Bait Hives

[danro]

@oliver90owner

He He
There were no instructions.. Each vial looks like it has a "lid" which is what prompted my question. I thought I just popped the whole vial in the hive until I read about "a few drops in the hive each week."

@drstitson
Excellent!! thank you!

Danro

 

[Queens59]

My swarm lure has a small loop on the lid to nail it into the hive - which will be placed exactly where the dowsing rods indicate!

 

[iball]

My swarm lure has a small loop on the lid to nail it into the hive - which will be placed exactly where the dowsing rods indicate!

I'm imagining a pair of miniature rods being moved gently over the inside of the bait hive.

Ian

 

[oliver90owner]

Queens,

It will cost you nothing to try. Unfortunately yours alone will not be a definitive test of the theory. I will be going the same. Unfortunately I don't have enough kit to try nearby bait hives which are not where the dowsing rods indicate is the optimum position.

But.... if there are enough doing it, it might just be worth comparing percentage positive results, later in the year, compared with the average of those who do not dowse.

Regards, RAB

 

[Queens59]

I'll try anythng once - and in all truth virtually all my bee-keeping is luck over judgement!!

 

[Finman]

.
Here is Maarec's advice letter about bait hives

https://agdev.anr.udel.edu/maarec/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/BAIT_HIV.PDF

More details

http://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/2653/2/Bait Hives for Honey Bees.pdf

 

[hedgerow pete]

i did do a video about how i placed my bait hives one year

 

[garethjbarry]

I have had my first success with a bait hive .... 3 bubble bees! Not quite what i was hoping for but oh well. My question is, should I relocate them, i don't know if they would put a swarm off?

 

[einsteinagogo]

I'll try anythng once - and in all truth virtually all my bee-keeping is luck over judgement!!

I would agree with that, a friend gave up beekeeping, dumped a hive on a wooden pallet on my drive, scout bees came out within two days, thought I best move the hive off the drive, so I dumped it in the garden, and by the end of the week a swarm went in, and I now have a colony living in the hive!

If I had tried to bait the hive, clean it, flame it, move it to the right location, I doubt it would have attracted a swarm! (and the swarm went into the oldest, crappiest, falling apart hive!)

 

[Bucks_Boy]

With bees not reading the books I assumed they would try that trick on my spare woodwork stack. So I put a polystyrene 40ltr fish box on the top of the stack ( about 8ft high behind my garage) with a couple of old black brood combs in it...

2 weeks later I watched a swarm come down my drive, turn left by the large conifer and go straight in the box.

this year put the box out 4 weeks ago, caught a nice sized swarm ( covers 7 brood frames ) within 2 weeks.

Scouts were sniffing about last night so looks like it will be busy again soon.