Skunk Trapping Bee Hives

I’m going to be trapping skunks off of a buddies bee hives. I have 120’s & boxes. Where’s the best place to place the boxes relative to the hives? And what’s the best lure or bait (or both)to lure them away from the hives to my boxes? Plus any other suggestions to help me out would be great.

I suggest not using a conibear on the ground. Cage traps will work just fine. Conibears open you up to the possibility of catching a dog, cat, etc and then having to have that conversation with the owner.

Put the trap where the skunk will be. If the skunk doesn't go near the trap, it doesn't matter what kind of bait you use. Skunks go for sweet and meat. They aren't picky.

You are going to kill every house cat with death traps, even without bait, as cats will be curious. Use live traps and cheap dry dog food, I used Alpo as that is what I was feeding my cats. Last year on skunks and coon, I had a 6% catch on farm cats which were released. The nice thing about cats is, if you talk to them in the trap, they usually will never go back to be caught again.

I have no authority on the adc side of things, although I keep bees and have trapped around my yards for years.
Could you provide an option to elevate the hives?
Jameson’s grub stake or blackies fruit paste have worked well for me. However, our weather stays very spring like I the “winter” so there may be a difference in when what would work better in your region.

The skunks are targeting the hive entrances so start there and back track them their source. Set the pinch points and bottlenecks.
Next, if possible raise the hives out of reach of the skunks or exclude with electric fencing or bird spikes.

The best bait I've found for trapping around bee hives is drone brood culled from my hives. I trap them right next to the hive.