Post by bk on May 1, 2017 15:45:25 GMT -5
Took a vacation day to 'use them before I lose them'. Of course it had to rain and snow. But it is Wisconsin - land of two seasons, winter and the Fourth of July.
So instead of siding the bee shed, I worked on some swarm traps. Boxes are just 1/2 inch CDX plywood. Drilled a few 1/8" holes in the floor to let any moisture out. Boxes are glued up with Titebond III and stapled together. Cut 2 plus inch hole for bee entrance near the bottom of the trap - actually centered side to side and 3 1/2" up from bottom. Stapled 1/2" by 1/2" mesh inside to keep the critters out. Swinging door cover is just a canning jar lid. Bolted a couple of lengths of chain to put around the tree to hang the trap. I just use a quick link to connect the chains. A neighboring beek uses the chain with a padlock to keep his traps from growing legs. Some other guys use bungee cords or ratchet straps to secure their traps. Chain is fast and easy for me.
Bent up some aluminum flashing to cover the lid.
Entrance view with mesh and swinging door cover.
Frame ledge is just a shortened end wall. Use standard Lang frames, the old nasty, dark ones I was going to replace last year but kept. (New frame is in the picture for illustration purposes.) Holds five deep frames with lots of room below. Cover is tight enough the bees won't leak out the end walls at the lowered end.
So instead of siding the bee shed, I worked on some swarm traps. Boxes are just 1/2 inch CDX plywood. Drilled a few 1/8" holes in the floor to let any moisture out. Boxes are glued up with Titebond III and stapled together. Cut 2 plus inch hole for bee entrance near the bottom of the trap - actually centered side to side and 3 1/2" up from bottom. Stapled 1/2" by 1/2" mesh inside to keep the critters out. Swinging door cover is just a canning jar lid. Bolted a couple of lengths of chain to put around the tree to hang the trap. I just use a quick link to connect the chains. A neighboring beek uses the chain with a padlock to keep his traps from growing legs. Some other guys use bungee cords or ratchet straps to secure their traps. Chain is fast and easy for me.
Bent up some aluminum flashing to cover the lid.
Entrance view with mesh and swinging door cover.
Frame ledge is just a shortened end wall. Use standard Lang frames, the old nasty, dark ones I was going to replace last year but kept. (New frame is in the picture for illustration purposes.) Holds five deep frames with lots of room below. Cover is tight enough the bees won't leak out the end walls at the lowered end.
