what would you do

[Tonyatcwfarm]

Why are you still bothering with this anymore JBM and P
Nothing you say is going to be heeded until it is cross checked with others and he's only going to do what he wants himself
This thread has been pissing me off since page 6/7

 

[pargyle]

Why are you still bothering with this anymore JBM and P
Nothing you say is going to be heeded until it is cross checked with others and he's only going to do what he wants himself
This thread has been pissing me off since page 6/7

Yehhh ... It's a bit like those TV programmes you REALLY don't want to watch but you get dragged into ... Embarrassing Bodies comes to mind !! I think it's called 'the fascination of repulsion' ... I think it's getting to be a lost cause - although as a 'how not to do it' it should be a compulsory sticky which all new beekeepers have to read before they are allowed to register !!

 

[georgesgirl]

I joined the forum yesterday as a not-yet-hive-owning, complete novice and beginner. I have just spent the last four hours reading this thread. It has been a delight and can honestly say firstly, you are a lovely bunch and secondly, I haven't laughed so much for a very long time.

 

[irishguy]

Why are you still bothering with this anymore JBM and P
Nothing you say is going to be heeded until it is cross checked with others and he's only going to do what he wants himself
This thread has been pissing me off since page 6/7

Don't talk sh1te!!. I have been doing what jbm says, there was just some confusion about his wording earlier when talking about treatment. If you read back a few posts, you'll see this! He said "decided on my treatment" and I thought I'd ask about to find out what's best in my area. Anyone with an ounce of sense would do this. I asked about maqs and asked about apiguard and every one I chatted to and even the guy who sells the apiguard told me it wasn't the best idea because it needs the temps to work. If you know the Irish weather, we don't get "6 weeks" of the temps I need this time of year to work(this weather we getting now is unusual and you know this) so naturally thinking, I thought a fcuk it, this apiguard isn't going to help get rid of the mites, so next i ask about the strips after jbm giving me the option to "decided on my treatment"

The beeks that suggested maqs did warn me that its an agresive treatment and the hives might supersedure but its a risk I've to take if I want rid of the mites and they wouldn't make that decision for me, its my own decision. I wasn't even going to treat because I never seen any mites but was told on here by jbm even thou I didn't see them, the mites are there so treat them. That's me looking out for the bees. Can you see now why I went with this decision!

I'm getting pissed off at posts like yours about me not listening to jbms advice when clearly I have been. Yes I've tweaked it here and there but the bees have been doing well so far. Who knows, this treatment might just do its job without any problems and the hives overwinter ok and I made the right choice.

As for you saying why is jbm still bothering with it, this is an internet forum where people ask questions and hopefully get help, not a place to jump ship as soon as abit of confusion enters the thread.

Wee thing to remember here, I'm looking out for the bees welfare here and trying to the best if my ability to rear them well. Yes there's going to be hicups but that's life and we all make mistakes(thou it ain't a mistake yet until we know the final outcome) At least I'm still here trying to pull them through rather than sticking a match to the hives.

 

[irishguy]

OMG... Hadn't noticed that from and earlier post:

"So I went with the maq strips and after phoning a few different members who've used it, I went with 2 strips and put a brood box with frames above the hive. The reason why I did is from others experiences with using it and only one suggested I use 1 strip. We'll just have to wait and see if I've made the right choice. "

So ... where did you put the MAQS strips ? ... and where is JBM when you need him ? You are out of my comfort zone now Irishguy ... what was the thinking behind an empty brood box on top of the existing one ? Am I missing something ? Talk about making an easy job complicated .....

If I remember correctly it says on the maqs instructions to add a super on top so naturally thinking I thought, sure why not give them that extra bit of space and give them a brood box instead of a small super seeing as its abit late in season and it might just help the bees abit more since the treatment is abit aggressive. I still stand by this decision and many beeks would do the same so it was a wise move IMO. Again, thinking out for the bees welfare!!

