As a Texas Navy vet just getting into bee keeping I purchased my first hive just to get the ball rolling. I've got somewhat of an extensive woodworking shop passed down from my Father and we just never really did a lot of projects together. Your swarm trap, hive, and frame construction how to videos are going to be my introduction to woodworking. Thank you greatly for the energy and expertise you put into your videos.
First of all, Thank You for your Service! I hope my videos and plans will be helpful to you as you start your woodworking journey. Be safe, have fun and best of luck!
Thank you so much! I’ll be posting videos as often as time permits. Family, day job, working my bees and then making videos is my order of priorities. Hopefully I’ll be averaging one, maybe sometimes even two each month. Thanks again for watching! Wes
Wow... what a great video! very professionally done and easy to follow. I wish I had the skills and room to build these with your direction but I will end up buying the unassembled units once I run out of my used gear... thanks again!!!
Starting to make a few more traps for upcoming bee season. Have a couple deep traps like the ones you are showing but have a problem with bees building comb below the frames.
That’s not uncommon. Swarms are geared up to build a lot of comb in a hurry. If you’re where you can keep an eye on your traps and know when they moved in, let them sit a day then move and hive them on day two. By day three they will often have started building comb under the frames. The size of the swarm will have a lot to do with how fast they build. As bad as we all hate to have to cut away that beautiful fresh comb they worked so hard for, the bright side is you now have a new colony of bees!
Not necessarily. I like to build mine out of 3/4” but I have also made a few out of 5/8”. I have some friends that make theirs out of 1/2” and they catch bees. The design needs to be a little different with 1/2” mostly because of the frame rest.
hello, that a great help , ill have to start building bait traps, im in UK England we dont get many swarms like yourselves. Anyway on to my question, what size frames do you use in them, ?
I’ve never had an issue with them in the spring. The deeper into summer you get the more of an issue they become. I generally pull my traps down in early June.
I just cut down a 4x8 board per your cut sheet, but I didn’t stop and think about why this is so much deeper than a regular deep. Is it so the bees won’t abscond?
Swarms have a sweet spot when looking for a new home to move into. That sweet spot is around 40 liters. The scouts will evaluate several potential new nest sites before making the decision to move in. When we set out traps, we are trying to give the bees as much of what they are looking for in a new home as we possibly can. This is the reason for the extra space but the downside to this is that once a swarm moves in, you only have a few days before you need to move them into a hive. Otherwise they will build additional comb under the frames and it will be a mess to deal with. I try not to leave them more than 3 days because of this. Additional note: 40 liters is the middle of the road sweet spot for the bees preferred size. This does not always mean the bees will pick your box over something smaller or larger. The scouts are looking at several aspects when looking for a new home. If you’re interested in reading up on this topic I highly recommend a book called Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Dyer Seeley. I hope this was helpful. Wes
Thanks Wes! Yes super helpful. I realized after that the design you shared here is like two deep nuc boxes. I got my wood cut today, gonna glue them up and paint tomorrow. I’m up in the MD DC suburbs, and I’m guessing we’re gonna see swarms start in the next couple of weeks. Hoping these boxes will help me in my backyard! One other question - I used a sanded maple plywood; the exterior grade at HD looked kind of rough; lots of bowing pieces. Do you think the boards need to be really straight to make this project successfully? Thanks for responding! Ernesto
The exterior sheathing is definitely not what it use to be. With that said, I would still recommend using it over a cabinet grade ply. The reason is the glue used to produce cabinet grade plywood is not water resistance and often contains formaldehyde. The extra effort dealing with cutting and assembling the less than perfectly flat exterior grade will give you a box that will last a number of years longer than the maple. However, in this case you already have the parts cut. I’d go ahead and put them together but be sure to get a GOOD couple coats of paint on the outside and in the entrance hole. Also, I’d torch the inside of the box as well then let the boxs air out for a couple weeks before hanging them. Put them in the sun to air out whenever possible. This will help draw out the formaldehyde smell. When you set them, try to keep them out of direct sunlight if you can. You might also consider hanging them under the overhang of a building to keep them as dry as possible. Best of luck Wes
The exterior sheathing is definitely not what it use to be. With that said, I would still recommend using it over a cabinet grade ply. The reason is the glue used to produce cabinet grade plywood is not water resistance and often contains formaldehyde. The extra effort dealing with cutting and assembling the less than perfectly flat exterior grade will give you a box that will last a number of years longer than the maple. However, in this case you already have the parts cut. I’d go ahead and put them together but be sure to get a GOOD couple coats of paint on the outside and in the entrance hole. Also, I’d torch the inside of the box as well then let the boxs air out for a couple weeks before hanging them. Put them in the sun to air out whenever possible. This will help draw out the formaldehyde smell. When you set them, try to keep them out of direct sunlight if you can. You might also consider hanging them under the overhang of a building to keep them as dry as possible. Best of luck Wes
Would 23/32 syp shealthing work with these plans? Frames should still fit im assuming, not sure would the wood in the weather though. from HD Model# 129323 StoreSKU# 166103
Your right. The microphone was set to single channel instead of stereo. I didn’t notice it until I had earphones on and all the sound shifted to one side. By that point it was too late. This was my first video. A practice run if you will. I never really expected this many people to see it. Hopefully the video, audio and the guy in front of the camera will only get better moving forward.
