  We present the results of a study with the \emph{Swift} Burst Alert Telescope
in the 14 -- 195 keV range of the long-term variability of 5 low mass X-ray
binaries with reported or suspected super-orbital periods -- 4U 1636-536, 4U
1820-303, 4U 1916-053, Cyg X-2 and Sco X-1. No significant persistent periodic
modulation was detected around the previously reported periods in the 4U
1916-053, Cyg X-2 or Sco X-1 light curves. The $\sim$170 d period of 4U
1820-303 was detected up to 24 keV, consistent with variable accretion due to
the previously proposed triple system model. The $\sim$46 d period in 4U
1636-536 was detected up to 100 keV, with the modulation in the low and high
energy bands found to be phase shifted by $\sim180^\circ$ with respect to each
other. This phase shift, when taken together with the near-coincident onset of
the $\sim$46 d modulation and the low/hard X-ray state, leads us to speculate
that the modulation could herald transient jet formation.
