As soon as the beehive is set up in the garden, the little people simply escape. New beekeepers are regularly confronted with this problem. This guide would like to provide assistance with tips & tricks. You can find out here how to attract your lost swarm of bees.
Bees don't always stay where they're supposed to live
Attracting a swarm of bees by natural means
Hobby beekeepers invest a lot of time and effort to make bees feel at home in the garden. All the more devastating when a swarm of bees goes missing. Natural means make a valuable contribution so that the bee colony finds its way back to the local swarm hive:
- Top remedy: use beeswax foundation in the swarm hive
- Harvest lemon balm and place in the swarm box
- Rub bee hive with lemon balm oil
- Pick geraniums and put them in the hive or plant them around the bee hotel
- Spray the apiary with herbal decoction (nettle, tansy, currant)
- Brush the entry hole daily with lemongrass oil (lemongrass) from the pharmacy
This insider tip for attracting a fallen swarm of bees is circulating among experienced beekeepers: Saw off a thick, old branch on which a colony of bees has previously settled. Keep this branch dry and hang it up in the garden as a swarm lure to attract a missing swarm of bees. This method is often discussed, but forbidden according to the bee epidemic protection ordinance: Set up an open, empty bee box in which a swarm of bees resided for many years. (As a beginner, just ask at the local beekeeping association)
Buy attractant for bee swarm
The specialist trade has noted with interest frequent complaints from helpless hobby beekeepers about the disappearance of bee colonies. The result is a variety of products that serve well as lures for fallen swarms of bees. Recreational beekeepers attest the following remedies to be most effective in attracting a swarm of bees:
- DUUS swarm attractant with essential oils: Spray with 100 ml for the price from 6.90 euros
- Charme de Abeilles spray with pheromones: 500 ml can starting at 13.90 euros
- Charme de Abeilles gel with pheromones: 30 g tube starting at 7.30 euros
- Swarm Catch with synthetic queen phermones: ampoule for 4 months starting at 17.30 euros
- Vita SWARM cloths as bait for hard-to-reach places: 10 pieces in a set starting at 17.47 euros
- Attirasciami bee swarm lure cream made from flower essences: 30 g cream jars starting at 5.30 euros
Please don't let yourself be tempted to use these means to attract foreign bee swarms. The German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) takes a clear position on this question. In several paragraphs (§ 960 to § 964) the ownership rights to a swarm of bees are laid down.
tips
Hard-working pollinators find their way into the bee-friendly garden on their own. Where bee pastures thrive, like Veitshöchheimer seeds, it hums and buzzes from spring to autumn. Forage plants such as field beans (Vicia faba) and golden yarrow (Achillea) attract wild bees, which, in return for the rich buffet, take care of the pollination of fruit, shrubs and flowers.