 

[irishguy]

Yehhh ... It's a bit like those TV programmes you REALLY don't want to watch but you get dragged into ... Embarrassing Bodies comes to mind !! I think it's called 'the fascination of repulsion' ... I think it's getting to be a lost cause - although as a 'how not to do it' it should be a compulsory sticky which all new beekeepers have to read before they are allowed to register !!

A different perspective on this could be any new been mightn't be confident enough to even post for help because he might just make a mistake or 2 after some wording confusion on the internet then gets slated for it and made to look like an idiot even thou he's busted his balls looking out for the bees. Ya know P, there's always a different perspective so best to think of it that way for the benefit of others. Not just jump on the slating bandwagon and you even mentioned churlish earlier, seems there's a few in here needs to take heed of this.

 

[Tonyatcwfarm]

Oh yeah now it's all clear to me
Glad I read the last few pages again
Now I know what you are trying to do
Sorry for doubting you

 

[BeeJayBee]

What about the strips thou, will I just leave them in even thou it says 7 days treatment.

R T F M

I think you will find the information sheet for MAQS, and their website, says that the treatment time is 7 days (not less) - but that you can leave the MAQS strips on as the bees will dispose of them or they will biodegrade.

Less messing, more patience.

with Dusty, and in case you didn't find the website with diagrams and instructions it's here http://www.maqs.co.uk/maqsreg.html

If I remember correctly it says on the maqs instructions to add a super on top so naturally thinking I thought, sure why not give them that extra bit of space and give them a brood box instead of a small super seeing as its abit late in season and it might just help the bees abit more since the treatment is abit aggressive.

Do you realise that adding by a brood box, instead of the super that's suggested in the instructions, you have given the bees double the extra space to heat?

I expect your local beekeepers have told you to fill out a Vet Medicine record card, which you will keep on file for "at least five years". You can download one from this page https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?pageid=353

 

[irishguy]

with Dusty, and in case you didn't find the website with diagrams and instructions it's here http://www.maqs.co.uk/maqsreg.html

Do you realise that adding by a brood box, instead of the super that's suggested in the instructions, you have given the bees double the extra space to heat?

I expect your local beekeepers have told you to fill out a Vet Medicine record card, which you will keep on file for "at least five years". You can download one from this page https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?pageid=353

Yes I did know that adding the brood instead of super would give the bees much more room to heat. I did also understand that they might just need that little bit of extra space to lessen the aggressiveness of the treatment for this time of year to maybe help with them not supersedure. Reason being, the temps are still high enough here so less work for the bees to heat hive so I went with lesser of the 2 evils. Everything in bee keeping isn't set in stone which I keep greeting told so I can't see this extra space doing much harm.

In theory I should have went with the super but we all know what happens in theory and what happens in practice. The outcome usually are different ends of the scale.


As for the vetting card, Ive to sign a form which was sentvwith the product and return to sender for their records.

 

[irishguy]

Bjoyfull, I know you said you agree with the above poster about not touching the hive but what about checking for supersedure cells or will I just leave them and hope for the best?

 

[Nige.Coll]

Instead of giving them a mansion to heat why not use less treatment?

In all honesty I think varroa was low on your worry list.

Good luck with them I hope it all ends well for you.

 

[pargyle]

MAQS is not going to make them supercede ... It's a failing, ageing or damaged queen that will lead to supeecedure ...or sometimes they just fancy a change ... Everyone keeps telling you ... Leave them alone - yesterday you were in about swarming ... Now it's supeecedure ... What will be will be .... So after the 7 days of maqs either fill that top brood box with insulation and leave them alone or take it off and put your insulation jacket on the hive and leave them alone ... What bit of leave them alone is it that you are finding difficult to grasp ?

 

[pargyle]

As for knocking what you are doing/have done - there's a lot of people on here who gave been trying to teach you good beekeeping ... Nobody doubts that you care about your bees ... It's probably the only reason that people have continued to try and help you. ... At times it had been very frustrating as you seem to ignore the advice given in favour of asking anyone for their opinion ... Simple Beekeeping is about having a plan and then, barring something you OBSERVE that makes you change, sticking to it. You are the cause of most if the problems you experience ... And now you are intent on finding imaginary ones ..

