Gifted old hives - Need advice

Hi

This is my first post on here so please be gentle.

I have wanted to keep bee's for many years and it has only been a pipe dream.

Then four years ago we managed to buy a smallholding. I still couldn't get any bee's as we have lots of renovations to do on the house.

Over the years I have slowly bought some essentials:-

Bee suit & gauntlets
Hive tool
Smoker
Bee brush
Uncapping fork

Then last year a friends granddad died and they gifted me his abandoned hives. It looks like nearly enough for three.

3 Brood boxes
12 Supers
3 Roofs
2 Mesh bases
3 Crown Boards
1 Entrance block

They boxes measure 18" square, so from what I have read I think they are Nationals.

Over the last two days I have been cleaning all the old comb out of them and repairing any broken frames.

I plan on joining my local Bee keeping association for some courses and mentoring.

The hives are solid but very scruffy looking and I was planning on treating the outside either with stain or white paint.

What I am most concerned about is that I do not know the history of these hives.

They have sat untouched for around 4 years, what diseases could they have had and could it still be active after that period of time?.

If so is there something I can treat them with to help avoid any disasters?.

Sorry for my ignorance, it feels like a very steep learning curve ahead and I want to start right. I would love to go out and buy all new hives but I am minus the spare £1000 needed.

I am hoping that these old hives would be an excellent spring board for me but also need to make sure they are not harbouring anything nasty from the past.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Steph

Get a blow torch and scorch all the surfaces, corners and cracks. If there was any residual disease then that should do the trick. Frames are more tricky, but cheap enough to buy. Either do the same (very tedious) or use for firelighters and treat the bees to some new ones.

Thanks for your reply. So you think it is safer to ditch the old frames and start fresh? x

Stephb said:

Thanks for your reply. So you think it is safer to ditch the old frames and start fresh? x

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I would - get rid of all the old comb and frames: matches work well (and about the only time a beekeeper should have use for them ) It's a pity but you've only just missed the mail order sales where you could have got 50 second quality frames for very little - maybe you should enquire locally whether anyone is going to any of the many conventions the next few months.
Buy Hoffman (DN4's) frames for the brood boxes and SN1's with castellations for the supers.

I will be travelling down to Weymouth on the 14th (family do) happy to do a slight detour to take a look and advise if it helps?

Hachi said:

I will be travelling down to Weymouth on the 14th (family do) happy to do a slight detour to take a look and advise if it helps?

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Great offer - hope he takes you up on it.

Join that association asap - there is nothing to gain by delaying. Membership is generally for the calendar year, not 365 days from payment!
Get on a course or at minimum get a decent book (I'd suggest the Haynes manual of beekeeping) AND a local, patient, thick-skinned mentor.

Check the height of the brood boxes before spending money on frames. 14x12 and Commercial both share the National (Deep's) 18 inch square footprint.
Getting the wrong frames wouldn't be a good start!

There may be someone from the association going to one of the conventions and who wouldn't mind picking up some discounted frames (and some foundation) for you. (I wouldn't bother going yourself, yet. You'd get more out of such events after you have a framework to peg things onto - otherwise its all too confusing!)

Stephb said:

Hi
Over the years I have slowly bought some essentials:-
Bee suit & gauntlets
Hive tool
Smoker
Bee brush
Uncapping fork
Steph

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If the gauntlets are leather gloves they are likely to be stiff and clumsy by now. Clumsy = poor dexterity = irritating the bees = stings. My impression is that more and more beekeepers are using thin vinyl gloves (if you get stung merely pull the vinyl so that the sting comes out and no more venom is pumped in). If thin vinyl seems too scary try thin 'Marigolds' of the sort to be found in every kitchen. Mind you, the best beekeepers do not wear gloves - but I am a wimp.
Bee brushes tend to 'roll' the bees and cause aggravation. Try a goose feather or a twig.

Stephb said:

Thanks for your reply. So you think it is safer to ditch the old frames and start fresh? x

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There are a number of useful leaflets/booklets published by the Government Agency responsible for bee health.

Some of these cover sanitising secondhand equipment. (And you can then make your own mind up as to whether salvage/recycling of semi-disposable items like brood frames is worth the bother - renewing isn't very expensive, especially at sale/show prices.)