I don’t disagree with you. Metric is so much simpler to work in. However, here in the States we locked onto Feet and Inches WAY before my time. We all grew up with it and that’s what most of understand. Not to mention most of us don’t have a metric tape laying around. If your interested in building from the plans on my site, multiply Inches with the fractions converted to decimals by 25.4. That will give you the millimeters equivalent. 19 7/8” = 19.875” 19.875” X 25.4 = 505mm Thanks for watching! Wes
As a Texas Navy vet just getting into bee keeping I purchased my first hive just to get the ball rolling. I've got somewhat of an extensive woodworking shop passed down from my Father and we just never really did a lot of projects together. Your swarm trap, hive, and frame construction how to videos are going to be my introduction to woodworking. Thank you greatly for the energy and expertise you put into your videos.
First of all, Thank You for your Service!
I hope my videos and plans will be helpful to you as you start your woodworking journey. Be safe, have fun and best of luck!
@@thesoutherncraftwoodshop4134 So I've begun studying your hive building vid and I have a couple questions. I'll go over to that vid to ask :)
Two great hobbies that work side by side as you be be making lots of super boxes for the coming months! Too bad you cant make honey jars out of wood!!
This is much easier than the plans on horizonal hives. Thank you!
You’re welcome
Thanks for watching!
Great teaching methods, really easy to follow and learn. Thanks, I look forward to seeing your next projects.
Thank you so much!
I’ll be posting videos as often as time permits. Family, day job, working my bees and then making videos is my order of priorities. Hopefully I’ll be averaging one, maybe sometimes even two each month.
Thanks again for watching!
Wes
Wow... what a great video! very professionally done and easy to follow. I wish I had the skills and room to build these with your direction but I will end up buying the unassembled units once I run out of my used gear... thanks again!!!
Thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed the video.
Thanks for watching
Wes
Great video and thanks for the cut sheet!
Thank you and you’re welcome
Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome!
Thank you
You’re welcome
Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for putting this together!
Your welcome!
I’m glad you enjoyed my first video, technical difficulties and all.
Very similar to the ones I make except I used 1/2” plywood to cut down on weight. Great video.
I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
Thanks Sir Please keep up the good work man Thanks again
Your welcome. Glad you liked it!
Starting to make a few more traps for upcoming bee season. Have a couple deep traps like the ones you are showing but have a problem with bees building comb below the frames.
That’s not uncommon. Swarms are geared up to build a lot of comb in a hurry. If you’re where you can keep an eye on your traps and know when they moved in, let them sit a day then move and hive them on day two. By day three they will often have started building comb under the frames. The size of the swarm will have a lot to do with how fast they build.
As bad as we all hate to have to cut away that beautiful fresh comb they worked so hard for, the bright side is you now have a new colony of bees!
Love the video !!! great job !!! where is the link to the plans? thank you
Great and easy DIY. Does it need to be 3/4" plywood?
Not necessarily. I like to build mine out of 3/4” but I have also made a few out of 5/8”. I have some friends that make theirs out of 1/2” and they catch bees. The design needs to be a little different with 1/2” mostly because of the frame rest.
I found the link ooooppppssss
hello, that a great help , ill have to start building bait traps, im in UK England we dont get many swarms like yourselves. Anyway on to my question, what size frames do you use in them, ?
These traps are for Langstroth frames.
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Thanks for watching.
Wes
Could the kids be modified to clip down instead? I won’t want to have to have a drill when dealing with swarms.
Certainly. It would just take a little hardware from your local building supply.
What about wax moths getting in the comb before the bees?
I’ve never had an issue with them in the spring. The deeper into summer you get the more of an issue they become. I generally pull my traps down in early June.