 

[irishguy]

MAQS is not going to make them supercede ... It's a failing, ageing or damaged queen that will lead to supeecedure ...or sometimes they just fancy a change ... Everyone keeps telling you ... Leave them alone - yesterday you were in about swarming ... Now it's supeecedure ... What will be will be .... So after the 7 days of maqs either fill that top brood box with insulation and leave them alone or take it off and put your insulation jacket on the hive and leave them alone ... What bit of leave them alone is it that you are finding difficult to grasp ?

P, don't you think its best I ask these questions. Reason why I asked about swarming is that even thou I knew they was unlikely to swarm, I popped into the "what did you do today" thread and low and behold, there was posts from others on this forum saying their hives swarmed so it got me thinking about this good weather and my hives building up fast and the potential outcome, could mean they swarm. I think I was just in asking this questions. Its OK for you, you all are experienced beeks and would know all the answers, me however need to ask these questions.

Same again about the supersedure, I know maqs doesn't cause the supersedure and its a failing queen etc.... But maqs can be responsible for making the queen go of so best to ask about this. Even you didn't know about sticking a super on top of my brood box going by your previous post saying why did I stick the brood box there for extra space, I quote you " what was the thinking for an empty brood box on top of existing one". Maybe I got this wrong and you did know but your wording made me think otherwise. I'm not slating you, I'm just showing how when reading something on the internet one can take different things from it. And for the record, the brood box wasn't empty, it was filled with a mixture of drawn frames and frames with foundation.

 

[irishguy]

Thread views nearing 7500, I should be asking for some commission from site owners for all this traffic I've brought to the site llf. I read back all through the thread and it is sure entertaining lol. Can wait to read back over it in few years when I've hopefully became an experienced beek to see how much a mess I was in. Like I've said before in this thread "I'm loving every min of this" even thou I've thought about sticking petrol to them on few occasions (not literary but not far from the imagination lol)

 

[kazmcc]

I feel for you Irishguy, you have taken some criticism and you are still here, asking for advice. I hope you get these hives through winter, I don't doubt you have the bees best interests at heart. Have you been taking notes for each hive? If not, it might be an idea to start - easier said I know lol, but if you have notes you will be able to see what went wrong where. Good luck

 

[pargyle]

Thread views nearing 7500, I should be asking for some commission from site owners for all this traffic I've brought to the site

Well ... you may not have noticed but there is NO advertising on this forum and there's no commercial income stream from it ... it's funded entirely by donations from its members .. if you see an 'I support the beekeeping forum' flag in a members profile then it means they have contributed a few pounds to the upkeep of the forum. There's no obligation to donate and there is no discrimination between those that do and those that don't. The forum is largely maintained by one person and a moderator who give their time free.. nobody makes anything out of this.

However, it's a massive and growing resource for people who need a beekeeping question (and often non beekeeping questions !) answered - people get far more out of it than any other beekeeping forum on the planet... but you should remember that this is not a commercial enterprise.

I know there's a lot of views on 'Your' thread ... I'm not sure what this says about it ...

And as for making posts clear ... well - I would refer you to your own words " went with 2 strips and put a brood box with frames above the hive." Perhaps you should have added 'instead of a super and it was filled with foundation and drawn comb'. ?

We all wish you well .. there would not be 26 pages of posts if people on here didn't care but ... you must try and stop this scatter gun approach you have. Kaz is right about keeping some notes but I suspect you haven't .. there are lessons for everyone in this thread and I know you've taken a bit of stick - some would say that you deserved it at times .. I just hope that you have learned something this year and you get the chance to practice what you have learned next season. Time will tell ....

I'm off to look at my bees now - through clear polycarbonate crown boards - I can indulge MY desire to see what they are up to without them being in the least bit disturbed - perhaps this should be an over winter project for you ?

