I have a swarm of my bees lodged on the trunk of a tree almost at ground level and they have been there 48 hours now. With previous swarms I have usually managed to get them into boxes and recover the bees by shaking them to the ground or cutting a branch but that is not possible this time. I have a scented box nearby and a handful have taken up residence but not the bulk. Shoud I try brushing them to the ground to see if they will walk into the box?
What to do with a swarm which won't go?
- Thread starter fenster
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Could you fasten a box to the tree above them eg mould a cardboard box to the tree shape & tie/tape it on. Then smoke them upwards into the box.
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Thread 'Smoke up? Brush down? Something else?' Smoke up? Brush down? Something else?
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Queen Bee
Get a frame of healthy open brood from one of your colonies and lean it against them. They'll crawl onto it within minutes. When they are well covering it, place the frame carefully (with the bees still on it) in your swarm collection box nearby. They'll all move into it after a while.
Thanks for that, I will remember it for next time - they have absconded since my post. Fortunately I am surrounded by nature reserve. I have more bees than I have space for having split both my hives to avoid swarming - unsccessfully. I want to stay at two hives but each year I have to give 2 or three nuc boxes full away to keep any kind of control. Each day I get a couple of thousand bees flying around the back garden and the same bearding the hives. It looks like they are swarming but they all go back presumably when the temperature is better.
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