วีดีโอ

@@eddybarker5072 I know very little about bees and even less about horses 😁 They always sound expensive though

Interesting. Is it hard to process cane sugar? What do you do?

It's one of my worst, no doubt about that 😁

@@LacyBucke thanks for watching 😊

😢 hard lessons for this new beekeeper

@@FaewoodAcres You may still have a chance for them to survive. The populations were low and DWV present but still enough population to get through winter. When temps are under 60 degrees you shouldn't separate the boxes nor remove frames. That causes chilled brood and brood loss. Winter bees have a 4-8 month life cycle to sustain the hive.They do slow way down with brood at this time of the year and only produce enough to maintain minimal numbers to preserve the colony without depleting resources. So you did have the amount of new brood as normal. You shouldn't do mite washes on winter bees. Bees can live with a mite infestation through winter, but would need an aggressive mite treatment when weather warms. Mites can only reproduce in the brood and a brood slowdown allows you a chance to knock the number of adult mites down. Varroxsan are time release OA strips that are not temp sensitive and works in all temps. It became available in August. I am currently using it in my hives and it is effective. You have a chance at really knocking down the mites. Dadant gets them to you in 2 days after ordered. They can't be sold in CA and HI. You should never put your mite wash cup on frames of an open hive, if it spills all bees and brood that come in contact with the spill will die. Have an addition tub for shaking bees into when doing a mite testing in the future. Always locate the queen and isolate before shaking bees for testing. I think you have a chance of saving both these hives if you take the right actions and if you didn't get the queen of the first hive in your mite wash. If you did kill the queen of the first hive you can combine the hives and at least save one hive There is a learning curve for new beekeepers. I always research issues for best results before taking an action. Good luck and study up some more

There's so much to learn, I learn just enough for the next step and it never seems enough. It's harder when there are 10 opinions when you ask 10 beekeepers. Thanks for your help 😃

Yeah I was surprised at how ineffective the Apivar was 😢 I'll have to switch to OA, but I think I'll still need something else for August, I've heard it's too hot for OA then.

@@FaewoodAcres have no problems with OA and hot temps (80's)

In August when mite counts here increase, it's over 100F every day. I heard only Apivar is effective at those temps but it wasn't effective for me so I'll try something else 😕

Here in the UK, most will treat with apivar as soon as the supers come off in August. Then treat again when broodless near broodless in December with oa. To treat before the winter bees are made helps offset virus loads in those winter bees imo. I usually send bees to the heather so these colony’s are generally treated later. I personally don’t use apivar for first treatment but a formic/oxalic liquid. I dribble this over them in temps above 3 c (37F) I do not disturb or pull any frames out in those temps. Good luck and hope you find a system that works for you and your bees.

@Downthend I hope so too, this has been very challenging 😁

Good point! I will save some money that way too 😊

@@FaewoodAcres Yes, packages are cheaper.

Good luck to you as well and Merry Christmas 😊 We don't need insulation here, our winters in central Texas are very mild, rarely getting a snow each year. But good idea about adding a brick, another beekeeper suggested I strap them down. Thanks for watching 😊

OAV seems to be the unanimous choice. Thanks for watching!

40 years is an immense amount of experience! Please do continue to comment if you have tips for this new beek 😊 Thanks for watching!

Haha they sure did! Spicy little ladies 😁

I've read about using powdered sugar, I should really try that too. Only I heard it was more accurate to use alcohol wash?

Thank you so much! 😊 I'll have lots to do before spring, too, just not as much with the bees 🐝

Thank you 🙏 this was my second treatment (I started in October) but Apivar really did nothing for me. I'm going to try OA, but sadly I can't get out there for a couple months now. I won't bee giving up, don't worry, not even if I start from scratch 😁 I'll learn about trapping and splitting next so I hopefully won't need new nucs 🤞

Central Texas. Our winters are very mild here. Where are you at?

@@FaewoodAcres Not my question but, I'm in Western NC in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Georgia and South Carolina. It's 40f degrees here today. But, we have temperatures into the high 50s even low 60s here in the winter. So yes, we still get into the bees on good warm days over 50f.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are so beautiful ❤️

@@FaewoodAcres Yes, they are. We are surrounded by beautiful mountains with lots of waterfalls, etc.. The AT is 8 miles from my house so, lots of hiking trails. That said, we love Texas too. Family has a lot of history there. As far back as the Indian wars. Some family still there.

@richardhyatt-beekeeping I love Texas too, but miss the greenery of the East coast

That sounds extra secure! 💪 It sounded like overkill to me to strap down. We don't get very high winds and they're protected by trees.

I can tell you have not been watching Fred Dunn every friday or you would have them strapped down, good luck with your bees!!

