Trap-out

[Fahey]

I'm thinking of trying an American style trap-out on a swarm in a wall as shown on youtube, I've made a wire cone etc. The swarm is low down in a brick wall (about 4 feet from the ground). They haven't been there more than a few weeks. Has anyone on the forum tried it with any success.

 

[abm]

No sorry, but i'm as keen as you to try it... please document your steps with images.

 

[Fahey]

Well I've set it up. The idea is that the bees can't find the exit on the cone and congregate around the original opening. It won't work with a solid cone/tube because they can smell the hive through the opening you've created. Anyway it seems to be going to plan and the bees are starting to go into the nuc I've fixed to the wall beside the cone (pics to follow). The nuc has a frame with honey and a couple of old drawn frames and a few drops of lemongrass oil.
They suggest that you place a frame with eggs in the nuc after a day or two for the bees to make a new queen. That depends on how many bees are there.
More to follow.

 

[kazmcc]

Fahey, do you live in Levenshulme Manchester? If so, I live just down the road from you in Longsight

 

[Jimy Dee]

dead keen to see this one develop. Could you be persuaded to do a utube vid? If not make sure to post plenty of photos. I understand it can take around 6 weeks in full and eventually the queen and the few remaining bees eventually leave the hive. Will you be putting a queen into the nuc once the bees take up residence in the nuc?

 

[Fahey]

Posted a pic on BBKA Facebook page if anyone is interested. I am finding it difficult to post pics. on this site at the moment.

 

[ratcatcher]

Posted a pic on BBKA Facebook page if anyone is interested. I am finding it difficult to post pics. on this site at the moment.

host your pictures on photobucket, then just add the link of the picture to here, much easier

 

[ratcatcher]

done it for you

 

[Fahey]

Thanks ratcatcher, it's just I'm on a security restricted network in the office and just find it difficult. I don't have gmail except on my phone.

 

[kazmcc]

So how does this work? I assume it's a bit like my clearer board, they find their way out but struggle to find the entrance again, so I assume they are then supposed to start using the nuc? How does that work if the nuc doesn't smell like home? How often is this set up successful?

Kaz is back with her many, MANY questions

 

[Jimy Dee]

so what will you do with the bees in the nuc????

 

[Itchy]

You're only actually salvaging the emerging bees. Queen won't go in nuc

 

[BeeJayBee]

You're only actually salvaging the emerging bees. Queen won't go in nuc

It's possibly better than leaving them all there and somebody coming along with a poison spray.You'll probably end up with a box of 'flying' bees, and will have to buy a queen to go with them, and they'll have to learn about wax making and brood rearing in the short time they have left alive. In the meantime the colony in the wall will starve, because no food is going in.

I've seen, somewhere, a trapout that actually leads through a nuc which might encourage the queen upwards.

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

It's possibly better than leaving them all there and somebody coming along with a poison spray.You'll probably end up with a box of 'flying' bees, and will have to buy a queen to go with them, and they'll have to learn about wax making and brood rearing in the short time they have left alive. In the meantime the colony in the wall will starve, because no food is going in.

I've seen, somewhere, a trapout that actually leads through a nuc which might encourage the queen upwards.

That was what I thought he was doing at first. The cone needs to go directly into the nuc with frames and foundation or drawn comb and an exit so they can still forage. I should think it gets very heavy if the bees take to it and encourage the colony to move.

 

[Jimy Dee]

The Yanks on utube state that after around 6 weeks the remaining queen and bees just abandon and leave. In the mean time loads of bees are harvested. Either make a new hive with new queen or strengthen up an existing hive.

 

[Fahey]

BeeJoyful, that's exactly why I'm trying to save them. There were bees higher up in the wall last year and I was interested to see would they survive the winter, varroa etc. and they didn't. But I happened to speak to the allotment holder next to the hive/wall and I got a nudge,nudge, wink, wink as to the fact that the bees were gone. Anyway, this one is lower down so decided adding two and two, that I would try and save them and a little experiment as well.
Jimy Dee, I know the queen will never come out, but I can use the bees elsewhere, maybe strengthening a nuc or if there are enough bees I might get a nice carni queen from Becky.
I think at the moment it has been a success in the fact that there are no other entrances and they are using the nuc although the foragers are not depositing their pollen yet.
There is a very large colony or two further along the wall but the adjacent alltoment holder is quite keen to leave them be, although he did suffer a very bad reaction to a sting. His whole face swelled and the doctor prescribed steroids. The poor man, but he's got a great attitude.

 

[Fahey]

Well I added a new queen to the nuc yesterday as there were quite a few bees in there. Can you believe that they found the queen cage on the ground, I had covered it with a piece of terracotta while I went to the car to get something (my trousers as they were getting a bit angry, I was only wearing shorts). Anyway when I lifted the piece of terracotta there were about half a doz. bees on the cage fanning away. I noticed a couple of bees still emerging from the cone while I was there. So the trap-out is still a success.

 

[kazmcc]

That's great news! Very interesting thread. I would be very interested to see how they go on, and how they build and tend the brood.

 

[MartinL]

Looking at the pic, is there a cellar to the building, what are the floor levels???

Looks as though it's a 9" brick wall (no cavity) & they are in a void below the floor?

If that's the case why not cut them all out??

 

[Trawick]

Did you catch queen

Ratcatcher did you catch the queen. I don't normally make my funnel like that. I would seem hard to catch queen. I now use a catcher screen under funnel and have had more success with queens.