Spring is just around the corner even if there is several inches of snow on the ground! February is a great time to start building swarm traps and setting bait hives ready for swarm season to catch a free swarm. I built this 3 frame bait hive using reclaimed wood picked up at the Habitat for Humanity Restore nearby. Find out how I did it by reading on.
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Why Catch A Swarm?
Put simply, catching a swarm means free bees and given that I think I have lost my current hive free bees are going to be very welcome!
Swarms may be from local apiaries and may be the typical bee breeds or stocks of Italian, Carniolian, German, Russian, Buckfast and Caucasian. Your swarm may be feral or wild honeybees or a cross between the traditional stock and wild bees which may form a healthier hive. The benefits of catching a swarm include:
- Healthy bees – the chances of the bees starting off in your hive being disease free is very good.
- Successful genetics and local adaptation – Swarms occur with healthy bees that have survived winter and other environmental influences in your area such as little forage, drought and pests.
- Low cost or free – a minimal cost is needed to make a static swarm trap or bait hive for the passive catching of a swarm.
Bees swarms are a natural part of the bees lifecycle and is how colonies reproduce each year. Spring and and early summer are the typical times for swarming which coincide with nectar flow, however they can occur throughout the season. Southern states may have swarming start earlier.
Conventional beekeeping practices say that the reasons bees swarm are due to poor beekeeping practices such as:
- Poor ventilation/overheating
- Overcrowding
- Old queen
- No free cells for the queen to lay eggs
- Hive damage
Most conventional beekeeping methods strive to prevent swarming.
During a swarm, about half of the bees leave with the original queen and will land in a nearby tree, close to the original hive. The old hive is left with eggs, workers and queen cells. The new queen cells develop and usually the first to emerge shall kill the others. This virgin queen will leave the hive on her nuptial flight to mate with drones from other hives. This queen will hopefully return to lay eggs and to continue the original hive.
How To Catch A Swarm
The easiest way to catch a swarm for new beekeepers is to passively trap or lure a swarm into a bait hive.
A few weeks before a swarm occurs, scout bees are out and about looking for food sources and a new home. Bees are looking for a hollow home about 40 liters in volume. Hollow tree trunks are the natural choice for bees to make into a home but there are some criteria which make bait hives successful which include:
- The scent of where bees have lived before.
- Sufficiently large cavity to store enough food to survive through a winter.
- Easily defendable.
- In the shade.
- Dry.
- High up location.
How To Build A Swarm Trap or Bait Hive
Building a swarm trap need not be difficult. A deep brood box with frames can be enclosed at the bottom and a lid added to seal the box. A hole about 1 inch diameter added to one side to allow the bees to enter and exit make a common bait hive.
As with any project, take care with what you are doing, the tools used, health and safety and appropriate protective equipment to avoid injury to yourself or others and damage to equipment and property. Please read the Disclaimer for more information.
You can watch the video below on how to build the swarm trap or read on to see step by step with pictures and learn more about how to be successful with baiting your hive.
We built a swarm trap using some plywood we bought from the Habitat For Humanity Restore nearby. I picked up this piece of plywood which had a lip on it for $1, how about that for a bargain?
There was enough wood to make all the sides and we had some plywood left over from building the greenhouse for the base and the lid. If your wood does not have a lip on it already, you can make one using 1/4 inch thick scraps of wood secured to the ends with wood glue
To make this hive, we first ripped the bottom of the plywood 1/4 inch to make a level bottom. We wanted to be sure that there is a couple of inches between the bottom of the frame and the floor of the bait hive. the width of the board is 11 inches.
We then measured the width and length of the deep frames to calculate how wide and long the swarm trap would be.
For this hive, we made the sides wide enough for 3 frames so that the swarm trap isn’t too heavy. The width is 5 inches wide and 19 3/4 inches long. We kept the board at 11 inches deep to provide room between the frames and the base of the swarm trap. Transfer these markings to the wood. Use a square to ensure the cut lines are straight.
Using a circular saw
Rip 1/4 inch off the bottom of one of the short ends. This will become the bait hive entrance. Alternatively, if you keep them the same length, you can cut a slot 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch high or a 1 inch diameter hole as an entrance to the swarm trap.