 

[irishguy]

Well ... you may not have noticed but there is NO advertising on this forum and there's no commercial income stream from it ... it's funded entirely by donations from its members .. if you see an 'I support the beekeeping forum' flag in a members profile then it means they have contributed a few pounds to the upkeep of the forum. There's no obligation to donate and there is no discrimination between those that do and those that don't. The forum is largely maintained by one person and a moderator who give their time free.. nobody makes anything out of this.

However, it's a massive and growing resource for people who need a beekeeping question (and often non beekeeping questions !) answered - people get far more out of it than any other beekeeping forum on the planet... but you should remember that this is not a commercial enterprise.

I know there's a lot of views on 'Your' thread ... I'm not sure what this says about it ...

And as for making posts clear ... well - I would refer you to your own words " went with 2 strips and put a brood box with frames above the hive." Perhaps you should have added 'instead of a super and it was filled with foundation and drawn comb'. ?

We all wish you well .. there would not be 26 pages of posts if people on here didn't care but ... you must try and stop this scatter gun approach you have. Kaz is right about keeping some notes but I suspect you haven't .. there are lessons for everyone in this thread and I know you've taken a bit of stick - some would say that you deserved it at times .. I just hope that you have learned something this year and you get the chance to practice what you have learned next season. Time will tell ....

I'm off to look at my bees now - through clear polycarbonate crown boards - I can indulge MY desire to see what they are up to without them being in the least bit disturbed - perhaps this should be an over winter project for you ?

P you'll have to get used to some Irish craic, I was only kidding when I mentioned about the commission.


I understand that there are others in this thread that are also looking out for my bees welfare along with yourself, jbm and others and I'm very great full for this and thanks again for sticking about. I know I'm a pain in the 4rse at times but its just the way its all panned out. I just keep chipping away if i didnt understand something right or getting confused wgen something isnt worded right. Hopefully next year will bee alot different because I've more bees ordered for spring so hopefully you'll be about for "what would you do mark 2" lol.

I never knew about polycarbonate crown boards and I can assure you, I'll be making them over the winter.

 

[BeeJayBee]

I expect your local beekeepers have told you to fill out a Vet Medicine record card, which you will keep on file for "at least five years". You can download one from this page https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?pageid=353

As for the vetting card, Ive to sign a form which was sentvwith the product and return to sender for their records.

Sorry, it isn't a 'vetting card' it's a Veterinary Medicine Record Card. If you had followed the link you would have read the rules that apply not just within UK but throughout Europe. You're meant to keep your own records, not rely on a distributor or anybody else to keep the records for you.

Bjoyfull, I know you said you agree with the above poster about not touching the hive but what about checking for supersedure cells or will I just leave them and hope for the best?

As Dusty said, Less messing, more patience.

If you poke around inside your colonies in a couple of weeks time you'll really mess up their winter preparations because it will be that much colder, so it will take them longer to redo the work you've undone - and they should be concentrating on other things.

If you were to find a supersedure cell, what would you do with it? It's quite common for beekeepers to open their hives in the Spring for the first inspection of the season and find two queens living in tandem. One will probably have been a late 'supersedure'.

So - don't look! Leave them alone now, let them have some peace until Spring.

 

[irishguy]

I feel for you Irishguy, you have taken some criticism and you are still here, asking for advice. I hope you get these hives through winter, I don't doubt you have the bees best interests at heart. Have you been taking notes for each hive? If not, it might be an idea to start - easier said I know lol, but if you have notes you will be able to see what went wrong where. Good luck

Yes I have taken some criticism and still here, but if you knew me, I'm very thick skinned and don't take any negative talk to serious. I'll get these bees through winter, I'm sure of it but if I don't, I'll be back next spring with all this experience and I'll be more prepared. I know its cost alit of money this wee adventure but I've pissed more against the wall some weekends so not really bothered about the money. Its been partly financed by my mother for a wee project for me and the kids so it hasn't stung me too much and she's just happy seeing the kids interested in something positive to with nature.