lemongrass

[stoneleighhouse]

Do swarm lures work?
How do you set them up?
how much lemongrass do you use ?


thanks guys

 

[jimmybee]

Put a few drops of lemon grass oil in a bag and on top of sum old clean wax frames in an old brood box and wait.

 

[Tom Bick]

Generally a few drops inside the bait hive is ok

But on a similar vein with jim if you have a bit of damaged foundation put a few drops on it and then role the wax up and pop that in the bait hive.



Just to add

Do they work? As good as a bit of old comb? As good as an old BB and perhaps one that has been scorched?

Location can be important and not forgetting a big slice of luck.

 

[For want of a better word]

Generally a few drops inside the bait hive is ok

But on a similar vein with jim if you have a bit of damaged foundation put a few drops on it and then role the wax up and pop that in the bait hive.



Just to add

Do they work? As good as a bit of old comb? As good as an old BB and perhaps one that has been scorched?

Location can be important and not forgetting a big slice of luck.

Make sure you use the Cymbopogon citratus essential oil
the other one Cymbopogon winterianus is also sometimes called lemon grass ... should be called Citronella, and is an insect repellant!

There are other aromatics that attract bees looking for a new home... but I am the only living person who knows Granddad's foolproof bait sausage recipe....

 

[ShaneR]

Make sure you use the Cymbopogon citratus essential oil
the other one Cymbopogon winterianus is also sometimes called lemon grass ... should be called Citronella, and is an insect repellant!

There are other aromatics that attract bees looking for a new home... but I am the only living person who knows Granddad's foolproof bait sausage recipe....

What about Cymbopogon flexuosus which is most commonly found type of lemongrass oil for sale?

 

[RoofTops]

Not sure if this helps but I am growing lemon grass in my conservatory at the moment. I bought a bunch of the little stalks they sell for cooking and stood them in a glass of water. After a couple of weeks some of them had sprouted roots so I potted them up. It can be put outside in the summer (if we get one) but must be brought inside in the winter.

It just looks like grass but the leaves have a strong lemon scent when you crush them. As to whether it is the right lemon grass for attracting bees I don't know. This will be its first summer so if we get swarms in the conservatory I will let you know.

 

[susbees]

I grew some from seed once....but it didn't last long. Hope you have more luck RT.

 

[drstitson]

I'm currently using a mix of lemongrass, lime and geranium oils.

 

[DarynWebb]

just checked my bottle and it is Cymbopogon citratus, I got this from ¿bay.
I would like to know more about other attractants?

 

[susbees]

I'm currently using a mix of lemongrass, lime and geranium oils.

Dabbed behind the ears? Be careful of Mexican barmen's psoriasis...

 

[For want of a better word]

What about Cymbopogon flexuosus which is most commonly found type of lemongrass oil for sale?

There are over 55 species of Lemon grass
as far as I can find out it seems that only C.citratus has the attractive element for bees, C. flexuosus is mentioned along with C. nadus and C. winterianus as having insecticidal and insect repellant qualities.

short list of available species used in aromatherapy from Wikipedia...

Cymbopogon ambiguus Australian lemon-scented grass (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon bombycinus Silky Oilgrass (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon citratus Lemon Grass (Chinese: 香茅草; pinyin: xiāng máo căo)
Cymbopogon citriodora West Indian lemon grass
Cymbopogon flexuosus East Indian lemon grass
Cymbopogon martinii Palmarosa
Cymbopogon nardus Citronella Grass (In Thai language ตะไคร้หอม [dTa-Khrai-Hawm]
Cymbopogon obtectus Silky-heads (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon procerus (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon proximus found in Egypt
Cymbopogon refractus Barbed wire grass (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon schoenanthus or camel hay or camel grass, southern Asia and northern Africa[citation needed]
Cymbopogon winterianus Citronella Grass

Our aroma receptors latch onto the shape of the aromatic molecule so many chemicals can appear to smell the same to us, but are totally different... a whole area of physical chemistry and mathematical spacial concepts and modeling I would love to explore.. but not in this lifetime!

 

[ShaneR]

There are over 55 species of Lemon grass
as far as I can find out it seems that only C.citratus has the attractive element for bees, C. flexuosus is mentioned along with C. nadus and C. winterianus as having insecticidal and insect repellant qualities.

short list of available species used in aromatherapy from Wikipedia...

Cymbopogon ambiguus Australian lemon-scented grass (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon bombycinus Silky Oilgrass (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon citratus Lemon Grass (Chinese: 香茅草; pinyin: xiāng máo căo)
Cymbopogon citriodora West Indian lemon grass
Cymbopogon flexuosus East Indian lemon grass
Cymbopogon martinii Palmarosa
Cymbopogon nardus Citronella Grass (In Thai language ตะไคร้หอม [dTa-Khrai-Hawm]
Cymbopogon obtectus Silky-heads (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon procerus (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon proximus found in Egypt
Cymbopogon refractus Barbed wire grass (native of Australia)
Cymbopogon schoenanthus or camel hay or camel grass, southern Asia and northern Africa[citation needed]
Cymbopogon winterianus Citronella Grass

Our aroma receptors latch onto the shape of the aromatic molecule so many chemicals can appear to smell the same to us, but are totally different... a whole area of physical chemistry and mathematical spacial concepts and modeling I would love to explore.. but not in this lifetime!

Reason I ask is a lot of US bee sites say either C.citratus or C. flexuosus can be used, I bought a bottle of C. flexuosus a week or so back, so are you telling me this is an insect repellent as I can not find any literature that says so. But just to be sure just bought some C.citratus