Top 5 things to do following a swarm capture?

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RichardK

House Bee
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Joined
May 17, 2021
Messages
446
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Location
Perpignan, France
Hive Type
Dadant
Number of Hives
Ideally 3 to 5.
So...day 1 of the swam caught yesterday and now resident in a 10 frame hive.

Being completely new to this and with too much information (books, YouTube and Google...) what would people recommend as the top 5 things I should be doing over the coming days / weeks to help ensure the success of the colony? And is varoa treatment in there somewhere?

Thanks in advance,
Richard
 
So...day 1 of the swam caught yesterday and now resident in a 10 frame hive.

Being completely new to this and with too much information (books, YouTube and Google...) what would people recommend as the top 5 things I should be doing over the coming days / weeks to help ensure the success of the colony? And is varoa treatment in there somewhere?

Thanks in advance,
Richard
Yes. See my recent post and don't panic. Bees are are quite adaptable if you don't mess them around too much.
 
1. A one off vape of OA within 5 days or so to rid of most varroa before brood is sealed on day 9/10.
2. Check stores after two/three of days and feed if no fresh is incoming.
3. Feed little and often if needed, use fondant or weak syrup if comb needs drawing.
4. Reduced entrance until foraging strongly.
5. Once done leave them to it to get on with life for a week or three.
6. Qc/SS cell may be on the cards early if Q is old or failing, time will tell.
 
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Hemo, I can't argue with the idea of your steps, but how many beginner beekeepers with only one hive will have an OA vapouriser? What's a suitable alternative that doesn't require shelling out a large amount?
 
OA strips from Abelo, Apilife or Apivar there are many options.
As the OP (Richard) is in France use what is available there or what the local beeks use. What is allowed in France may be different to the UK.
 
OA vaping can be relatively cheap and something to think about early on and for future use, A simple pan is about £20 on ebay and a rechargeable lion car battery booster about £30, a mask with filters and some OA. In France it may be that generic OA is allowed.
OA is likely the least nasty natural substance available to use for a colony against varroa.
 
OA vaping can be relatively cheap and something to think about early on and for future use, A simple pan is about £20 on ebay and a rechargeable lion car battery booster about £30, a mask with filters and some OA. In France it may be that generic OA is allowed.
OA is likely the least nasty natural substance available to use for a colony against varroa.
But though natural, take care not to inhale the vapour yourself!
 
OA vaping can be relatively cheap and something to think about early on and for future use, A simple pan is about £20 on ebay and a rechargeable lion car battery booster about £30, a mask with filters and some OA. In France it may be that generic OA is allowed.
OA is likely the least nasty natural substance available to use for a colony against varroa.
You can make your own OA vaperizer even an enthusiastic beginner could make one, beekeepers are inventors of weird and wonderful things! ;):cool:
 
You can make your own OA vaperizer even an enthusiastic beginner could make one, beekeepers are inventors of weird and wonderful things! ;):cool:
You do need some engineering skills to make your own sublimator - the pan type can be made from a diesel engine glow plug and a block of aluminium to make the pan but it takes a bit of metalworking skills and some tools ... one of our members on here made a really tidy one but for less than £20 you can buy one that works and does the job so is it worth it ?

The people that have made gas operated ones generally end up with either a gasvap which has pretty much solved most of the problems of gas operated ones or they have made clones of them - again for aorund £40 is it worth messing about making your own - the fittings if you don't have them are going to cost a tenner (i know I made one and bought one !).

Anything more elaborate like your sublimox is probably well beyond amateur ability ...
 
I was trying to say that there is cheaper alternatives, I've developed loads of skills since ive been beekeeping, learnt more about Flora and farna, loads of things..... The beginning is the beginning, beginners that keep to will learn loads of skills.
 
OA vaping can be relatively cheap and something to think about early on and for future use, A simple pan is about £20 on ebay and a rechargeable lion car battery booster about £30, a mask with filters and some OA. In France it may be that generic OA is allowed.
OA is likely the least nasty natural substance available to use for a colony against varroa.
Could you use a battery charger plugged into the mains rather than an independent battery booster for the OA vaping? I'm trying to find the lowest cost way of getting power to the vaper? I don't see any battery boosters on amazon.co.uk for around £30....although a 12V motorbike battery starts at that sort of price.
 
Could you use a battery charger plugged into the mains rather than an independent battery booster for the OA vaping? I'm trying to find the lowest cost way of getting power to the vaper? I don't see any battery boosters on amazon.co.uk for around £30....although a 12V motorbike battery starts at that sort of price.

Something like this lithium power pack/booster can be used as a portable power supply pack for half a dozen hives, It may have a max cut out after 2 - 2.5mins so may need re setting to do full vape timing of about 3 mins or so.
12V 20000mAh USB Car Jump Starter Pack Booster Battery Charger Power Bank UK Pro | eBay

I use high discharge rate lipo or Li-on small 12v battery packs typically sub 600g and very portable, mine also power my bee vac and a few other items.
 
The merest whiff of OA vapour is enough to give a painful shock to the nose so there is no danger of inhaling it!
A car battery charger isn't really powerful enough as a power source unless it can provide at least 10 amps (but typically 4 amps).
 
I vape using a bit of copper central heating pipe and a blow torch. I've made a glass-topped eke (so I can see what is going on) with a hole in it the right size for the pipe. Put the OA in the pipe (I used a compression stop at one end although the video I saw on YouTube that gave me the idea just hammered it flat) then stick it through the hole and heat the pipe until vapour stops coming out. I already had all the bits so total cost was only time.
 

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