Suggestions to prevent water intrusion in swarm trap

[JurassicApiary]

Hi Everyone,

I'm posting to solicit ideas/suggestions to prevent water intrusion through the entry of my swarm traps.  While they have a telescoping lid to protect the top of the trap from water, unfortunately, the extended height of the box makes the overhanging lid rather moot for preventing water intrusion though the front entry.  As I live in a rain forest and we get rain regularly (about 300 days a year), I foresee this being a longstanding problem that I'll need to address. 

My current thought it to apply a piece of metal flashing about and inch or two above the entrance.  Please see the attached picture as it explains it pretty straight forward.  But, before I go affixing these to all of my traps, I wanted to see if there are any better ideas or suggestions.  If I go this route, I'll use a paintable waterproof adhesive to affix it and then paint it to prevent rot when water accumulates at the point of contact.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.

[van from Arkansas]

Mr. J:  I tilt my hives forward so blowing rain flows out the entrance.  In my area, Arkansas, we sometimes get sideways blown rain, instead of the typical straight downward rain.  hives Being tilted toward the entrance prevents water from building up inside the hive.

Rain 300 days a year?  Must be flowers all year round in your area!!!  What is your low temperature on the island?

Cheers
Van

[Ben Framed]

I do the same as Mr Van. However it looks as your bottoms are enclosed. Perhaps you could follow vans lead and simply add a drilled hole form the bottom of your box bottom for drainage, (a weep hole so to speak). Just a quick thought.

[JurassicApiary]

Hey Van, thanks for the response.  I have the trap tilted ever so slightly forward...perhaps I should increase it a bit more.  Indeed, it rains a lot here at my home and flowers year-round.  Average low temp in January is about 64 degrees, with the lowest temps at my elevation likely around 58-ish.  Here's a photo from my back-yard.  Yes, that's a wild boar/pig in the foreground.  My bees have a LOT of lush land with flowers at their disposal with those mountains.

BF, thanks as well.  I was also considering just that--adding weep holes under the front.  I'm glad to hear that could be considered.  I think I will.

[Ben Framed]

Your view is beautiful!  No wonder they call it paradise! I hope the weep holes work for you. Why not try a couple boxes and see how it works out before doing the rest? Good luck with the swarm catching!

[van from Arkansas]

My gosh, that looks full of life, all the green, super rich soil, kinda cool to have a backyard look like that.  58F for the yearly low, dear dear dear, you must have to wear a long sleeve shirt to keep from getting chilled at night.

Are there small hive beetle in Hawaii?  If not, drill the drain, [weep as suggested], holes, cover with screen if ya have to.

Cheers

[Ben Framed]

SHB or not a small piece of window screen over the weep hole will ward off any problem there, They will have to enter the front door as the bees. lol

[JurassicApiary]

My gosh, that looks full of life, all the green, super rich soil, kinda cool to have a backyard look like that.  58F for the yearly low, dear dear dear, you must have to wear a long sleeve shirt to keep from getting chilled at night.

Are there small hive beetle in Hawaii?  If not, drill the drain, [weep as suggested], holes, cover with screen if ya have to.

Cheers

HAHAHAHA!  You know, after living here for nearly 30 years, you get acclimatized.  Yes, sometimes I have to put a tank-top on to warm up.  ;). But seriously, you actually do get adjusted to the weather.  We'll bundle up with sweaters under blankets in the winter...seriously!

Yes, we've have SHB here since 2010 unfortunately.  It's on most of the islands now.  Varroa mites arrived in 2007 here on Oahu and on the Big Island a year later in 2008.  So far it's remained only on those two islands due to strict regulations of bee sales between the islands which are in place to prevent spread.

[JurassicApiary]

SHB or not a small piece of window screen over the weep hole will ward off any problem there, They will have to enter the front door as the bees. lol

Thanks, BF.  Will definitely screen the weep holes.

[NCNate]

I'm new here and don't have anything to add except that you lost me at 300 days of rain. Then I saw your picture and remembered I have a rain coat and a wide brimmed hat. Completely worth it!   

[Ben Framed]

I'm new here and don't have anything to add except that you lost me at 300 days of rain. Then I saw your picture and remembered I have a rain coat and a wide brimmed hat. Completely worth it!   

If I haven?t already told you so, welcome NCNate

[Bob Wilson]

Jurassic. With that much rain, you could just seal the present  entrance with a thin piece of plywood, and then drill a 1 inch hole, or other size entrance, in the front panel, all the way down flush with the bottom board. Then with a sight tilt forward, rain could never accumulate. It would be a front entrance and drainage hole all in one.

[Nock]

Instead of a slot I would go with a hole 3/4-7/8? and drill it on a upwards angle.

[Kwalt]

I prefer slots. It keeps the birds out.


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[JurassicApiary]

NC Nate, too funny! 

Rob, Nock, Kwalt, thanks also for chiming in.  In hindsight, I could have angled the slot upwards as well, which I may do on v2.0 someday.  I finished four of these traps and have most everything precut and ready to assemble for another three (I precut the slot already).  I don't see myself needing more than seven traps anytime soon.

At this point, I plan to use my table saw to bring the blade up from below and add a weeping slot to the front of the underside and screen it to prevent pest intrusion.  This way If the box isn't perfectly level side to side, it should still drain as the slot will have a greater width across the bottom.  I'll likely make it 1 1/2 - 2 blade widths as if it's too narrow, water tension will prevent drainage. 

We'll see how it goes from there and if I need to add a flashing/cover to the entrance to seal the deal, so to speak.  ;)

[Ben Framed]

Careful not to let the saw kick back on you.

[JurassicApiary]

Careful not to let the saw kick back on you.

Thanks, will do.

[CoolBees]

Everyone beat me too it - yes, tilt the hive forward.

Beautiful backyard! 

[JurassicApiary]

Thanks, everyone. So I decided to keep it very simple. I tilted the trap a bit more forward than I originally did, as well as added 3 small weep holes to the underside. One near each front corner in case the hive has a slight tilt and one directly below the entry.  These should also double for ventilation in our humid climate to reduce mold issues when not inhabited. I?ll install hardware cloth over the vents in the near future when I acquire some from the hardware store.