# Attractant



## lisarichards (Dec 6, 2004)

We've got a hive getting ready to swarm, darnitall. We have a spare hive set up, but had tried to order some attractant earlier in the year, and BetterBee was out of stock.

What's your favorite one to use, and anyone know someplace online that has it in stock?

Formerly happy hives


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## WayneH (Apr 29, 2005)

I've never tried an attractant. What makes you think it's getting ready to swarm? It's kind of late in the season for a swarm (at least in my area), that's why I ask. I would split the hive before it actually swarms. Move about three frames of bees with the original queen on it to a different hive body. By the time the new queen hatches, the hive will recognize the fact that they are queenless. After the first queen hatches, the first thing she and the workers will do is kill the other queens before they hatch. Technically, this is still a swarm. But it's a swarm that you control.


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## james dilley (Mar 21, 2004)

You can use Bee Balm as a lure to keep swarms .and to get them to take residence in your hives.


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## lisarichards (Dec 6, 2004)

Oh well, they went. Really quickly too. The swarm was too high up in a tree to get them, and were gone 3 hours later while we were trying to figure out what to do. Darn! Now we have to figure out which of our 3 hives it was, and what we should do about queening.

Thanks for the help. We're going to try to get some attractant to have on hand. I've heard from several people that it works well.


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## beaglady (Oct 7, 2002)

Lemongrass essential oil is supposed to work.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I vote for the split method of preventing swarms. Just so much easier to take half the bees and add a new queen in with them than to depend on them going to some attractant.
 Al


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## james dilley (Mar 21, 2004)

I think the point was how to attrac the swarms, Thats the reason to use them.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

The first line in lisarichards post 
"We've got a hive getting ready to swarm, darnitall."

I think the old saying was a once of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Prevention is doing a split.
 Al


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