Bait hive?

[Juliebeebee]

Hi,
both my hives got wiped out by wasps last summer. I'm thinking of using bait to see if i can attract a passing swarm!
So what do i need? And how do i go about it?
Thank you!
Jules

 

[pnkemp]

So I just got a hit on a My first bait hive last week. Small swarm, but they seem to be making themselves at home
My setup:

BS Honey 6 frame nuc, don’t have old comb so I had starter strips to give them space to fly around in, bamboo skewers for stability.
Sealed off the open mesh floor just with cardboard
A few drops of lemon oil on a couple of qtips in a plastic bag partially sealed.

Took about a week for a scout bee to show up, two more days for her to show it to friends, then at some point when I wasn’t looking they moved in.

Best of luck.

 

[Bear]

You could melt beeswax onto a piece of cardboard and set it in the bait box at the back. When the sun comes up and give a bit of heat the smell should attract any bees close enough to smell it. Get artificial swarm lure in their. They do work.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi,
both my hives got wiped out by wasps last summer. I'm thinking of using bait to see if i can attract a passing swarm!
So what do i need? And how do i go about it?
Thank you!
Jules

Have you kept any old brood comb? That works best.
One frame at the back of your bait hive. Some people fill the rest with foundation but I don’t. I add a couple if wired empty frames.
My bait hives are poly 14x12 nucs with a reduced entrance and the omf blocked off.
Put up on a shed roof so they are a good few feet off the ground
The never fail. Get swarms in them every year

 

[bingevader]

Place your boxes as high as possible.
Used boxes with old comb, as people have said, is good.
A swarm wipe also seems to help, but I don't think it is essential.
Early doors yet.
We had 6 last year, 3 in empty hives and 3 in nucs.
Not a whiff of any yet this year.

 

[Poly Hive]

And just to share another way. I have taken plenty of swarms over the years by simply having available boxes on the ground. *shrug*

PH