LEMON GRASS TO CATCH SWARMS?

[LowCountryTopBars]

Thanks Capt.
That is a great price for 16 oz. I just bought 2-2 oz bottles, on amazon, for more than that.
They have every oil essence there is.
Jim

Great post Capp. Thanks

Move your bait hives.  It's just like fishing.  You have to find a good place...

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[damienpryan]

I've found putting bait hives on top of hot water systems works well.
(Caution N=1).
The idea being that the heat from a gas hot water system keeps the lemongrass vapour in the air.
Also maybe the bees like a slightly warming hive ?

Cheers

Damien

[Dallasbeek]

I have a huge amount of lemongrass, so I googled making lemongrass oil.  One place I looked, it listed the things I'd need to make lemongrass oil and the list included a wine press.  I googled wine presses and they cost hundreds of dollars.

Yeah, I'm going to spend $300 for a wine press to make lemongrass oil?  Not real likely.

Gotta be a better way.  Hope this is amusing to somebody.

[Acebird]

Hammer.

[BeeMaster2]

I have tried to make lemongrass oil last year. Smashed the stems and put them in a jar with (I think ) alcohol and oil. It did not work.
Jim

[jimineycricket]

Here they raise mint and when they harvest it for the oil, it is chopped into a large enclosed trailer and then steam is forced through it.  Then the oil comes out.  I don't know what kind of apparatus you could use.  Perhaps, you could use a canning juicer/steamer with the three compartments--one for the lemongrass, one for water, and one to catch the oil.  We use one to juice berries and grapes on the stovetop.

[tycrnp]

We have had great success with putting a small piece of comb between the middle frames and a few drops of lemongrass oil.  We got 1 swarm in 2 days and a 2nd swarm in 24 hours!

[Bush_84]

I have a bunch of pipettes.

https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Transfer-Pipettes-Gradulated-Pack/dp/B005IQTSE0

I put some lemongrass oil in them and then seal the end. I'm pretty sure I got the idea off of here. I just use a lighter and heat the plastic. Pull and it seals pretty well. I try to squeeze the air out of the pipette before I do so. I made these up a couple of months ago and it still smells nice.

[Michael Bush]

I've started putting more LGO near the entrance on the outside than on the inside.  No more than four drops inside.  A little more near the entrance on the outside can catch their attention without running them out of the box.

[SiWolKe]

We use alcohol with dead mated queens ( deadout or squished while shifting) soaking in it.

You can use it for years, fill up the alcohol once and again. Low cost.

Put a few drops on the box? outside. Some of my co-workers allow their hives to swarm every spring. Good success with catching their own swarms.

The bees seem to think there once was a colony lodging there. Add one empty old broodcomb, then it?s even better and put some drops on the wax..

[BeeMaster2]

Dead virgin queens also work just as well.
Jim