Thank you Patrick. I'm actually a classroom teacher so I guess I like to hear myself talk. :). I hope you build this type and if you do, please remember to take into consideration the measurement mistake I made and talk about in the description below the video. Thanks for the kind words. Good luck!!
I totally agree on that weight, my first swarm boxes were made out of 3/4 plywood, stuff I just had laying around. Big mistake. I was so excited on my first catches, till I tried to lift them down, Wow, they were so heavy and 10ft in the air. So, atop of a 6ft ladder was just crazy to lift them down. I just completed 3 new traps, again made from scrap wood , but mostly 3/8 smart siding, a lot lighter and hung them at 6ft high. Lighter is better...
I'm an elder woman with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have been thinking about the bucket swarm traps because they are light. But the wood seems more attractive and happy for the bees...and because of the frames easier to transfer into their permanent home. I really appreciate this concept of just a lighter weight wooden trap. And you do make it in an easy enough way for me to copy. So thank you very much! Made my day! 💓
Diane - I am so happy you found the video and feel it can help you. I have had much success with this type of trap. When I first started building them a few years back, I realized quickly, the lighter, the better. I hope you have much success this swarm season. :)
Wonderful! Nothing better than free bees. I’m hoping to post another video soon on what to do next with this particular swarm trap. Thanks much and good luck this coming swarm season!!!
Hello I just found your video. I see it has been a while since you posted it but I enjoyed it. You talking about having to wait if there are bees in the entrance an I Like Your little porch you came Up with but if I could give you a different idea tho you May have changed this sense you did this video. These round selection disk that has a hole, vent, queen excluder and a closed spot where you just turn the disk to whatever opening you Want to use those are great on swarm boxes . I think the hole size you drill in the box is a 1” or a 1-1/4” . Then all you have to do is walk up to Your trap turn the disk an close the hole Off an go . Just a thought. Thanks
Thank you! I'm always wanting to improve. No reason to kill them if a keeper can keep from it. If you build this one, make sure you see my 1/4" correction in the width that I put in the description below the video. Hope you have much success this year! :)
I hope you catch many swarms this spring. I am going into my 3rd year of Beekeeping here in West Virginian I caught 3 swarms in traps last summer. I like catching swarms.
That sounds great! I love catching swarms. It's so exciting to see them checking it out and then committing to the occupancy of the trap. You can't beat free bees, in my opinion. Good luck this season!!
The empty space under the frames works great, not needed but def works better, but it does restrict the use of these to swarm boxes only. Cannot use them as standby nuts. Personally despite the improved catch rates I will stick to std nucs, ad I can simply pick them up from the swarm catchment area and bring them to my apiary. A great post, thank you for sharing. PS, love the thinner wood, makes moving them easier on the back
Make sure you take into account my mistake of the 1/4" on the width I mention in the description below the video. Hope you have a great season this year!! :)
Thank you for this video.i have a question, can you tell me what all I need to put in the trap once I build it? I have the spray commander but what else do I need to put besides trap and frames? Thank yoh
Great! Hope it helps. Good luck swarm trapping! If you build it, make sure to take into consideration the 1/4” in width mistake I mention in the notes under the video.
Dude thank you, the bees will have a good place to relocate now. I'll Bee trapping from now on, my neighbor says they're in the floor of his shed. I thank you
thanks for the video...rather than stapling hardware cloth, counter sink some rare earth magnets into that opening protrusion. Then just slap your hardware cloth over, the magnets will hold it inplace
Good idea, I'd hinge the screen to hang down so all you have to do is flip it up and fasten it somehow to close the entrance. You won't lose it that way. :D
My first ones were built from 1/2" OSB as well. Way too heavy. Started using more of the 1/4" plywood and it is so much more manageable. And with the cost of lumber these days, all you have to do is check with house builds and you can find all kinds of useful scrap pieces for traps. FREE!!!
Thanks for the video. Can you clarify your notes above when you say add 1/4"? Do you mean an 1/4" to the measurements you have written in marker on the piece shown in the video?
On recycled lumber, I built somebee stands out of crooked two by sixes that simply could not be squared. One of the legs was up in the air 3 inches compared to the others and one of the boards in the center of the top of the thing was sticking up so that I could instead of bee hive on top of the thing and expected to be still, so I took a Circular saw and planed the thing down. Then I shimmed the high leg until the things sat level. Nobody’s gonna look at it and it saves my back, and it gives me a place to put things when I’m dealing with the hive, and I didn’t lend a hundred bucks on it.
The proof is in the success...I always thought the swarming bees were hunting For a particular sound of vibration...meaning a particular thickness/sturdiness to a new home...but if you’re having success with 1/4” plywood that rules that theory out...I wish I had tried your method before I built my boxes....they are grossly heavy...I’ll see if they captures some swarms...if not....I will certainly build the next ones like yours.....I’m in southern eastern Ohio...Thanks....
