# Plans For Swarm Trap?



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

My suggestion is to just use/build hive boxes that you would use for other purposes as well. 

Tom Seeley's research suggests that around 40 liters is an optimum size for a swarm trap, and that is the approximate volume of a 10 frame deep. More here: https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/2653/Bait Hives for Honey Bees.pdf

I use my 10 frame medium bodies and add a temporary 3" shim. The shim has an entrance notch cut in it. Add a plywood top and bottom and ... _Bob's your uncle_! 


One way to hold all this together is to cut some 1x2 scraps that run vertical to the outside of the hive body, then add some screws into the hive body, the shim and the top & bottom plywood.

.


----------



## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Fivej
I use all mediums for my hives. I usually make a deep size ten frame hive body if I have wood that is wide enough. This allows me to drill a hole in the bottom of the box but also to cut it down later if I need a medium to put on a hive. I try to fill it with frames. For the bottom and top. I usually put a couple of boards together and screw them to the bottom. For the top, I usually use a hive top of whatever kind I have and use screws to hold it down. Over the hole, I will cut a piece of wood and put one screw through it so I can swivel it over the hole if I catch something. I do not have any venting in my traps to fight over heating though when I have used hive bottoms, I have used window screen to close the hive up if I catch something. I have made some out of chip board and make them deep size also. So far I have not over heated a swarm when moving it but no venting makes this possible and so I usually close it at night move it as fast as possible and then open it the second I get it to my yard. I then switch it to a medium the next day. 

I like the ideal of making my traps in a way that I can use them for hives incase I someday have enough bees that I don't want to keep trapping. The chip board did work well though and is a little lighter as my hives are oak. With pine, they won't be heavy. I build a platform and screw it to the trees and slide the trap on to it. You could strap the platform to the tree if you don't want to put a bunch of screws in trees.

I think you could use almost anything for a trap but this is what I do.
Every since reading tom seeleys paper on trapping, I don't use nucs or mediums for traps unless I stack two or add a shim to make them bigger. Some say they catch bees in smaller traps and haveing any trap out makes catching more possible then not having anything out. I no longer put traps higher then I can put them with both feet on the ground and just reaching up.

I hope this gives you some ideals and helps in some way.
Good luck
gww


----------



## snapper1d (Apr 8, 2011)

All I us is 10 frame deeps.I catch a swarm and then pick it up and just put another one in its place.Move it to an out yard and add more supers when they need them.I have a frame of old comb and the rest frames and foundation.That way no messy cut outs.


----------



## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

Old equipment for me.


----------



## snapper1d (Apr 8, 2011)

Hard to beat old equipment that already has that bee smell in it!!!


----------



## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

Coates nuc is what I use.
http://beesource.com/build-it-yourself/5-frame-nuc-d-coates-version/
You are correct, it is a multi purpose box that functions as a trap in spring and nuc for mating or starting to build from queen castle to an overwinter nuc.
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n599/6minz/q cast 4_zpsngkg58ky.jpg

Attached are a couple of pictures of mine. You will note that I add a hanger on the side with a hole to hang them on the limb. 
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n599/6minz/traps1.jpg


----------



## Fishmaster50 (Apr 30, 2015)

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?332591-Lightest-swarm-box I made this one. Going to make another.


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I'm with the "use your standard brood chamber " crowd. I add a entrance disc for easy closure at moving with a plywood top and bottom. Or a 3/4" plywood bottom with a entrance slot. Or a five frame nuc box. All have multi purpose uses.


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Thanks guys. Some good and creative workmanship. I will have to read tom Sealey's methods. Fishmaster, did you catch a swarm with your styrofoam box? Minz, maybe I should just use an old birdhouse! I see the advantages of using a deep as well as something along the lines of a nuc box. Now I have something to ponder and build this winter. Thanks again. J


----------



## Cuttingedgelandinc (Mar 3, 2015)

odfrank said:


> I'm with the "use your standard brood chamber " crowd. I add a entrance disc for easy closure at moving with a plywood top and bottom. Or a 3/4" plywood bottom with a entrance slot. Or a five frame nuc box. All have multi purpose uses.


May I ask what you use to add the numbers to your boxes?


----------



## Fishmaster50 (Apr 30, 2015)

Fivej I just made it last week to try next year. I made five different sizes last year and caught swarms in all five so I hope I get one in the styrofoam one. Going to build another one too. That will give me eight to put out next year. And I used swarm commander!! Good luck!


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Cuttingedgelandinc said:


> May I ask what you use to add the numbers to your boxes?


A post by Oliver from a few years ago regarding his hive branding tools ...


odfrank said:


> I bought a Everhot tool 35 years ago, with a cast registraton brand and also their slotted holder. I eventually bought all of the alphanumeric characters. BrandNew now supports Everhot. I use the slotted holder to brand the year of manufacture on frames, and company name on shovels etc. I work with a friend who has almost the same registration number, and we share a third one inherited from another friend. This helps us keep the equipment sorted apart.


BrandNew/Everhot offers a variety of sized branding tools - here's one of them:
https://www.brandnew.net/estore/shopexd.asp?id=283


----------



## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

My-smokepole said:


> Old equipment for me.


