How clean is your hive?

[Polyanwood]

I wondered what proportion of us will be doing a real Spring clean?

Usually at this time of year I replace the floors and crown boards with clean ones that I have scorched. I also start a Bailey frame change as soon as there are 10 frames of bees. Last year I even shook swarmed all the bees at 2 apiaries since people seemed to be saying that really helped.

This year I will be being more conservative. I think my bees are all 4-6 weeks behind. I would like to get some honey and the flow will be very soon. It has started in some places in London. A friend had a super filled in a week last week. I am going to lower my standards and not replace every brood frame in every brood box and I certainly will not be doing any shook swarms at all.

I will replace crownboards and floor and the QXs when I put them back will have been thoroughly cleaned. I have started Bailey frame change at one apiary but the others I am putting on supers when there are 10 frames of bees and will just change the odd frame that needs it.

What is everyone else going to do? Is anyone else going to change their practices because Spring was so late this year?

 

[Heather]

I like to put some of the decent original frames, stores etc into a clean box,on clean floor.
I introduce a few clean foundation if any wax dark. Dont do Bailey unless a strong colony- and this year I dont want to stress any by doing that. They have had a pig of a 6 months without me stressing more...

 

[enrico]

I will brush the floor off, scrape a bit of wax off the top of the frames, see which frames need replacing and move them towards one edge on each inspection, and that's it!
E

 

[oliver90owner]

Is anyone else going to change their practices

Put very simply, I don't change my practices because I don't particularly have any. I just do what needs doing (hopefully when it needs doing) and make observations to decide on the next move when necessary. Anyone who tries to keep bees like a factory production line - re sequential operations - is likely to run into difficulties sooner rather than later.

 

[masterBK]

Bailey comb change is not stressfull if done properly taking into account the size of the colony. It was originally developed by Dr L Bailey for small colonies coming out of winter with Nosema spore contaminated comb (knowledge of which is expected of General husbandry candidates) Most people are more familiar with a version more suitable for bigger colonies as a method of getting them off old and onto new comb.

 

[itma]

I'm happy 'rotating' out the oldest comb.

I've already had one good scrape down of the top bars and started on the prop on the hoffmans.
I'll be brushing out the OMFs, and changing one (for modification, or storage).

One polycarb crownboard needs to come out for a thorough clean, having been heavily decorated with wild comb in a fondant eke. (Suggestions invited!) Others will just be tidied.

The P's 14x12 poly needs to be painted something other than white (like drab green), and will probably get a bit of an internal clean before being returned to the same colony. In the interim, that mob will live in a couple of new P's supers, which will help to take the 'new box' edge off them before they are needed for their proper purpose.

Not much to do, so I can concentrate on assembling the 50 Manleys that I've been putting off...

 

[Ely]

I wondered what proportion of us will be doing a real Spring clean?

Usually at this time of year I replace the floors and crown boards with clean ones that I have scorched. I also start a Bailey frame change as soon as there are 10 frames of bees. Last year I even shook swarmed all the bees at 2 apiaries since people seemed to be saying that really helped.

This year I will be being more conservative. I think my bees are all 4-6 weeks behind. I would like to get some honey and the flow will be very soon. It has started in some places in London. A friend had a super filled in a week last week. I am going to lower my standards and not replace every brood frame in every brood box and I certainly will not be doing any shook swarms at all.

I will replace crownboards and floor and the QXs when I put them back will have been thoroughly cleaned. I have started Bailey frame change at one apiary but the others I am putting on supers when there are 10 frames of bees and will just change the odd frame that needs it.

What is everyone else going to do? Is anyone else going to change their practices because Spring was so late this year?

Yip. Changing comes every year seems excessive to me. Not to mention expensive. You are losing a lot of honey by them drawing out fresh comb every year

Sent from my XT615 using Tapatalk 2

 

[fiftyjon]

One polycarb crownboard needs to come out for a thorough clean, having been heavily decorated with wild comb in a fondant eke. (Suggestions invited!) Others will just be tidied.

...

Place the polycarb crownboard in washing soda for a day or two, the wax and any propolis softens, use a plastic scraper to ease it off.

The temptation is to use the hive tool though...

 

[Erichalfbee]

Two have had a box/floor change and I will do the remaining one at next inspection.
Brood frames should be OK but I will replace individually as needed.
All my colonies are smaller than I would have liked so I am interfering minimally this year.
The Balsam/Ivy were good last autumn and I was able to split the brood to get frames of foundation drawn late in the season to give me fresh frames and some frames of stores.
Moved here only last August so can't tell if it's an annual phenomenon.

A good way of dealing with a poly crown is to put it in the freezer overnight and scrape it clean with a plastic spatula, by the way.

 

[Ely]

I keep hearing people reccommending putting various beekeeping equipment in your freezers. You guys must have bloody huge freezers. I can only fit icecream and frozen beans in ours

 

[itma]

...
A good way of dealing with a poly crown is to put it in the freezer overnight and scrape it clean with a plastic spatula, by the way.

That had been my expectation, but at this moment, that ain't going to happen soon.
I may even have a go with Finman's "Killit Bang" ... or try "Flash with Bleach" ... oooh the possibilities!

 

[susbees]

All floors changed under the boxes and clean blocks in. And that's it so far. They've better things to do than hoof out dead bees. As to what I'll do next...we've had sleet and hail today! Typically as the damson blossom's just started...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I keep hearing people reccommending putting various beekeeping equipment in your freezers. You guys must have bloody huge freezers. I can only fit icecream and frozen beans in ours

I can sometimes squeeze the odd bit in between the two brace of pheasant, five mallard, ten large rainbow trout, sea trout, thirty pounds of blackcurrants, various bags of peas, runner and broad beans. Oh, and SWMBO's magnum stash!

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

. Oh, and SWMBO's magnum stash!

Holy cow, jenkinsbrynmair!

Married to a gun-packin' mama?


Forget the antics at sea. That's really living dangerously,

Dusty

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

'The practice of what is usually referred to as 'spring cleaning' is really quite unnecessary. A change of [solid] floors, or at the most, two changes is all that is necessary;but hobbyists often pay great attention to this operation, making a regular field day of it. I remember a lady bee-keeper do it some years ago.She only had two hives of bees, but made great preparation for the job and attacked it armed with smoker, veil, scraper, soda and water, scrubbing brush, spirit level and a whole battery of tools. Dressed in breeches and a white bee suit, she looked most impressive and awe- inspiring; but it was all quite unnecessary' - R O B Manley, Beekeeping in Britain (1947)
It seems not much has changed, in fact there are quite a few perennial subjects seen on this forum that he has a pop at in his book.
I do believe he would have had a field day on here - probably rivalling even our dear Finman (they were born around the same time as well I believe)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Holy cow, jenkinsbrynmair!

Married to a gun-packin' mama?

Dusty

Yes - the lads in the gun club are envious of her collection (well I've overheard a few of them commenting on her impressive bangers anyway!)