Swarms

[kilowatts]

I have been working with a mentor for about a year now.  Mr. Mohat gave me a split with a new queen as a gift of appreciaition for hardwork & dedication.  I am not as nervous as he is around bees.  He suits up to the max.  I prefer to go gloveless & just use a veil.  He thinks I am crazy.  So of course he is nervous about going after swarms.  I on the other hand want to sign up with local authorities that I will come & get  swarms.  I want to know what all I need to have on hand ahead of time and how do I go about retrieving a swarm, most likely by myself?  Also other traits to look out for, like tempermental swarms, etc. I live  in Cincinnati, Ohio if you need to know.
Thank you very much!  I can't wait to see all the responses!!!!

[Robo]

The good news is most swarms are docile.  They have just gorged themselves on honey before they swarmed in preparation  for having to build all new comb in their new location.

There is no generic list of tools for swarm collecting, it depends on where they have settled.  You need to assess each swarm before deciding the best approach.  The simplist is those clustered in a low branch of a tree to the most difficult being those in walls that can not be accessed.  

Depending on how many you anticipate collecting,  a bee vac would be a good thing to build.

[firetool]

You should plan for any thing. I would bring pruners ,saw,hammer,and a pry bar. I have found that a hive tool will do the job most of hte time though. If you have not seen the swarm or colliny I would come prepared for any thing. I have found if you are putting wild comb in to frames rubber bands work very well. They hold them long enough for them to get them attaced to the frame. Then at that piont i just cut them loose. I have good luck doing this. I have a bee vac. but I will not use it unless I have to i don't like it. With a little more time and care you can get them out of any where with out it.
 One more thing if you are getting a colliny out of a wall or some thing like it I would suit up all the way. They tend to get a little up set with you over it. You will get stung.

Brian

[Jerrymac]

Need to get terminology correct first.

Do you plan on going after swarms only? A swarm being a bunch of bees with out a home.

Or will you also be going after established colonies? Bees that have made a home in walls, wells, gas tanks, water heaters, cardboard boxes, eaves of houses, old tires, some where in an abandoned vehicle, in a hollow tree trunk, just any where a bee can get and start making a hive.