Free Bees
Honey Bee Trapping
Trapping a swarm of bees so that you can establish your own colony is no sure thing and takes a little bit of luck. Swarms aren't super common and the bees ultimately decide where they are going to live. But if you are reading this after the SHTF then capturing swarms may be your only option or if you are preparing for AFTER then paying to have bees now rather than waiting isn't always necessary.
You capture swarms of bees by building a number of swarm boxes and hopefully baiting it. A swarm box is simply a quick temporary bee hive that you can make quickly and cheaply or free. Technically a swarm box can be a full blown bee hive that is empty of bees, but typically you want to have a number of swarm boxes out to increase your chances of capturing a swarm.
A swarm box can be as simple as a container with an opening for the bees to enter. There are a number of things you can do to increase your odds. First let's discuss the swarm trap itself. If you use a coke can as a swarm trap you will never capture any swarms. It simply isn't large enough. You will want a box of almost any material that is about 2'x 2' x 1'. These figures are just pulled out of the air so don't lose sleep over this. But keep in mind that a huge swarm trap might be overwhelming to a bee scout since they are starting out small. So bigger isn't always better. Strive for a 5 to 8 frame hive box for your swarm traps.
Just make it large enough to hold a small bee colony and allow you to get access to the inside. After all you will have to transfer the bees to their new home once the swarm has entered the trap. Wait for darkness so that most of the bees will be inside then plug the hole and transport your trap to your empty beehive for transfer.
Elevation is the second thing you can do to increase your odds. Having the trap off the ground is much better than having one that is lying on the ground. Some studies suggest 10 foot but 4 foot will do. Any distance off the ground helps prevent mice and other animals from invading the trap.
Location! Near a small pond is good and in a field near a wood line is great. Placing one in the middle of dense woods is not nearly as good a location.
Now the best thing you can do to greatly increase your chances is to use some sort of lure. Beeswax is one of the easiest lures you can use. Also some comb from another bee hive works wonders as well. The best lure would be scent from an actual queen, dead or alive, but that is not something many will have available. There are also a number of commercially available lures that you can buy if you want to prepare in advance.
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BEE KEEPING TIPS
OLE TIMER TIPS
Trapping a swarm of bees so that you can establish your own colony is no sure thing and takes a little bit of luck. Swarms aren't super common and the bees ultimately decide where they are going to live. But if you are reading this after the SHTF then capturing swarms may be your only option or if you are preparing for AFTER then paying to have bees now rather than waiting isn't always necessary.
A swarm box can be as simple as a container with an opening for the bees to enter. There are a number of things you can do to increase your odds. First let's discuss the swarm trap itself. If you use a coke can as a swarm trap you will never capture any swarms. It simply isn't large enough. You will want a box of almost any material that is about 2'x 2' x 1'. These figures are just pulled out of the air so don't lose sleep over this. But keep in mind that a huge swarm trap might be overwhelming to a bee scout since they are starting out small. So bigger isn't always better. Strive for a 5 to 8 frame hive box for your swarm traps.
Elevation is the second thing you can do to increase your odds. Having the trap off the ground is much better than having one that is lying on the ground. Some studies suggest 10 foot but 4 foot will do. Any distance off the ground helps prevent mice and other animals from invading the trap.
Location! Near a small pond is good and in a field near a wood line is great. Placing one in the middle of dense woods is not nearly as good a location.
Now the best thing you can do to greatly increase your chances is to use some sort of lure. Beeswax is one of the easiest lures you can use. Also some comb from another bee hive works wonders as well. The best lure would be scent from an actual queen, dead or alive, but that is not something many will have available. There are also a number of commercially available lures that you can buy if you want to prepare in advance.
BACK TO BEE KEEPING
BEE KEEPING TIPS
OLE TIMER TIPS