Old 10 frame woodenware that's got dry rot on the top. If it's only got the dry rot on the bottom, I cut it off and turn the deep into a super. Otherwise I screw a bottom on, put in one frame of old drawn comb right in the middle and the rest are undrawn frames, drill a 1' hole in the side and put a homemade lid on top. They'll also use any dry rotted areas as openings as well. It'll give me a couple more years of trap service and invariably catch me a few swarms before it's rotted such that I can no longer use it. By that time I've got other "retired" deeps to replace it. Unscrew the bottom from the old deep and screw it on the new one and you're back in business.

I've had very poor luck with my nuc boxes trapping swarms. As a catcher for swarms I retrieve though? Perfect, just make sure to put in a frame of open brood as an anchor and they're yours.


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

I read Tom Seeley's article. Interesting. He recommends that the trap be 15 feet off the ground. Looking around my apiary, the most convenient tree to locate a trap has a good branch, but it is only about 10 feet high. If I located it there, do you think a swarm would bypass it because it is lower than their "preference"? I know that 15 feet seems to be the ideal, but am wondering how low you can go before your success rate drops off a cliff. Anyone have success with a low trap? I also found it interesting that they prefer shade, so if you have any experiences shade vs sun I would be interested in hearing it.


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Fivej said:


> but am wondering how low you can go before your success rate drops off a cliff. Anyone have success with a low trap?


I catch dozens annually never higher than I can place standing at ground level.


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Frank, That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Now I will look around for an even lower branch. I would really like to avoid a ladder.
Snapper mentioned old equipment with the "old bee smell" helps too. I don't have any old boxes, but has anyone tried to replicate the "old bee smell"? I wonder if I could melt up some used comb, propolis and pollen ( maybe even some frass and "parts" from the bottom board) and then paint it on the inside of the box. Also, some commented that the guy in the youtube vid used too much lemongrass oil. How much would you use? One or 2 drops?


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Yes melt some propolis and wax with a heat gun inside the box. Less is more with swarm lures.


----------



## Fishmaster50 (Apr 30, 2015)

Ya all mine was placed from the ground. Never higher where I needed a ladder. I coated the inside too!! One I prompt up a old mailbox post and it caught one. A lot has to do with the place. Gotta have hives somewhere in the other. At my wife's work a swarm would come thru every year so I put two in that area. (Both got one) Will have to see what happens next spring!


----------



## Boglehead (Feb 16, 2009)

There was a ABJ article “A Swarm Trap in Every Tree” written by Dr. Leo Sharashkin march 2015. In it he had plans to build 8 traps out of 3 sheets of plywood. Lots of good information on his website http://www.horizontalhive.com/honeybee-swarm-trap/bait-hive-how-to-catch.shtml


----------



## DanielD (Jul 21, 2012)

Fivej said:


> Frank, That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Now I will look around for an even lower branch. I would really like to avoid a ladder.
> Snapper mentioned old equipment with the "old bee smell" helps too. I don't have any old boxes, but has anyone tried to replicate the "old bee smell"? I wonder if I could melt up some used comb, propolis and pollen ( maybe even some frass and "parts" from the bottom board) and then paint it on the inside of the box. Also, some commented that the guy in the youtube vid used too much lemongrass oil. How much would you use? One or 2 drops?


I just tie a piece of old comb to an empty foundationless frame. The swarm will start building from that piece. Even having empty used frames in the box would help, or a used top, etc.


----------



## Vancouver (Mar 4, 2017)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> My suggestion is to just use/build hive boxes that you would use for other purposes as well.
> 
> Tom Seeley's research suggests that around 40 liters is an optimum size for a swarm trap, and that is the approximate volume of a 10 frame deep. More here: https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/2653/Bait Hives for Honey Bees.pdf
> 
> ...


I too use strictly mediums. The 3 inch shim idea is intriguing. Just to clarify, do you continue to use medium frames or do you buy deep frames for the trap? If you use mediums do you wind up with a mess with the extra empty space?


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

I put medium frames in the trap, but that is because ALL my hive bodies are mediums. The extra space below the medium frames shouldn't be an issue if you check the trap often enough to catch it and transfer the 'caught' bees to an appropriate size more permanent box.


But be aware - my _success_ at swarm trapping is not that great.


----------



## missybee (Sep 6, 2014)

We bought those fiber type swarm traps, I put some brood comb in them with a bit of melted wax and some lemon oil mixed in. We caught two swarms that way. 

A friend used one of those fiber plant pots, attached to a wall. Here is a you tube of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bALtVefmIXc


----------



## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

I did the shim thing that raider talks about but as I ran out of equiptment, I just started making deeps with the intention of cutting them down to mediums later if I needed to use them for hives. I put medium frames in them because I am running all mediums for my hives.
Cheers
gww


----------



## snapper1d (Apr 8, 2011)

If I was using all mediums I would use two.It would be better to be a litter larger than too small and lose big swarms.Use the same thing you use regularly and you dont have to mess with cut outs.Just pick up your hive and put it in your truck and sit a new one in it place and take your swarm/hive home with you.


----------



## deansherwood (Aug 2, 2016)

I built (3) 8 frame swarm traps a few weeks ago by modifying the D. Coates 5 frame nuc plans. My father made nearly identical ones last year and caught 2 swarms in 3 traps. I shared my plans & cutlist on the link below.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?334138-8-Frame-Bait-Hive-Plans


----------