Well, the first ones I started building a few years ago were 1/2" OSB scrap from house builds. They too were grossly heavy, but worked well. They were difficult enough to get up and down and then if you throw in a couple more pounds of bees, it was just almost unenjoyable to retrieve them. I started using more 1/4" plywood last year and I didn't really see any drop off in success in attracting swarms. I'm hoping it is just more about the amount of inside space, bait, some old comb, and some really good luck!! But, I would never claim to be a swarm trap expert. I leave that up to the real experts. I just do what seems to work for me. Hope you have much success this season!
Would you happen to know how many inches you’d have to add to the width if you wanted it to hold 7 frames instead of 6? Also, if you took some height off of the box, would it be beneficial to not give them so much space to build comb that would be excess comb. I’m trying to avoid brood comb that I’d have to waste.
@@pwnasty That is an excellent question. You could do that and I'm assuming you would add to the width whatever the width is of the average frame. It is late at night here and I am inside at the computer so I can't measure that just now. The optimal swarm trap volume is apparently supposed to be in the neighborhood of 40-45 liters. So, I would assume that if you add some width to it to cut back on the open space below the frames, just don't cut back too much depth that it goes below the recommended volume. I've never had an issue with them really building comb on the bottom of the frames in a swarm trap of this size. Only one time when we left one up at a friend's place and forgot about it for a month. After a swarm is in them, as long as you move them to a permanent hive within a few days, there shouldn't be any extracurricular comb building on the bottoms. The 6 frames should be enough to keep them occupied til you transfer them. Hope this helps!!
Thank you for the video. I think this is one of the easiest and simplest swarm traps that I have seen on RU-vid to build. I will definitely use your measurements to build one. One question I do have is do you use any aluminum flashing on your cover?
Thank you! Make sure you take into consideration my mistake of the 1/4 inch in the width I mention in the notes section under the video. I have used aluminum flashing for a couple of swarm trap lids, but I found that I can just put 2 or 3 coats of paint on the wood tops as well and it last many seasons. It's cheaper and less work since I'm painting anyway. Hope you have much success!!
Oh, I do collect at night. My issue was I hated to squish the guard bees outside the entrance on a flat entrance. Or if it is already too hot, some will hang out near the entrance to make the trap “hive” cooler. That is why I added the little extension to the entrance area. 👍🏻
Richard from Parsons Apiary in Canada has been gracious enough to put these designs on AutoCAD in cad form and pdf form. If you would like to have them, please let me know and I will send them to you. Unfortunately, I do not know how to just post them here. Thanks!!
Join the FB group 'Beekeeping Hacks.' Once a member, go to the tab that says 'More.' Then choose 'Files.' Choose the file titled "Swarm Trap - r4.pdf.' That should do it for you. If not, let me know. :)
Two questions: 1. Front frame rest you wrote 5/16, rear frame rest you wrote 5/8. It looks like both are 5/8, is that the right measurement? 2. How tall is the entrance hole you cut in the from of the trap?
Very good eye. Both frame rests should be 5/8” down from the top. I got in too much of a hurry cause I didn’t want the video to be too long, I guess. Next time, I’ll have to slow down with less errors. Thanks for finding that. I also put the entrance somewhere in the neighborhood of 2” from the bottom as well as 2” wide. I don’t think those have to be too exact. Thanks again for checking. Good luck!!
@@martingayle5376 well, what I do is not OSHA approved, I’m sure. But I blindly cut the slit with the table saw by bringing the piece of wood down, holding it firmly, and let the saw blade come up through the wood until it cuts the slit the width I want it. No real measurement. Just til it looks right. But you are correct, just big enough so that I’m sure a queen can get through. I hope that helps. Sorry if I’m not very clear on that. But if you are not comfortable with doing that, just use a 3/4” or 1” drill bit and cut a hole instead of a slit. I’ve caught swarms with slits and hole entrances.
@@washfamapiary659 Thanks for the replies! I'm a wanna-bee keeper... hopefully will get started soon and was thinking catching a swarm would be a neat way to do so.
@@martingayle5376 it is a neat way and kind of cheaper than buying bees, although I’m not opposed to that either. Pros and cons to both. When you get close to pulling the trigger, feel free to ask more questions. If I don’t have the answer, I’ll find it for you. 👍🏻
If you are asking about the actual opening into the trap, it is about 2" long and about 1/4" wide. I make it just big enough that a queen can go through it. Hope that makes sense. Thanks!!
Thank you! Glad you did! Did you see my comment above this one about getting detailed plans? Richard put them down with AutoCAD but has made them in a pdf form so we can easily print them off. Let me know if you need help getting them. ;)
@@trentwetzel7673 I'm assuming you mean you watched this video for how to hang the traps? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SBO5Kq24yOc.html
We've also just strapped one down on our back deck right outside our kitchen and back door. Watching the scout bees increasing over a couple of weeks and then the swarm moving in that Saturday morning was surreal. "They" say the higher you get the trap, the better the chances, but honestly, I have caught about as many 5 or 6 feet off the ground as I have 10 to 12 feet. Check out this video from last summer. Good luck!! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uvws3vM2sI8.html
Probably a very unsafe way. I held the front wall blindly down on my table saw and cut through 2-3 times until I got the entrance the size I wanted it. There are no exact measurements. Just basically about 2 inches wide of an opening and large enough that a queen can go through on the heighth. Hope that makes sense. ;)
