Swarm Season

We are still in swarm season in the Willamette Valley.  To reduce swarming from your own hives, the simplest thing you can do is make sure your colony has plenty of hive space for expansion.  If you catch a swarm from one of your own hives, make sure you house it as far apart from the source hive as possible.  Experienced beekeepers often like to a keep a spare single storey hive ready to house a swarm.  If you are trying to lure a swarm, you can bait an empty  hive box with some waxed frames, with a little lemon grass oil on a patch of cardboard or cottom swab.  You can also use a swarm attractant that contains the pheremone Nasanov.