The preparation for this step actually began in the middle of February, 2023.
Preparation
Starter strips
Each of our swarm traps holds 7 frames. Each frame should have a “starter” strip of beeswax attached to it. The first issue to resolve was getting the beeswax attached to the frame. One solution that was offered to us was to hook a car battery charger to the wire of the frame and when the wire got hot, disconnect the charger and press the wax into place. Other solutions included using a battery (e.g. AA) and another suggested using a laptop battery charger. What really needed to be done was to heat the wire up enough to soften the wax enough to press into place. I thought all of the measures above were a bit too extreme, so it was decided to use a heat gun.
The sheets of beeswax we used were ordered from Dr. Leo’s website.
We put a 2 inch starter strip on 21 frames and placed them in the traps.
Baiting the trap.
Bees generally won’t go into an area unless they have a reason to. To give them a reason we smeared propolis on the inside of the trap and dropped a few pieces on the bottom. In addition, we used the Lemongrass Swarm Lure Kit found on Dr. Leo’s website. It contains lemongrass essential oil, slow-release tubes with integrated caps to put lemongrass oil in, and a pipette to fill the tubes. Two tubes were placed in each trap.
Trial run
In the middle of March, we thought it would be a good idea to hang a swarm trap up to see how hard this task was going to be. First though, we went to Lowe’s and bought a package of CamJam Tie Down straps. One of the straps was a little messed up, but we worked through that little problem.
The trap itself weighs around 10 pounds, which is not too bad. Linda held the trap up as high as she could and I strapped it to a tree next to the driveway area.
We left it up for two weeks. During this time it snowed and rained. I was interested in seeing how watertight it was.
Taking it down was pretty easy. Linda held onto it as I loosened the strap. After it was down we took the lid off and found that everything was dry on the inside.
Hanging the traps
The first week of April, 2023.
We arranged to hang one trap on my brother’s property in Camden County, another with some friends in Callaway County, and the third one on a friend’s property in Howard County. We were hoping that by having multiple locations, it would increase the odds of catching a swarm.
Number 1
We hung the first one at the Howard County location. We chose this spot based on the owners observing a number of swarms landing on their back fence. Additionally, the location is located at the top of a hill above the Katy Trail where we had observed a lot of bees during our walks on the trail.
Looking down the valley, we observed several trees that appeared to be hollow, meaning there could be bees. We tried to hang the trap on a tree, but the strap was too short. We ended up hanging it on the fence. On the way out, I saw this little tree that was becoming hollow. While I didn’t think there would be bees, it was worth taking a look.
Number 2
The second one we hung at the Callaway County location. We knew that bees had been kept there in the past, but since abandoned, and that the family has lemon and orange trees. They are in containers and are rolled out in warm weather and put back inside when it’s cold out.
When we got there the orange and lemon trees were covered with dozens, if not hundreds of bees. We got pretty excited. The owner said that he had previously, not this year, seen a swarm or two land on a shed before moving on. With the help of their tractor we lifted this trap pretty high in the air and as close to the shed as we could. Within a minute or two some bees flew in, but left. That was kind of expected.
Number 3
The third one was hung on my brother’s property in Camden County. He owns about 80 acres, mostly wooded, and has several hundred acres around him, some are wooded and some farmed. We thought there would a good chance of catching a swarm there.
Both my brother and I have bad backs, so we couldn’t get the trap up very high. We supported it with an old ladder my Dad had.
We also placed some lure a friend gave us and some propolis into two of the hives in the apiary.
Now we play the waiting game.
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