I can reccomend (albeit second hand) the method told by Franklin
 
One of my uncles, Jim Pearce of Ponteland in Northumberland (UK) lives in a congested
area where swarms are a nuisance. He has neighbours who are intolerant, and of course
my dear Auntie (who hates bees and would make Arnold Schwarzeneger run for cover), so
swarms are a big headache for him.
 
This is how he manages to keep bees, and avoid certain death...!!
 
He always overwinters 2 hives, splits them in the spring, and raises new queens in the
split off hives. These catch up and enable him to take 4 hives to the heather. After
this he kills the old queens, and unites these with the new colonies. He then has two
big strong hives for overwintering (he never seems to lose them) And he has a strong
stock for building up in the spring for the new splits.
 
He has carried out this method for 8 years to my knowledge and has only had very few
swarms in that time.
 
Steve
Kilspindie
Scotland