While I was out buying a queen to use in a split the hive started to swarm. I figured out a way to prevent them from swarming. That is what this video is about.
I finally have this video fixed and uploaded. The fix shakiness feature of my video editor sucks. The original video was almost unwatchable. It didn't look quite so bad before I uploaded it. I have re-edited it and re-upload. The RU-vid shakiness tool works very well. I know this video is way too long but all of the important stuff is in the first 11 minutes.
I had fun watching the video. Not much you can do when they decide to swarm. Been there done that. Just give the bees plenty of room ahead of time in the spring. I try to catch my own swarms and also keep a couple baited nucs, (lemon grass oil), in the bushes near my hives. I have 20 hives at the house. I would say...don't worry so much about the swarming...just try to catch your swarms that leave and land nearby. You will get an ear for swarms as they fly and land. Put together your swarm catch kit and keep extra hives ready to go. I have a small swarm in a nuc as I write this. For me we only have a couple weeks of nectar left and I plan to harvest in the next couple weeks. If not they will start robbing. Put the empty extracted frames back in the hives and let the bees clean them up. Then spray with BT and stack away outside till fall when the next nectar flow will be. I vaporize about 4 times a year. Also, don't waste time looking for queens, if you see larvae/brood you are good to go. I used to worry a lot but now I let the bees work things out. I may put a frame with eggs/larvae and nurse bees in a hive to help a hive along. I notch the cells to make then make queen cells faster. Dave in Columbia
