Swarm Traps and Bait Hives

2010
04.12

If you are like me, you want to increase your apiary for free.

18 Responses to “Swarm Traps and Bait Hives”

  1. suzie at freedom farm says:
    September 1, 2011 at 9:48 am

    man, you don’t mess around.
    i am impressed with your no nonsense approach. your frames don’t even have foundation. i think i could save a lot of money with your approach. thanks.
    how do you catch bees in your top bar hives?
    where can i get lemon grass oil?
    your videos are great!
    suzie

  2. mccartney says:
    October 3, 2011 at 4:29 pm

    I catch swarms then dump them into a TBH and put in a dish of sugar water with straw (to keep bees from drowning).
    Also, I use swarm trap boxes that have Top Bars instead of the normal lid.
    LGO is found in grocery stores these days, else look on eBay.

  3. rick says:
    February 9, 2012 at 7:39 am

    Hi McCartney,

    Met you at the Gardening Volunteers of South Texas last fall. I have your Swarm trap book, thank you for writing it!!

    Do you build your swarm traps differently if you plan on putting the bees into a top bar hive?

    Is there a schedule of your upcoming talks?

    Thanks,
    Rick

  4. Chris M says:
    February 9, 2012 at 5:15 pm

    Great video. where where the bees that built in the wall? Did they abandone this hive? Or did you catch them also?

  5. Bud Neptune says:
    March 18, 2012 at 9:31 pm

    Enjoyed your videos! New to beekeeping. Got my first hive in the mail last week. Bees to arrive in May. Live on a farm in northcentral Missouri with lots of timber and hayland. Lots of blackberry and rasberry bushes, wild plum thickets, and clover and alfafa fields. Going to build your bait traps this week sometime and hope to have it up next weekend.

    Had an old house with bees for years. Went to see it today and the roof had fallen in and lost the hive. Rain seeped in bees must have froze last winter. Made me sick but seen bees on wild peach trees nearby so and going to put a trap near the “old house”. Appreciate your help. E-mail me when your video is out. God bless!

  6. Stephen D. says:
    April 29, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    Hey, Thankyou. I bought the book, bought some of the “recipe” , built a trap, put it in a tree, caught a swarm of bee’s the first week! And i mean they are a much of bee’s. Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou! I showed them to a friend who has been keeping bee’s for a few years and he was really impressed.

  7. Tracy L says:
    June 6, 2012 at 9:01 am

    Wow! Got your book last week, built and hung a swarm trap this past Sunday. 48 hours later, I have a massive swarm! Thanks for the great info!

  8. g.kuehne says:
    July 12, 2012 at 5:05 pm

    hey…thanx for the intelligent tips !

  9. James Craven says:
    April 9, 2013 at 8:00 pm

    Hi,I got your book today.(4-9-13) I don’t have a hive yet,but plan to build a top bar hive.
    I would like more information on a top bar swarm trap design.
    Thanks for your videos and book.
    James

  10. Mitch Rushton says:
    May 16, 2013 at 2:52 am

    Hello, I bought your book and watched quite a few of videos and have made two traps out of new 1×10 lumber, since then I have read that new lumber is a bad choice, do you agree? Any way they have been up over two weeks, lemon grass oil and all, and no activity.Thanks

  11. Jave Hughes says:
    March 22, 2014 at 10:31 am

    Blip took down the first of your videos. They said they removed your video November 2013, because they didn’t think it was important enough, or some stupid thing.
    Tried to view the rest but they wouldn’t start? (The later could be because I’m reading your book on my nook, and it’s not very fast on the web.)

  12. Mark Rose says:
    August 28, 2014 at 6:10 am

    Well, I am very happy at the moment, after listening to your audio book, and watching your YouTube videos, I decided to try a few bait hives this year (my 3rd beekeeping).
    In ten days I have picked up three swarms, and there seems no letting up!! I have been making a few videos as I go, so if you need any just drop me a line. I’m in Australia by the way.

    All the best, and much respect,
    Mark

  13. AuntBee says:
    April 12, 2015 at 2:52 pm

    I caught one last year, they survived and I plan on catching another this year, I am using a hive to catch a swarm. Is it okay to set one up near a occupied hive?

  14. mccartney says:
    April 22, 2015 at 6:56 am

    Yes, you can put one near an occupied hive, but the chances are low near a hive.

  15. MIKER says:
    May 30, 2015 at 7:37 am

    This is the first time I have used your traps and I am happy to see how well they work. I built 13 boxes and have, so far, caught 14 swarms.
    I do have some questions to ask. First, when I put the trap back out in the same location will the bees left behind from the first removal cause problems?
    Second, will their be any benefit in putting extra frames of foundation in the box along with the pulled frame? It seems like I can’t get to them before they draw comb everywhere.
    THANKS FOR THE BOOK IT”S GREAT

  16. Tara says:
    June 4, 2015 at 4:48 am

    How far away from a hive would u recommend placing one from an occupied hive? We live on approx. 40acres and have an occupied hive. Would there be a good chance of catching a swarm on our land or would it be too close proximity to our current occupied hive if we placed it somewhere within the 40acres?

  17. presh17th says:
    October 12, 2015 at 1:17 pm

    I am in Nigeria, when is the right time for me to trap the swarm

  18. T.Middleton says:
    February 11, 2016 at 4:06 am

    Yes Bait hives are very effective, Wax coated top bars are simplest, however if it is very old comb this can be discarded in favour of just rubbing beeswax on the insider walls of the hive.
    War’e hives being smaller are ideal for this method.

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