Nuc method of swarm control

[Stedic]

I think I'm going to try to prevent swarming by removing the 'old' queen to a nuc box when queen cells are discovered during inspections. There have been posts about exactly how to do this already so I won't go into the details.

What I'm wondering is whether I will effectively need a nuc box available for each hive? I don't want to run out of kit...but...I'd also like to stay married and buying too much kit might make this more difficult!

I do have some spare (pretty old) floors and brood boxes which I can use to hive the bees if things get too overcrowded in the nucs, but I don't want huge numbers of hives next year. I'm happy to overwinter poly nucs if needed.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

The hard bits .... finding the queens and getting past the wife !!

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think I'm going to try to prevent swarming by removing the 'old' queen to a nuc box when queen cells are discovered during inspections. There have been posts about exactly how to do this already so I won't go into the details.

What I'm wondering is whether I will effectively need a nuc box available for each hive? I don't want to run out of kit...but...I'd also like to stay married and buying too much kit might make this more difficult!

I do have some spare (pretty old) floors and brood boxes which I can use to hive the bees if things get too overcrowded in the nucs, but I don't want huge numbers of hives next year. I'm happy to overwinter poly nucs if needed.

You’ll get less honey this way unless you put a new laying queen into your parent box rather than letting them raise their own. Why not vertically split and reunite? It won’t look like you have more hives, just taller ones

 

[madasafish]

I think I'm going to try to prevent swarming by removing the 'old' queen to a nuc box when queen cells are discovered during inspections. There have been posts about exactly how to do this already so I won't go into the details.

What I'm wondering is whether I will effectively need a nuc box available for each hive? I don't want to run out of kit...but...I'd also like to stay married and buying too much kit might make this more difficult!

I do have some spare (pretty old) floors and brood boxes which I can use to hive the bees if things get too overcrowded in the nucs, but I don't want huge numbers of hives next year. I'm happy to overwinter poly nucs if needed.

Prevention is batter than cure: lots of space and requeen with less swarmy queens..

 

[Poly Hive]

Please note there is no such thing as "Swarm Prevention"

PH

 

[Stedic]

Prevention is batter than cure: lots of space and requeen with less swarmy queens..

Prevention is plan A, nucs are plan B!

In terms of prevention I intend to keep them on 14x12s and will shuffle excess food out in the Spring (hopefully to help the current nuc build up). I'll shove supers on as early as I can - I don't currently have any drawn super frames so I want to make sure they have time to drawn before any early flow starts.

In terms of honey - presumably you lose a small % of the foragers to the nuc, plus have a reduction of "newly born" workers a few weeks later?

 

[madasafish]

Prevention is plan A, nucs are plan B!

In terms of prevention I intend to keep them on 14x12s and will shuffle excess food out in the Spring (hopefully to help the current nuc build up). I'll shove supers on as early as I can - I don't currently have any drawn super frames so I want to make sure they have time to drawn before any early flow starts.

In terms of honey - presumably you lose a small % of the foragers to the nuc, plus have a reduction of "newly born" workers a few weeks later?

Yes. But you can always later add capped brood frames from the nuc to the main hive to bolster the main hive..

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

In terms of honey - presumably you lose a small % of the foragers to the nuc, plus have a reduction of "newly born" workers a few weeks later?

You are looking at as much as two months if not more before you get any new foraging bees in the hive - bees getting older and older thus not as capable in brood rearing and new bees taken up as nurse bees again as the older ones are dying off.
That's if the queen mates successfully that is.

 

[domino]

I use this method, although now I've started overwintering young queen in poly nucs my swarm control method is to:

• remove the laying queen
• knock down any queen cells
• wait until they are hopelessly queenless and then unite with overwintered queen.

Worked a treat last year.

Buy a few poly nucs in the winter sales. I have one per hive in swarm season but I've never used them all at the same time.

 

[Eyeman]

I use this method, although now I've started overwintering young queen in poly nucs my swarm control method is to:

• remove the laying queen
• knock down any queen cells
• wait until they are hopelessly queenless and then unite with overwintered queen.

Worked a treat last year.

Buy a few poly nucs in the winter sales. I have one per hive in swarm season but I've never used them all at the same time.

This is the way to do it.
Replace your swarm with a proven over wintered queen from a nuc or buy one it from a proven source.
Have a back-up plan for when you can't find the queen-?Snellgrove II by Wally Shaw. You'll need a couple of full sized hives as well.

 

[Erichalfbee]

This is the way to do it.
Replace your swarm with a proven over wintered queen from a nuc or buy one it from a proven source.
Have a back-up plan for when you can't find the queen-?Snellgrove II by Wally Shaw. You'll need a couple of full sized hives as well.

Doing it this way, do you find they make swarm preps again in the same season?

 

[Eyeman]

Doing it this way, do you find they make swarm preps again in the same season?

Yes they can do, as with any other method I've tried.
What I like about taking the Q out in a nuc method is I've alway got spare nucs near by, I like to requeen my hives every year if possible, it gives you an opportunity if needed to create a short brood free period for an effective OAV.
What I've been doing is after taking the Q out I've removed any capped QC and left all the uncapped QC. Go back 1 week later and remove all QC's. Hopefully any 'swarm fever' is now over.