»Top 5 swarm trapping mistakes«
Many people set out swarm traps to catch swarming bees but end up not catching them because of some mistakes that they make.
Putting your traps up in the wrong season. There are known seasons for swarming and these are different for different areas. When you lay out a swarm trap when its not swarming season, the chances of catching a swarm are low and even when you catch a swarm, the chances of it surviving are very low. You need to put up your traps when its the right season but in case you do not know the swarm season is in your area then you need to talk to bee keepers in your area.
Other mistakes
Not elevating your swarm traps. It is best to trap swarms when swarm traps are lying on the ground but the chances of catching swarms when the hive is down are low. It is best that you hang your swarm traps to a height of between 10 to 15 feet high on a firm stable tree.
Not using an attractant. There are many attractants that can be used to attract swarms into the swarm traps. One of them is the brood combs from old hives and the other are the bee lures.
Not putting frames in your traps. This does not affect weather or not you catch the swarm but it will affect the amount of work you have to do when you catch the swarms. Using traps with frames also saves the new colonies the time and energy that they use in building new combs.
Using too small swarming traps. The ideal swarm trap should be on average 47 liters in volume which is the equivalent of a deep box or a double five frame box.
