Urban Mountain Apiary

05/21/2024

Making A Swarm Trap from a Five Gallon Bucket

Materials:

5-gallon bucket with lid
old wax, propolis, bee body parts, etc. (slum glue)
disposable gloves
old paint brushes
drill
7/8” paddle bit
1/8” drill bit
old comb
lemon grass oil (lure)
Swarm Commander (lure) optional

Procedure
1. Melt slum gum in an old, never to be used again pot or slow cooker.

2. Paint the inside of the bucket and underside of the lid with slum gum.

3. Do not paint wax in lid slots or on buckets lip.

4. Under lip of bucket drill 8 holes with small bit (1/8”)

5. Using the same bit, drill 8 holes in the bottom of the bucket.

6. Do not drill holes in the lid.

7. Just below the lip of the bucket, use the paddle bit to drill a hole. This is the entrance for the bees.

8. Paint around the bee entrance with slum gum.

9. Place old comb and lure inside the bucket. Put the lid on tightly.
Voila! You now have a swarm bucket.


Hanging your Bucket
1. Find a tree with a crotch that is 5-8 feet from the ground and a short, but strong branch to slide the bucket handle over.
2. Slide the bucket over the branch.
3. Using bungee cords, rope, straps, etc. attach your bucket to the tree. This is to stabilize the bucket and to keep it from swinging in the wind.

03/16/2024

Just a friendly reminder make sure to check out Marion County Beekeepers - Fairmont, West Virginia for upcoming events.

03/05/2024

12/01/2023

Don't forget with the warmer weather in the coming days to do a quick check on your hives.

12/01/2023

We have been getting our hives ready for the winter. Here is a simple candy board recipe that we use to feed our girls through the winter.

Simple Candy Board Recipe

15 lbs of sugar
3 cups of water
1-1 1/2 tbs vinegar

1 large mixing bowl or 5 gallon bucket

Step 1. Pour roughly half of the sugar into the container along with water and vinegar, while mixing contents, making sure to get all the way to the bottom, making sure there is no dry sugar.

Step 2. Pour the rest of the sugar in the the container while continuing to mix. Make sure to reach the bottom of the container mixing everything thoroughly.

Step 3. On your candy board frame add a cup or similar object to each corner inset from the outside edge. This is to allow moister to raise out of your bee hive. (Do not remove until the mixture has completely dried.)

Step 4. After the mixture is completely mixed press tightly into the wire mesh of your candy board continue adding the sugar mixture until you have about a two inch thick layer. set aside until mixture has dried to the touch.

Step 5. Remove cups from corners of the frame. Place your finished candy board directly on top of your brood box, If using a quilt box place it on top of your candy board.

09/13/2023

Today we harvested just under 2 gallons of honey (almost 24lbs) from just ONE of our honey supers. We have at least 3 more to process before we are done.

06/06/2023

This weekend we harvested our first batch of honey from our backyard hives. We got a nice dark honey and let me tell you, it taste AMAZING!

04/26/2023

The spring nectar flow is going strong and our girls are working hard to make some amazing honey. Did you know that our 4 back yard hives can consume a gallon of water a day? We have to make sure we keep our small pond topped up so they always have plenty to drink.

03/27/2023

We had some busy bees today. Check out how packed this frame from Hive #3 was this afternoon. The girls are ready to GO this spring!

03/21/2023

Spring is here and our girls are gearing up for a busy season! Today all 4 of our home hives had workers going out to our pond to collect water for their hives.

01/11/2023

A few weeks ago we got our girls ready for the winter cold spell we had. All 4 hives got candy boards, quilt boxes, and a nice wrap of insulation. I'm happy the report that all 4 hives made it thru the single digit temps we had and where even actively flying on a few of the warm days we had around New Years Day.

12/21/2022

Online registration for West Virginia Beekeepers Association Spring 2023 Conference.

11/27/2022

Welcome to Urban Mountain Apiary. Join us as we explore bee keeping in Urban West Virginia.