Ok.
There’s a catch…
I need locations to place honeybee swarm traps this spring (south Sequoyah county and north LeFlore county in OK)
Hi neighbors.
It’s Gene Downing at QQ Honey Ranch in south Sallisaw.
Honeybee swarm season runs from March-June in our area of Oklahoma.
Last year I had a huge response to my request for places to hang spring honeybee swarm traps.
Well, it’s almost swarm season again and I’m looking for new spots in S Sequoyah and N LeFlore counties.
Generally the greater Sallisaw area, all along 59 down to Panama and along 271 over to Ft Smith (see attached maps).
Swarm traps are about the size of a copy paper box and hang on the side of a tree.
Swarm trap pics attached for reference.
If I hang a swarm trap on your property, I will give you a free 12oz jar of our local honey when we harvest later this spring.
If I catch a swarm it will only remain on your property for about a week, then I will bring them back to our farm in Sallisaw.
The bees will not remain on your property.
Here’s how it works:
· I need a shady tree that’s away from houses, pets, children.
.
.
Not that the bees will attack anyone, but more so that the traps will be left totally undisturbed.
Plus, I may need to get the trap before sunrise if it has bees in it and I don’t want to disturb your family that early in the morning.
Anything except a totally wooded area will work fine.
· I need a spot that’s a reasonably close walk to where I park my truck.
Swarm boxes get very heavy once bees move in.
And I’m old J
· A somewhat rural area is best, along a tree line, but honeybees are everywhere so that’s certainly not a hard requirement.
I’ve caught plenty of bees in towns.
· I prefer to stay within the red lines on the attached two maps, but will certainly consider other locations if they are within a reasonable drive.
· Once it’s up, I need access to check the trap about every two weeks.
Sooner if I just happen to be in the area and drop by to look.
It will take less than 5 minutes when I stop.
I need to be able to get out of my truck and walk to the trap and back.
So no attack dogs please! I actually had a place last year with two pits that would attack my truck every time I stopped by.
I had to be escorted to the trap.
Not doing that again!
· If I catch a swarm, I’ll come by at sunrise and get the bees and replace the box with an empty one.
That takes me about 10 minutes.
Again, no dogs attacking me in the morning please J
· The trap will be up from mid-March to late June, then I will take it down.
· You will get your free honey around early June when we harvest this year
That’s it.
You don’t have to do anything except meet me for the first visit so we can discuss location.
Plus it’s a pretty neat experience to see wild bees moving into a new home.
If you are interested in helping out, just send me a PM with your address and we can discuss a good time to meet and hang the trap.
It will be around mid-March when I start hanging traps I have a very limited supply of traps, so message me soon if you are interested so I can add you to my list.
Thanks!
Gene Downing
QQ Honey Ranch
Facebook: @QQ Honey Ranch
Sallisaw, OK
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