I just cut down a 4x8 board per your cut sheet, but I didn’t stop and think about why this is so much deeper than a regular deep. Is it so the bees won’t abscond?
Swarms have a sweet spot when looking for a new home to move into. That sweet spot is around 40 liters. The scouts will evaluate several potential new nest sites before making the decision to move in. When we set out traps, we are trying to give the bees as much of what they are looking for in a new home as we possibly can. This is the reason for the extra space but the downside to this is that once a swarm moves in, you only have a few days before you need to move them into a hive. Otherwise they will build additional comb under the frames and it will be a mess to deal with. I try not to leave them more than 3 days because of this.
Additional note: 40 liters is the middle of the road sweet spot for the bees preferred size. This does not always mean the bees will pick your box over something smaller or larger. The scouts are looking at several aspects when looking for a new home. If you’re interested in reading up on this topic I highly recommend a book called Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Dyer Seeley.
I hope this was helpful.
Wes
Thanks Wes! Yes super helpful. I realized after that the design you shared here is like two deep nuc boxes. I got my wood cut today, gonna glue them up and paint tomorrow. I’m up in the MD DC suburbs, and I’m guessing we’re gonna see swarms start in the next couple of weeks. Hoping these boxes will help me in my backyard!
One other question - I used a sanded maple plywood; the exterior grade at HD looked kind of rough; lots of bowing pieces. Do you think the boards need to be really straight to make this project successfully? Thanks for responding! Ernesto
The exterior sheathing is definitely not what it use to be. With that said, I would still recommend using it over a cabinet grade ply. The reason is the glue used to produce cabinet grade plywood is not water resistance and often contains formaldehyde. The extra effort dealing with cutting and assembling the less than perfectly flat exterior grade will give you a box that will last a number of years longer than the maple.
However, in this case you already have the parts cut. I’d go ahead and put them together but be sure to get a GOOD couple coats of paint on the outside and in the entrance hole. Also, I’d torch the inside of the box as well then let the boxs air out for a couple weeks before hanging them. Put them in the sun to air out whenever possible. This will help draw out the formaldehyde smell.
When you set them, try to keep them out of direct sunlight if you can. You might also consider hanging them under the overhang of a building to keep them as dry as possible.
Best of luck
Wes
The exterior sheathing is definitely not what it use to be. With that said, I would still recommend using it over a cabinet grade ply. The reason is the glue used to produce cabinet grade plywood is not water resistance and often contains formaldehyde. The extra effort dealing with cutting and assembling the less than perfectly flat exterior grade will give you a box that will last a number of years longer than the maple.
However, in this case you already have the parts cut. I’d go ahead and put them together but be sure to get a GOOD couple coats of paint on the outside and in the entrance hole. Also, I’d torch the inside of the box as well then let the boxs air out for a couple weeks before hanging them. Put them in the sun to air out whenever possible. This will help draw out the formaldehyde smell.
When you set them, try to keep them out of direct sunlight if you can. You might also consider hanging them under the overhang of a building to keep them as dry as possible.
Best of luck
Wes
Are you making a layens or langstroth bait hive? It looks tall like it's built for a layens hive
The swarm traps in this video are Langstroth. The additional height is to accommodate the Bees preference of cavity size (40 Liters).
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?
How can I order your plans
They are free to download. You can find the link in the video description.
Would 23/32 syp shealthing work with these plans? Frames should still fit im assuming, not sure would the wood in the weather though.
from HD
Model# 129323
StoreSKU# 166103
Yes, you should be fine. What you want to stay away from is interior grade plywood such as ply made for cabinets.
I think you’re missing audio from 05:41 to 09:03.
Your right. The microphone was set to single channel instead of stereo. I didn’t notice it until I had earphones on and all the sound shifted to one side. By that point it was too late. This was my first video. A practice run if you will. I never really expected this many people to see it. Hopefully the video, audio and the guy in front of the camera will only get better moving forward.
$80 for a bee trap lol I use a black storage tote $8.
If you like it and it works for you then Good Deal.
It seems so difficult to use all these 8th and 32ndth and stuff, instead of only using millimeters for all measurements.
I don’t disagree with you. Metric is so much simpler to work in. However, here in the States we locked onto Feet and Inches WAY before my time. We all grew up with it and that’s what most of understand. Not to mention most of us don’t have a metric tape laying around.
If your interested in building from the plans on my site, multiply Inches with the fractions converted to decimals by 25.4. That will give you the millimeters equivalent.
19 7/8” = 19.875”
19.875” X 25.4 = 505mm
Thanks for watching!
Wes
Thank you