We are building a 6-frame swarm box that will use Layens frames. To get a copy of the plans that we downloaded for free, click here: horizontalhive.com/ Bee Boy Bill has a great build video here: • 🐝 Layen's Swarm Trap B...
Awesome, thank you for posting! I have built some 20-frame insulated hives and now frames... next up, swarm traps for next year! Great to see it done, thank you!
Hello from MONTANA this 3rd of May. Back in Feb I was given a bunch of scrap plywood -- enough to make 3 Layens swarm boxes. I made them each 9" wide inside. The orher inside dimensions are 18 deep X 13.375. (converting to metric for the liter volume makes it about 72 liters.) A bit larger than recommended 40 to 50 liters. Maybe a big swarm will take to this large size, I hope. We are getting close to our SW MT swarm season this year. Been a cold April here.
The biggest issue for you could be 'bee space'. If there is too much space between the sides of the frames and the inside of the walls, or between the bottom of the frames and the bottom of the box, the bees will build comb where you don't want it. So, when you catch a swarm, we suggest you don't leave them in the box too long or you'll have a mess of comb to deal with. We have heard that a big swarm will move into a bigger box, but haven't actually seen that to be true. We're going by the info in the book KEEPING BEES WITH A SMILE and using the plans from horizontalhive.com. Let us know how it goes. Good luck!
@@randsbees 6 Layens frames 1 1/2" top bar makes for just 9". Frame is 16" X13". Works out to be 72 liters inside. I watch out for respecting bee space so I don't end up with a mess of crazy combs. Thanks, Bob.
You two have been a great help to me. I've only got a pretty rudimentary wood work setup.. Table saw is a small dewalt 8 1/4 portable table saw, so when I saw your Kreg guide I immediately grabbed one. It'll make the Layens main hive builds go way easier in my small space. Your build videos are very much appreciated. So far I've got 7 swarm boxes full of frames built and should have 2 or 3 main hives ready for whatever I might catch this spring and summer. It's very cool seeing other people gravitate towards Layens and the teachings of Dr Sharashkin. By the looks of it, you two have been pretty successful with yours. Great channel you have going.. I hope it gains a proper following. What you're doing is very valuable for people who are curious about this style of hive.
Thanks so much! We did NOT want a full-time beekeeping job. The Layens horizontal hives make so much more sense to us - better for the bees and easier for the beekeeper. Sounds like you have a great start for this year's season. Good luck! Please let us know where you are and how it goes.
Thank you so much! At the time we built ours, the plywood ones were relatively inexpensive to build - maybe $17-20/each. However, the cost of plywood has gone up quite a bit, so that will be a major factor in the current cost. The ones we built out of 1x's were more like $30/each We ordered the metal disc covers from Amazon and paid about $2/each for those. And we used the free plans on horizontalhive.com to build by.
Two different thicknesses used - 15/32" and 3/8". The 3/8" is used for the front & back walls and the tops. The 15/32" is for the side walls and the bottoms. If you get the free plans from Dr. Leo at www.horizontalhive.com , the material list and cut sheet has all the details. We got ours from our local Lowes Home Improvement, which carries the Georgia Pacific Plytanium, which is formaldehyde-free.
