Today I put the final touches on insulating the hives. I kept one hive un-insulated for comparison next spring to see if it is all worth it. I removed the top box from the hive I combined (No 6) as the bees had moved down and no honey had been stored in it so its less area for them to keep warm. Still unsure if this hive will make it or not, although it seem active at the moment. I set out some sugar water with HBH for the bees and hordes of yellow jackets showed up for the feast, so now I have to make a trap for them. Other than that, not much happening. Time to start cleaning up the summers mess.
Decided to buy some cardboard nuc boxes for next spring. Keep my yard to 7 hives and let the swarms move into the nucs for sale later.
Put a piece of dryer sheet inside a disk case in the hive just above the top bars as I had read it works for controlling beetles. Checked the drop pan 2 days later to find a dozen or so dead ones. I had placed lime dust in the pan too, so not sure which is working.
Decided to buy some cardboard nuc boxes for next spring. Keep my yard to 7 hives and let the swarms move into the nucs for sale later.
Put a piece of dryer sheet inside a disk case in the hive just above the top bars as I had read it works for controlling beetles. Checked the drop pan 2 days later to find a dozen or so dead ones. I had placed lime dust in the pan too, so not sure which is working.
