What to do After You Catch a Honeybee Swarm

There's a lot of advice available about how to catch swarms, but what about after you've made the catch? In this video I work with Justin of @HomesteadRefuge to install a caught swarm into his hive, and we discuss the steps and considerations along the way.

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I grew up on a farm on the edge of the Nebraska sandhills. A cattle ranch that bears our family name, founded in the late 1800s by my ancestors, is still owned and worked by my cousin. Life events have put me in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area in middle America, where my wife and I have raised our two kids. It's in this environment that I work to make as sustainable a life as I can, converting much of our backyard to grow food, including a garden, fruit trees and bee hives.

I attempt to use natural methods, as much as is possible, in my gardening and beekeeping. I garden organically and continue to learn to work with the soil and the plants, without the use of chemical supplements, herbicides or pesticides, to improve our harvest. Our honey bees are sourced from local colonies through swarms, trap-outs and cut-outs, and are kept, using treatment-free, natural methods, in Layens horizontal hives.

[wayradbrad]

Never mind. I should have watched the whole video. Thank you gentlemen! Great video!

[hawkspiritweaver]

Excellent content... Hopefully this will be very helpful.. Loaded the 2nd Commander a couple days ago and finally saw a couple honey bees on some flowers.. Keeping fingers crossed.

[imysteryman]

I have 9 layens hives with bees in them now, when I built the hives I made them with a peaked roof that hinges. There is a 2x4 cut 46 inches long on top screwed from the bottom up that has an angle on top for the top roof which has barn metal cut and with the edges bent, it slides on from one end. The roof over hangs the back and front about 4 inches and 5 inches at the end. This way the sides of the box don't see much water unless the wind is blowing hard I found I like it better if I cover the unused side with pieces of plywood about 5 inches wide so when I lift the lid there are no bees up in the top. They open up from the back so the roof acts like a wall on the front side. I also added foam weather stripping on the bottom of the roof to help keep the beetles out. That way the only way the beetles can get inside is through the entrance, I have a short piece of 1 1/4 pvc tube which I machine down to fit the entrance and the outside is tapered to a fine edge to keep the beetles from crawling in as well. I still get some beetles but the bees seem to manage to drive them into the open side where I get the pleasure of smashing them. The bees don't seem to mind me opening the lid and killing the beetles so I hardly ever wear protection when doing so.

[wayradbrad]

You said "several", Several is 3 miles. Doesn't it need to be moved at least 6? Just curious.

[woodworkingfan]

The way I like to empty out the swarm trap of leftover bees after transfer is to set it down into the empty section of the hive (no lid of course) and let them meander out and join their sisters at will. I then remove that box a day or two later with next to no bees in it.

[billbarnes]

About how late in the year will they swarm in middle Tennessee?