Snelgrove method

[MrB]

1. What are peoples views on this method of swarm control?
2. What other methods do you experienced beeks use?

Thanks

 

[Grub]

Hi
I have used this and made my own Snelgrove board, but got so confused as I done two hives but not the same day !!! and got in a right pickle with which one to remove.
So took them off in the end plus I had to go away 1 day which didnt help either.

Grub

 

[MJBee]

The Snellgrove system works BUT it is very labour intensive. OK if your hive(s) are in your garden and you are retired with no other commitments You also need to keep accurate written records it is very easy to forget which manipulation comes next. I personally think other swarm control measures are easier and just as effective.
Mike

 

[RoseCottage]

Interesting...As a newbie who wants to keep to two hives I am interested in any methods that can help me keep my girls from swarming.

The following wiki pages has some ideas too. What do people think of them?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarming_(honey_bee)#Swarm_management

All the best,
Sam

 

[Frisbee]

Interesting...As a newbie who wants to keep to two hives I am interested in any methods that can help me keep my girls from swarming.

The following wiki pages has some ideas too. What do people think of them?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarming_(honey_bee)#Swarm_management

All the best,
Sam

I haven't read that........ Wikipedia can be written by anyone and it's up to people reading it to correct any mistakes.

Get a good and trusted book, there are plenty recommended on here, read that and use the suggested methods in there.

Frisbee

 

[plumber]

before reading the book "Swarming it's control and prevention" I was only concerned. I am now confused and will be untill I stop keeping bees I think. take it day at a time have the equipment ready (extra B B swarm board a diary) but do not worry.(ps am leaning Solvackian I am going to have a heart to heart chat with the Queen her beeing new to this an me also). If you havent the equipment you cannot do the deed.

 

[oliver90owner]

Preventing swarming is easy. Just split the hive and if they build up enough split again. Simple really. You never have a strong colony.

The experience comes along when you want to collect some honey - like maximising the crop? Splitting continually will work but you may get little honey and might finish with several colonies, or just a couple dependant on the season. Might be what you want. If that is the case, you could put up with scrub queens, and re-unite at the end of the year! I would not use a Snelgrove board - as others say fiddly and easily muffed.

From your profile you may have plenty of time to study this. I like the Dartingtons for this. Spread the frames, wait for a Q cell and drop in a sealig divider. Job done. oh, and not forgetting to open the other end.

Regards, RAB

 

[DanBee]

Snelgrove's many methods are far too labour intensive.

See here for a much simplified method following the same general principles of a vertical split, using a simplified Snelgrove board easily made by adapting a crown board. I use this method & board for swarm control on my colonies.

 

[Bucks_Boy]

I tried it last year twice - first with a colony intent on swarming so left Q and followers on bottom, rest on top.
Queen hadnt read the book and tried to swarm again 5 days later having laid up about 40 cells .... so aborted that idea, put Q in a nuc, shook in some nurse bees from the top and recombined the rest.
Second attempt was with a colony starting Q cells but so large I couldnt find the queen so brushed bees off the frames with Q cells and put them in bottom box, put rest in top box, both filled out with foundation. Bottom one went queenright and top one went evil within a couple of days - 2 weeks later had to remove top colony away and requeen as they were chasing me 100yards......
So, useful as a temporary measure if short of kit but not convinced it really words as snelgrove writes ( or else my bees havent read the books )

 

[jezd]

Queen hadnt read the book and tried to swarm again 5 days later having laid up about 40 cells

perfect line, sums things up for me, Snelgrove method is so involved when this is the one area I would suggest keeping things simple.

 

[Worker Dave]

As a second year beekeeper i was going to use Snelgroves method this year. But am surprised people have found it time consuming as that was the whole idea of the method according to the book.
By splitting the brood from the Queen are you not just doing an artificial swarm?
Regards Dave

 

[thurrock bees]

im not aware of the snelgrove method, for swarm control for me is weekly inspections and damaging any queen cells, if after 3 weekly inspections they are still trying to swarm, i do a art. swarm. And that seems to stop them.

 

[mindTheGap]

Late post, but just seen this...

Queen hadnt read the book and tried to swarm again 5 days later having laid up about 40 cells ....

LOL I think she had read the book! Once queen rearing starts, it's a swine to stop. Don't forget that she has been starved ready for flight, so you also interupt egg laying even if you do prevent the swarming.

Snelgrove boards are quite cool and can be used in several scenarios, but ideally there should be NO queen cells when you start, it works a little like false swarming. But much less space and heavy lifting is required. Flipping a few gates is hardly hard work! Don't forget your notepad!

Basically you leave your queen with very little brood and the flying bees, much like a swarm. The rest of the brood & nurse bees end up upstairs, where they create emergency queen cells (which rarely swarm). The idea of rotating the doors is to ensure that the colony downstairs has the maximum number of flying bees (imagine a swarm where all of the brood in the old hive follow the swarm as and when they emerge). It also starves a would be swarm upstairs of flying bees.

Once you have a laying queen upstairs (don’t flip the doors after Day 13?(forgot!), otherwise you may loose your new queen into the hive below when she mates) you can now do 3 things. 1) Remove upstairs as the basis of a new colony. 2) Use the queen to replace 'her downstairs'. 3) Keep siphoning off her flying bees to create a powerful colony downstairs, until you get bored with flipping gates. 4) merge with/re-queen another colony. Then, when you're bored maybe option 1 or 4 (leave enough time so they will be able to build up for winter).

BTW, Varroa may become a problem.

Snelgrove boards are easy to make and well worth a play

 

[Swarm]

Hardly labour intensive. Snelgrove method is a good option if you have limited space in the apiary or if you are short on kit. Only extra kit needed is a BB and the board itself, no extra floor and no extra roof.
I have two very nice colonies from a Snelgrove split in early May.

 

[drstitson]

once you have two stacked colonies you can of course run them like that until before your main flow when you remove the old queen (to a nuc?) and let the double colony act as one - half the brood to rear but double the bees to forage.

meant to produce a bigger harvest than 2 single hives. just need to time it right - see ron brown book.

 

[Finman]

.
No more snelgrove

system is simple. When you see queen cells, you put the brood over the hive and board between the false swarm and the brood part. The brood has entrance to opposite direction than the swarm.

Another alternative is to devide the hive into two different hives 10 feet apart.

It was a huge rasberry nectar flow on. The lower part and the upper parts boath had 4 boxes. it was dfficult to look downstair, do the false swarm has room where to put honey.

Finally I took down the whole tower. Some while went when I drove to home 10 miles to get empty boxes.

Over 100 kg honey. The bees and frames were mixed. Honey was dribled.

At least it is not proper method to big hives. Impossible to handle.

Perhaps it works if the main hive is one or two box, but I have not so small hives at swarming time.

.

 

[oliver90owner]

Snelgrove method does not seem to be particularly labour intensive - only that you have to do all the manipulations carefully and at the right time, so can't go away for a few days, once started!

RAB