# Give up and move it?



## Steve in PA (Jan 26, 2015)

I have 2 traps out near a creek. 1 is D.Coates plan and another is a 8 frame box plan I found. Initially I wasn't going to put any there because I had other locations I thought were better. But, I had 2 extras and hung them on a Friday. That Monday I saw lots of activity at the 5 frame one and just a little on the bigger one.

This video is from early on. 




Now all has gone extremely quiet. I haven't seen anything other than the odd bee stopping before moving on for several days. Should I just leave them or scout for a better spot? I haven't heard off any swarm activity locally and there hasn't been any swarm posts on here about PA.


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## Steve in PA (Jan 26, 2015)

I just realized that the video may not have been visible earlier. It works now.


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## Bigd-bigm (Apr 8, 2015)

Steve in PA said:


> I just realized that the video may not have been visible earlier. It works now.


I am in Pgh area in Pa 
New beekeeper and put out a few traps too. They are (2) 5-frame boxes with some old comb and some wax foundation. LGO for bait. Haven't seen any action yet but only been out for a couple weeks. Not sure if that is to be expected or not. Have a third I am putting out this week


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## Notapro (Dec 16, 2014)

I would leave them. I had a similar situation about a month ago where there was a lot of activity for 3 or 4 days and then nothing. Two days later a huge swarm moved into the trap.


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## Ted n Ms (Apr 25, 2008)

Refresh the bait about every 10 days. Have you tried swarm commander ?


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## Steve in PA (Jan 26, 2015)

I guess I shouldn't get discouraged. I haven't seen a honeybee anywhere in 2 or 3 days. Lots of bumblebees and sweatbees but not a honeybee to be found anywhere not just at that site.

That trap is in a locust tree that is blooming right now and there's plenty of wildflowers along the creek. Time to just be patient.


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## Bigd-bigm (Apr 8, 2015)

Steve in PA said:


> I guess I shouldn't get discouraged. I haven't seen a honeybee anywhere in 2 or 3 days. Lots of bumblebees and sweatbees but not a honeybee to be found anywhere not just at that site.
> 
> That trap is in a locust tree that is blooming right now and there's plenty of wildflowers along the creek. Time to just be patient.


Just got word of some bees in one of my Pa traps. Haven't gone to check it out yet. Probably this afternoon. It is at my inlaws place and they said that they had not seen a single bee for weeks. Now they are going in and out. Will update later with what I fin out


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## Steve in PA (Jan 26, 2015)

Bigd-bigm said:


> Just got word of some bees in one of my Pa traps. Haven't gone to check it out yet. Probably this afternoon. It is at my inlaws place and they said that they had not seen a single bee for weeks. Now they are going in and out. Will update later with what I fin out


Congratulations! I hope that you have some.

I still haven't seen a honeybee in about a week. Not at that trap, not at my home, and not at the inlaws. My home and the inlaws are loaded with flowering plants both planted and wild. Lots of sweatbees working my strawberries though.


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## Steve in PA (Jan 26, 2015)

Stopped by while doing some errands today. Still nothing either at the trap or in the wildflowers. Starting to get discouraged after things looked so promising early.


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## Stlnifr (Sep 12, 2010)

I had two swarm traps in an area with bee trees both traps had plenty scout activity 50 or more bees but bees sided to locate somewhere else, never figured it out.


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## Moccasin (May 18, 2010)

It is still early.My bait boxes are never filled until June or later. It is location though. Some places work several times a year some never work for me.


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## Steve in PA (Jan 26, 2015)

Still no activity at the one in the video above. I had another extra that hasn't shown any activity for the season yet. I took it to my parents house about a 45min drive away last week. My mother called yesterday to say there's bees in it. She wasn't sure if my stepdad meant just a few checking it out or some moved in. I'll drive over this weekend to see which it is.


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## Steve in PA (Jan 26, 2015)

It was just scouts like in the initial video. Hopefully they find it attractive enough to call home.


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## Bigd-bigm (Apr 8, 2015)

Steve in PA said:


> It was just scouts like in the initial video. Hopefully they find it attractive enough to call home.


