Honey Bee Trapping

I assembled two honey bee swarm traps out of 5-gallon buckets today. I have high hopes they will work, as I was visited by bees while constructing them. 

The orange “gate” is repurposed from honey storage, and can be closed when a swarm of bees are inside, to facilitate movement to a real hive. 

Bees are attracted to bees wax, which has been heavily slathered around the outside of the orange gate, as well as painted thickly on the inside walls of the bucket.

A deep frame was cut in half and friction-mounted inside as a friendly “starter” for a swarm. In addition, a cotton ball or two soaked in lemon grass oil will go inside. If there has been no action by the third week in May, I will re-up the lemon grass oil and add a small dose of Nasarov, a bee attractant pheromone.  

These will be mounted as high as I can, along a riparian forest running through farm country. I’ve never trapped bees before, but I’m told this is the way.