🔵 Transfer Swarm Trap Bees to Hive Box - 🐝 Teach a Man to Fish 

If you can build that top bar hive you can build langstroth boxes or a horizontal langstroth hive. Buying unassembled frames is not that expencive. The last ones I bought cost me $1.39 per frame without foundation. Paid some more for foundation. I have 3 horizontal langstroth hive (30 frames each) 3 10 frame hives 3 high, made all the boxes myself. You don't have to use finger joints or dove tail joints. I did rabbit joints on mine but a friend did butt joints on his. The bees don't seem to have a preference. Top bar hives are good if you're looking to get a lot of wax but you can't use a honey extractor, you have to crush and strain. Well good luck to you, nice job on the hive.

You picked a hobby that highly contagious . Good luck with the bees I love them myself

That was awesome. Glad to see them doing so well, and you as well.

Not sure if someone else made this comment. I too am a newbie and I use TB hives. However I made a swarm box with the same angled sides as my top bar hive so I will not need to cut away any comb to fit. Essentially, my swarm box is a mini top bar hive.

Nice they make that Comb that fast

I am going to try to start trapping next spring so I’m trying to see how people do it. For sure would have panicked and started dropping f bombs when the comb was the wrong shape. No advice here that looked awesome.

Looked like a good job to me. Just be vigilant with the top bar and the way they build comb. I built a top bar after I already had Langstroth hives and I actually found a top bar to be tough for me. But I got it going. That smoke thing.....hogwash, hogwash. When I first started beekeeping, all the internet jockeys were saying on forums, "too much smoke". But says who. I stay away from forums and have for quite a few years now. Sure, use what you need and don't pour it to them if you're looking for a queen. But I promise you this, you don't smoke a testy hive enough as you open them, and once they come out, there is not enough smoke to calm them. Like putting toothpaste back in the tube. They normally don't calm down after that. Get them from the beginning. And you'll learn how much to use for your level of gentleness and your own bees' temperament. And also how they act in different seasons and flows. I'm not right and I'm not wrong, but I have yet to have an old time beekeeper tell me there is too much smoke to be used. Either way, always have one lit. That's a really nice swarm. Wishing you the best!!

Very helpful

Matthew...Congratulations...For a “newbee” could not have gone better in my view. Decent size swarm, and very calm temperament for sure. Might have some good feral genetics in that Queen. And you handled things awesomely! I also think even though you had to trim a bit, you waited just the right amount of time before taking down the trap. You could have used a bit of smoke to shift the bees away from the comb you were trimming off. Some risk of impacting the Queen just cutting through the comb with bees on it. One Beekeeper’s trick is to blow gently on the comb to move the bees out of the way if you want to check to see if there are eggs and larvae? If you can’t find queen always look for eggs. Next steps? If it were my swarm I would give them some sugar water 1:1 to help support honey comb building.I have no experience with top bar hives, so not sure how you would do that or if they do that. Enjoy!

Looks like a great transfer

Cool very nice

Good work guys

I have transferred several swarms from swarm box to super. I have had success doing so with no rain within 24 hrs, collected after dusk, installed at dawn. I agree smoke works well, though I have also used 1:1 sugar water sprayed to keep them in one place. I block the entrance of new home for 48 hrs, depending on weather. then reduce entrance to prevent robbing.

how great! why dont you attached that comb you cut off to those other frames?

Grab a hand full of weeds and grass to brush the bees out of the way

just now discovered this series! how is it going? still doing top bar beekeeping?

Why don't you make your bait hives the same as the box you are putting them in