The leaflets etc are a free download from http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167
There's lots of other useful stuff on the site as well. Be sure to register your colonies on there when you get bees!

jenkinsbrynmair said:

I would - get rid of all the old comb and frames: matches work well (and about the only time a beekeeper should have use for them ) It's a pity but you've only just missed the mail order sales where you could have got 50 second quality frames for very little - maybe you should enquire locally whether anyone is going to any of the many conventions the next few months.
Buy Hoffman (DN4's) frames for the brood boxes and SN1's with castellations for the supers.

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Use a blowtorch with a piezo igniter for setting light to the frames. Matches are soooo 20th century.

Wow so many brilliant replies thank you all so much

Hachi - Well that is a very generous offer, really don't want to inconvenience you. Where are you coming from? Very Far?. I must admit is it is my dream to try to get/pay for someone to come out an advise me on what I have and what needs sorting.

itma - I have a couple of bee keeping books. The Collins Book of Bee keeping and Guide to Bees & honey by Ted Hooper. I will check out the Haynes book also.

I don't know anything about these conventions, but i will be joining my local association soon so hopefully they will help.

Amari - thanks for your help, I think they are abit suede like, but I always have marigolds in the house so will try those out also. I will remember about the bee brush, I have geese so lots of goose feathers about. xx

itma - Thanks for the link, I will check those out. There are sooo many frames I think I just felt reluctant to throw them all out and start again, but I might regret it if they are riddled with disease.

Thanks so much everyone for your help. xx

Stephb said:

Wow so many brilliant replies thank you all so much

itma - I have a couple of bee keeping books. The Collins Book of Bee keeping and Guide to Bees & honey by Ted Hooper. I will check out the Haynes book also.
Thanks so much everyone for your help. xx

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So pleased you are pleased but I suggest that the books you have, especially Ted Hooper's, is enough when supplemented with mentoring and joining a BKA. In short don't waste money when you don't need to as you will have more than enough other more important expenses very shortly. Regards and best o'luck. It's an amazing hobby you are about embark upon.

Stephb said:

itma - I have a couple of bee keeping books. The Collins Book of Bee keeping and Guide to Bees & honey by Ted Hooper. I will check out the Haynes book also.

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Hooper isn't an easy read. And, written pre-varroa it has been updated only by having a couple of pages added, leaving the sacred original text untouched. It is a worthwhile reference BUT it needs to be read in the context of being pre-varroa. And varroa has had an influence on lots of aspects of the craft.
Hence I'd suggest it as a second or third book to read rather than a foundation.

The Haynes-published book is a sound and modern view, pitched at the practical starter, and copiously illustrated.
Many libraries have it. It should be easy and cheap to "check out".

if you have a wood burner don't just burn the frames or old wax, use them as fire lighters for that just a small piece each time works wonders at helping a new fire light.

itma said:

Hooper isn't an easy read. And, written pre-varroa it has been updated only by having a couple of pages added, leaving the sacred original text untouched. It is a worthwhile reference BUT it needs to be read in the context of being pre-varroa. And varroa has had an influence on lots of aspects of the craft.
Hence I'd suggest it as a second or third book to read rather than a foundation.

The Haynes-published book is a sound and modern view, pitched at the practical starter, and copiously illustrated.
Many libraries have it. It should be easy and cheap to "check out".

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Rubbish. Hooper is as easy to read as any - except for the uneducated few perhaps!!!!

Arfermo said:

Rubbish. Hooper is as easy to read as any

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find it's a much better instructional book than de Bruin and he's not bad

Lets not forget http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?sectionid=70 You should register if you haven't already. There is lots of good advice here too

agreed, but Hooper isn't a book for a beginner to read on it's own, I think it does assume some pre knowledge, it's a little dated, and [I don't know if it's just my edition] it can be a difficult read if not only for the fact that many paragraphs seem to have been retyped by the editor without the original being deleted.

For a single book for a novice I'd recommend the Haynes bee manual. (http://www.haynes.co.uk/beemanual/)

B+. said:

Lets not forget http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?sectionid=70 You should register if you haven't already. There is lots of good advice here too

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oops.. I just noticed that someone already mentioned the NBU

wessexmario said:

agreed, but Hooper isn't a book for a beginner to read on it's own, I think it does assume some pre knowledge, it's a little dated, and [I don't know if it's just my edition] it can be a difficult read if not only for the fact that many paragraphs seem to have been retyped by the editor without the original being deleted.

For a single book for a novice I'd recommend the Haynes bee manual. (http://www.haynes.co.uk/beemanual/)

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Read his later post at #11- he's got two books already. That,s be enough for a starter to absorb this end of the season with all the rest that he's about to have to do!!!! Be reasonable.