BAIT HIVES - what's your success rate?

[blackcavebees]

After a bad winter (loosing 2 out of 3 colonies, and remaining one only starting to build up now ) I thought I'd try my luck with a couple of bait hives on top of the shed and garage. Went to Kent for a week (you guys in the South are so blessed to have a bit of heat!), came back to the baltic North and found a large (?) swarm of AMM had moved in on top of garage roof. About 5 frames of bees. They had started to draw wild comb from roof, so moved hive, put OMF floor, scorched brood box on site of bait hive. Transfered 3 frames of bees that I had left in bait hive, blanked off back third, put in fresh foundation, dumped rest of bees in, put on a liquid feeder, closed them up and will leave them for a week or so.

Moved bait hive about 10 feet to other side of garage roof, put in a couple of drawn brood frames and a bit of the wild comb, closed up. Is this too close?

Have another one on a friend's shed in next town just in case.

Just wondering what other guy's experiences are on this? Have i done things ok or missed something? Should I have inspection board in to check for varroa or do that later? Any suggestions appreciated.

Needless to say I'm so relieved that I will have bees to take into winter as I was getting a bit worried after last summer/winter here.

 

[Queens59]

Set 1 bait hive - had one swarm move in...set up number 2 and have had scouts for last 24 hrs...watch this space...

Bait hive is a BB with a couple of frames to one side, and one empty super with Tea Tree Oil sprinkled around and about...BUT this is the first year out of 4-5 that it has actually worked...

 

[Davelin]

100% !!!!!

1 Hive - 1 swarm

Took 2 years mind

 

[masterBK]

I store hives with old comb (awaiting processing to retrieve the wax) in my garden (my bees are in an out apiary) and get between three and four swarms arriving most years. However this year only one cast had appeared so far.

 

[Tom Bick]

Three set this year and one reasonable cast with passing interest in the other two. Going to warm up this next week so you never know.

 

[Polyanwood]

Never had any luck with bait hives. I've tried old comb and a couple of different swarm lures and still no luck.

 

[lebouche]

Set one up and had a swarm in there within a few weeks.
Put it back up a few weeks ago and nothing yet...although I only check weekly.
Beginners luck! That and maybe because it is very close to where I cut my first colony out of the house walls and near a nuc it has the added attraction of having bees near.
Also the brood box I used had been occupied for a while before moving them to a nuc.

 

[Illo]

I have two bait hives up, one 14x12 BB and one poly nuc. Lots of scouts sniffing round both at the moment, particularly the bigger one. No firm takers yet, but fingers crossed. It's right outside OH's office window so there would be a ringside seat if a swarm moves in!

LJ

 

[youngyoungs]

I have one 14 x 12 old nuc with solid floor set up. First year to do so. Added few drops of lemongrass oil, couple of old drawn frames. Caught a swarm a couple of weeks ago which could have been one of my own. Now rehived, and bait hive ready and waiting for new occupants

 

[madasafish]

Zero success in 3 years.

One of my own swarms moved 1 meter into one of my empty warres this year... !

 

[MuswellMetro]

Not had much luck with bait hives

 

[Rich0909]

2 out of 2 last year, 0 out of 2 so far this year!

 

[Ginger19]

Sounds like beginners luck! I have 4 bait hives out, 2 have had a decent swarm move in. Both had lemongrass oil on top of the old frame I put in, also a small ziplock bag with a pin hole in, also with a few drops of lemongrass oil just thrown in the bottom.
One was 15 foot up a Sycamore tree on the edge of a wood, the other was 8 foot up on top of a wall surrounded by a bush.
One was made of wood, the other was an old wicker washing basket, lined with inside out opened up Jiffy bags glued to the inside (the paper side in and the bubble side out, to keep it dry, I had melted down some old frame wax and rubbed it best I could on the paper side)

 

[blackcavebees]

What about re-queening?

I assume the queen in the arrived swarm is old (?). Once they draw out the foundation and she laying up brood to keep them there and expand, how long before I should think of requeening her? Also timescale? Local BKA has been grafting from new galtee queens and I'm preparing a couple of apideas to hopefully get a couple of Qcells either next week or the week after, then mated at the AMM mating apiary. So would end of July be wrong time to replace HM? What does everyone do?

 

[Ginger19]

I had considered uniting my 2 swarms but had a quick look in yesterday, each is covering about 5 frames and they are going at a great pace, especially one of them, just going to leave them to it

 

[poshpikey]

Nothing this year out of five bait hives. Caught one last year but think that was from my own bees. I have caught a swarm in a friends garden nearby a few weeks back but that was not in a bait hive. (He has bees in his chimney so will try and set a bait hive there next year.)

 

[Alan and Anthea]

1 Bait hive out last year 2 out this year. No takers as yet.
If nothing happens this year we plan to move location. (Not us the bait hives).
Alan

 

[Cazza]

Having moved bait hives around various parts of my 2 acre patch over the years, my experience would be:

They are more attractive when the entrance faces south but the hive is not in full sun and at least 4ft off the ground.

Commercial lures are more successful than lemongrass oil.

Current best position is underneath an elderflower shrub in dappled sunlight.

Cazza

 

[dpearce4]

100% !!!!!

1 Hive - 1 swarm

Took 2 years mind

200% here.

1 hive - 2 swarms. One yesterday and one today when I got home about 30mins ago.

wasn't even a bait hive just a brood box outside my house with other bits of beek stuff like empty nucs ontop.

 

[stephenpug]

two bait hives no takers plum tree 1 week 4 swarms answer this one lol