To build the swarm box, run a bead of wood glue
Wipe off any excess glue and attach the end boards with the lip or shelf at the top.
Run a bead of glue on the short ends and attach the final side securing with finishing nails, wood screws or staples.
You will need to ensure that any wood scraps you are using are square before measuring and cutting. This makes the build a lot easier. Here we are checking that the scrap plywood from the greenhouse project is square before measuring and cutting a board 20 3/4 inches long by 5 1/2 inches wide for the flooring.
Attach the base to the bottom of the box (the opposite end with the shelf) using a bead of wood glue
To make the lid, we cut sections of 1 x 2 that would form a shoe box style lid with a cut out for a hanger. The hanger is a scrap piece of 1 x 2 with a hole drilled in to enable it to hang from a nail or hook. You can see the landing board on the right hand side of the photo below.
1 x 2 was cut into the following lengths:
For the side with the hanger: one piece at 9 inches and one piece at 9 1/8 inches.
For the short ends: two pieces at 7 3/8 inches
For the long side without the hanger: one piece at 19 13/16 inches.
Cut a rectangle of plywood or board to 7 1/2 in width and 21 1/2 inches long for the lid.
Run a bead of glue on the end and assemble the lid. Use wood screws, nails or staples to attach to the lid and the ends of the wood frame.
To make the notch, cut the gap out using a jigsaw
Place the lid on the swarm box then attach the hanger with glue and wood screws.
There you have it! A basic swarm trap to catch honeybees with this spring!
A lick of non-toxic paint will protect the plywood from the weather. Ensure that the painted bait hive has been ventilating the paint fumes for at least a week before putting it out to trap honeybee swarms. You don’t want to harm your new bees with an abundance of chemicals in their temporary home.
Consult your state’s Department of Food and Agriculture for beekeeping licenses and requirements as well as city ordinances. I need to have my beekeeping license number on my hive if it is on another property. Other states may require a contact telephone number as well as a license number. We have a friend with property so our traps are going there however, we are going to be camouflaging them to reduce the likelihood of people taking a potshot at them.
Transporting The Swarm Catcher
To close the swarm catcher for transport, a piece of wood can be taped to the front covering the entrance. You can get fancy making a sliding trapdoor or a cover which flips to close if you want.
Biodynamic Beekeeping Tips For Swarm Traps and Bait Hives
In biodynamic beekeeping, you want to avoid using plywood and man made woods which contain lots of glues or chemical treatments. Do not use paint on your swarm traps, instead use beeswax and linseed oil to protect the natural wood exterior from the elements. Avoid using wood glue, use hide glue instead when bonding the sides before securing with screws or nails.
Tips To Catch A Swarm Successfully
Some ways to make a swarm trap more attractive to the scout bees is to:
- Use a solid floor., not a mesh or vented flooring.
- Use an old brood box which still have wax and propolis on them makes a great lure or rub beeswax inside the box.
- Old comb inside.
- A small entrance about the area of the end or side of a matchbox if making a slit or about a 1 inch hole. Too big an entrance and you will reduce your chances of success.
- Position the swarm trap in the shade, along a tree line is ideal.
- Ten feet or more in the air. Placed in a tree is ideal however, think carefully about how you will bring it down safely.
- Check the trap often.
Using Swarm Lures
You can increase your chances of catching a swarm in your bait hive by using honeybee lures. Scent is a great way to entice scout bees into checking out your swarm trap and there are a few things you can use to lure them in. An old frame with comb on it is ideal as it contains lots of scent of the hive in it however, if you don’t have an old frame, have no fear!
You can rub the frames and inside the box with natural beeswax
Lemongrass essential oil
Lures will fade overtime, see the manufacturer’s directions for how often it should be replaced to ensure your swarm trap is in tip top condition.
Additional Resources
For more information on building hives and beekeeping, take a look at some of my favorite books:
Swarm Traps and Bait Hives: The Easy Way to Get Bees for Free by McCartney Taylor
Toward Saving the Honeybee by Gunther Hauk
Wisdom of the Bees: Principles for Biodynamic Beekeeping by Eric Berrevoets
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Very informative!
Thank you, I hope it helps you get some free honey bees too!
Bedankt voor d”e boeiende materie
Thanks for stopping by Marylou!