Swarm wipes box of 10

01 · WHAT IT ACTUALLY DOES

It does not summon: it tips a decision already under way

When a colony swarms, the cluster settles nearby and sends out scouts to find a cavity. They assess several candidates at once — size, height, entrance, aspect, whether it smells of a lived-in hive — and come back dancing for the one that convinces them most; the swarm goes to the winner. The wipe reproduces the kind of chemical signals that make a cavity smell right, and that is where it acts: it raises your box's score in that comparison. Which is why a badly sited trap with attractant can stay empty and a well-sited one fill in an afternoon. It is not the product: the attractant is one factor among several.

02 · HOW IT IS USED

Open it when you set the trap, not before

The sachet is pierced or torn open and the wipe hung inside the trap box, skep or whatever container you use; it can also be rubbed directly on the inside surface. And here is the detail behind “it dries out fast”: open it at the moment you set the trap, not at home the day before — from opening, the essential oil starts evaporating, and that is precisely the mechanism that makes it work. The manufacturer states an activity of up to 15 days; if the season runs on, replace it.

03 · WHAT RAISES THE ODDS MOST

The box counts for more than the wipe

A swarm trap that works almost always has the same things: a volume of about 40 litres — the size scouts prefer — a small entrance low down, siting at two or three metres up, in shade with the entrance out of the midday sun, and above all the smell of a lived-in hive: one frame of old drawn comb inside is worth a great deal. A customer published the cheapest trick of all: give the inside a wipe of wax. The attractant goes on top of that. In that order — the other way round, a clean new wooden box with attractant performs considerably worse.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The box holds 10 sachets, so it covers ten traps or top-ups through the season. It is used during the swarming season, which across most of Spain runs from late March to June depending on region and year. And it deserves saying plainly: with no colonies swarming within flight range there is no swarm to catch, attractant or not.