frames so the bees have that sense of space when they check out your trap. Location, well, where the bees are, your swarm waits for you. Set your traps anywhere from 2ft off the ground, to as high as you want to hang 'em. Its all fishing. 

Cheers, Phil


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## Hoot Owl Lane Bees (Feb 24, 2012)

I use old deep boxes. I attach a board on the bottom and a 1x4 on the side with the top half of a french cleat. I have another board with the bottom half of the french cleat that I strap to a tree or even an old ball field backstop and I can swap them out in minutes when full. The ball field gets 2 swarms every year.
Some times it pays to have lots of extra equipment in the truck during swarm season.






There is a swarm in the box and one hanging under it.


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## hankstump (Jul 30, 2014)

Yeah, sometimes there are two colonies scouting your swarm trap at the same time. If the weather is such that you finally get a good sunny warm day, you may have two swarms showing up. We had a cold week last week, then a few days of 70, and I got two swarms in two days. 

Always good to put swarm traps up in pairs I find, especially in the beginning of the season. 

Cheers, Phil


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## Wilson Farms Apiaries (Mar 15, 2021)

hankstump said:


> I use old equipment mostly. but the Swarm Tropper is a pretty good swarm trap, and is good for about 2 move-ins per year for me. A std. 10 frame deep, or medium box works just fine. I second Swarm Commander. not necessary, but it is the flashing neon sign that brings them in to check out your trap in the first place. Don't know of anything that works better, and a $30 bottle will dose your traps for 2 years. The three pillars of swarm traps. Scent, Accommodation, and Location. Scent is swarm lures, old comb, some yellow comb, propolis, old boxes and old frames. Accommodation is ~40 liters of space (10 frame deep is 42 liters) some yellow comb for the queen to lay in directly, and some open frames so the bees have that sense of space when they check out your trap. Location, well, where the bees are, your swarm waits for you. Set your traps anywhere from 2ft off the ground, to as high as you want to hang 'em. Its all fishing.
> 
> Cheers, Phil


Thanks Phil! 🐝😎


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## Deens Bees (Feb 11, 2021)

I just practice bad housekeeping and leave old equipment out lol. I actually just heat up a little propolis and smear it around the entrance of a hive body and put it just above eye level so I don't get on a ladder mostly.
Easy swarm catch


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## Tom Mc (10 mo ago)

I have been successful each of the last 2 years catching 2-3 swarms with a single box about 9 feet high. It involves me climbing the tree by stepping on an old fence post so not the safest. Yesterday I hung 2 in same area but can reach them from the ground so I’m curious to see if the height has any affect. As someone else said it’s not worth me risking injury to catch bees. I also hung a wick with swarm commander off the bottom. In the past I hung the wick inside and sprayed around entrance but the swarms never went in the box so maybe it was a bit overkill as the spray is strong and lasts a long time if out of the elements. The second thing I did was make the boxes weather proof so they won’t get wet inside as that may have been the problem as to why they did not go in???? We’ll see!


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## gator75 (Apr 21, 2021)

I caught a swarm last week in an unused long Lang sitting in place on the ground (that I had planned to put a split in). It had some old comb and empty frames. They went right past the elevated swarm trap at 10' right next to it that had previous swarms in it with old comb and LGO. I have another on top of a 7' brick wall I can get from standing on the ground. That's the highest I'll have one again. No more ladders for me.


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## Haveuseen1? (Jun 21, 2017)

I use either 5 over 5 Nuc set up or 5 gallon buckets. Both work very well. The nucs are easier because of the frames, where they just build from the lid in the bucket. I just cut the comb and rubber band it in a frame. I prefer the Nuc but it seems the bees will take either one.


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