I am told I have a swarm in the box at my inlaws. "Hundreds of bees flying around the trap". Going to check it out tomorrow. If it is. Do I need to wait to relocate the trap to the bee yard? Also. How long should I wait to get them into a regular box. ( right now they are in 5-frame medium box. 2 high)


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## Moccasin (May 18, 2010)

Bigd-bigm said:


> I am told I have a swarm in the box at my inlaws. "Hundreds of bees flying around the trap". Going to check it out tomorrow. If it is. Do I need to wait to relocate the trap to the bee yard? Also. How long should I wait to get them into a regular box. ( right now they are in 5-frame medium box. 2 high)


You have to move them at least 3 miles from where you caught them or most of the bees fly back there. You can keep them in the 5 frame nuc for months if you want. I like to keep them for at least a couple of brood cycles maybe a month and a half.If the bait box was within 3 miles of your home apiary you need to leave them 3 miles away for at least a couple of weeks before you bring them back. I have had lots of experience losing lots of bees at the old site unfortunately because I did not leave them away long enough. All my bait boxes are on my own land were may apiary is. This is just to catch escaped swarms. I have caught none at all so far this year because my hives are not swarmy because we got lots of rain, some say too many weeks of flooding rains. I will though in a week probably.... You should take the bees out of the nuc box when they have filled their combs up and look full. Having the bees live in the nuc as long as that will give it an attractive scent that will make it work better at attracting swarms next time. This is what I believe and do 50 years at beekeeping.


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## Bigd-bigm (Apr 8, 2015)

Moccasin said:


> You have to move them at least 3 miles from where you caught them or most of the bees fly back there. You can keep them in the 5 frame nuc for months if you want. I like to keep them for at least a couple of brood cycles maybe a month and a half.If the bait box was within 3 miles of your home apiary you need to leave them 3 miles away for at least a couple of weeks before you bring them back. I have had lots of experience losing lots of bees at the old site unfortunately because I did not leave them away long enough. All my bait boxes are on my own land were may apiary is. This is just to catch escaped swarms. I have caught none at all so far this year because my hives are not swarmy because we got lots of rain, some say too many weeks of flooding rains. I will though in a week probably.... You should take the bees out of the nuc box when they have filled their combs up and look full. Having the bees live in the nuc as long as that will give it an attractive scent that will make it work better at attracting swarms next time. This is what I believe and do 50 years at beekeeping.


So it is indeed a swarm. I want to move them back to my place tonite after dark. (More than 3 miles away). Right now (around dusk) there are still some bees clumped around the bottom vent and the entrance. Should I smoke them a bit to get them to go in before I close them up and move them?


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## Steve in PA (Jan 26, 2015)

Yesterday I pulled one of my traps and will move it. After almost a month with no activity I felt it just wasn't as good of a location as I thought. I have a few that are also promising but it may be getting too late in the season. I'll give it a go anyway.

So, since this particular trap was at a remote worksite I stopped by as I finished up my workday. Watched it for a few minutes and nothing so I climbed up the ladder. The building is probably 10' tall but the site ladder is only a little half-sized stepladder. I'm 6'+ so standing on the very top of the ladder I can reach it. I grabbed for it and bumped it. A CrapTon of something began pouring out of the entrance hole.

I got WAAAYYY back and observed it. Hmmm, smallish sorta yellow insects but I couldn't really tell from a distance. Since I had no gear with me I left it and went back alter in the evening after my son's baseball game. I put a screened cover on the entrance, put it in the back of my truck, and headed home. I left the box with unknown occupants in the driveway overnight.

This morning I cracked the lid and it was a hornet's nest! I screwed the lid back down and when things calmed down the whole box went into the freezer. This evening I gave this to my chickens...











These was a few dead honeybees in the bottom of the box as well. Would the hornets have killed them? I cleaned the box out and rebaited it with LGO and a little spearmint. The hornet smell won't repel them will it?

Respectfully, Bigd-bigm please start a new thread instead of hijacking this one. I enjoy your questions but they don't pertain to why I started this thread...thanks.


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## Bigd-bigm (Apr 8, 2015)

Steve in PA said:


> Respectfully, Bigd-bigm please start a new thread instead of hijacking this one. I enjoy your questions but they don't pertain to why I started this thread...thanks.


Sorry. I thought my posts were pertinent since I am also from Pa. A lot of the posts I see are from other climates and I thought more info from pa may be helpful.


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