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Adventures in Beekeeping
(my blog)

Reaching a tall swarm

3/12/2019

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Picture
If you chase swarms, at some point you'll be faced with a swarm high up in a tree.  One way to reach them is through a simple setup.  You will need a painters extension pole, the roller on the end, duct tape, and a 5 gallon (or similar) bucket.  I was trying to explain this on a group and was asked if I could sketch it out, thus the high quality drawing above.  Basically, you put the roller on the extension, duct tape the bucket handle to the roller (allow it to roll freely, so the bucket remains plumb) and you have your swarm catcher.  Stand 3 to 5 feet to the side of the swarm, extend the pole under it, then firmly bump the branch and swarm so it falls in the bucket.  Lower the pole and dump the bees in a hive (or nuc, whatever).  If you got the queen, the rest of the swarm will fly down in a bit.  A simple way to know if you did is the workers will line up at the entrance with their tales in the air fanning. If you missed her you may need to repeat this a couple of times. If you don't know what a painters extension pole is, I have a link to one below (buy a cheaper one).  Good luck!  
Link to a pole at Home Depot
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    Don Cole

    Beekeeper extraordinaire.  

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