The first trap design I recommend are not manufactured anymore. There were too many complaints, or so I am told. As for me, this design was the best. I have seven of these traps still in use. They are susceptible to mice and squirrels chewing on them.
It is constructed out of wood pulp and an asphalt adhesive. It tolerates the weather quite well (mine have been used for over six seasons), and the traps offer a dark environment. Pictured is a "box style" trap that holds five brood frames.
The trap itself is screwed onto a wood platform constructed from light scrap wood, formerly used as shipping containers by an agricultural implement business. As an alternative, 1/4" plywood could be used as well. The joint is simple angle brackets sold at any hardware store.
While these box-style traps are no longer available, cone-shaped traps are still manufactured and sold in many beekeeping supply catalogs.
However, I do not recommend the cones (look like flower pots) unless you can dump swarms into a conventional hive ASAP. Unless you can install frames in your traps, bees will quickly draw out comb making the removal extremely difficult.