Can I treat with OAV anytime? I can't get out there for a couple months 😞

@@FaewoodAcres You can but it would be the most effective around this time when the brood is at a minimum. I help take care of a hive that has never been treated too but it seems to naturally be able to keep the mites low, I think by swarming. They may be okay but if you have the chance it would be beneficial to reducing the mite load.

I'll give it a try, thanks 🙏

Great tips 👍 Thanks for all the help 😀 Let's hope it's not so bad in spring.

Very short winters here, we don't insulate or anything. I'm hoping to get out there in a couple months and then I'll test & treat with OAV. 🤞

Late morning, and temps were in the 50s only. I wore a light jacket when my suit was off. It wasn't very cold at all.

@ Oh, if it was only in the 50s, that’s why. Bees start to cluster around 53-55°. For the future health of your bees, I would not recommend opening your hives unless the temps are at least 60°s and sunny. Disturbing them while they’re clustering and exposing them to cold air for too long and breaking that cluster could be fatal. The only time you do that is if you’re doing an OA dribble, where you go in in the morning during 50° temps, but the day is going to warm up to over 60°s. And you don’t pull frames in that case either, you’re just in and out as fast as you can. What’s more, is you broke their propolis seal this late in the season before the true cold kicks in, which can also be detrimental to them and keeping out the cold. Again, I’m not familiar with your local temperatures, but this sounds about right from watching the video. For next year, I would definitely recommend doing a good treatment right before your fall season, make sure they’re good and healthy going into the colder season. Hope this is helpful, I’m not judging, I promise, I’m also finishing my first year. Have you joined a local beekeeping association? That can be SO helpful! A great info resource!

@@LuckyCrownHoney thank you for pointing out my mistakes, truly it helps. My local association meets at odd times, but I'm in their Facebook group at least. I've learned a ton from them and the community at large. Thanks again for the tips and knowledge! Best of luck to your bees 🤞

@ Sorry, I truly hope I wasn’t coming off as pointing out the mistakes rudely. I promise, I’m hoping it helps. I really do hope that your bees make it through winter and you’re able on getting them healthy in the Spring. 🤞 We’re all just doing the best we can out here. ☺️

@@LuckyCrownHoney your genuine thoughtfulness is coming through just fine, it wasn't rude at all. I'm so new I need all the advice I can get. 😊 Have a great day!

Thanks 🙏 you too ☺️

I'm not able to get to my bees for a couple months now, unfortunately. I kept the strips on for 6 weeks like the instructions say, and I treated the Dragon hive twice. The first time I even used 4 strips.

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it out there for a couple months, so we'll see how nature handles it herself 😁

It's central Texas, where we put the heat and AC on in the same day 😁 Today it's low 70s F but we recently had a few days of 30s.

Glad you found it helpful! ☺️ If you have the too-long roof panels, cut those before you install the gutters. I made it harder than it needed to be.

Seems a bit like a pyramid scheme doesn't it? 😂 The way to make money is by recruiting new beekeepers like myself 😃

I'm a first year beekeeper, so I definitely didn't go the cheapest route. As I said in the video, I was happy to have someone holding my hand through the beginning since I didn't know much. My second time around will be much cheaper :-)

Thank you so much 😊🙏 I'm glad you liked it

Thanks 😊 I'm shocked you have 5 supers on each. You must put your hives on the ground, yeah? That's tall!

@FaewoodAcres they are on a pallet, so pretty much on the ground, just raised a couple inches for better air movement and to keep water from getting in during heavy rain.

Glad it was helpful! 😀

Thanks for watching! 😁

❤️ 🐝🐝🐝

You're very welcome 😁

😇

😢 that's so sad! And there's nothing we can do. Luckily my bees are in a ranching area, but there are hay fields I'm sure are sprayed.

Same! Best of luck 🍀

Indeed! 😊 I'm so anxious to plant my first tree!

I'm happy you found it helpful 😁 That's so awesome you're on a similar path! What area are you in?

Gutters installed! th-cam.com/video/Wm5OoWaeLJs/w-d-xo.html

Perfect 👌

I've heard the same thing from other beekeepers that the most aggressive bees produce the most. I'd rather have calm bees that produce half as much, myself. I don't need massive honey production.

Hope you hated it 😁

@ Loathed it 😁 😂

😆 Let them bee! Your puns are as bad as my own. 😉

Do you harvest from them? Or just for fun? 😊

It's just one bad day. I'll pick myself back up and tend to the ladies again. 😄

I agree! Since this video, I got a frame holder so I can keep it steady.

I've learned that the hard way! 😁

I don't usually do it, but I had my glove off (to mess with my camera) and they kept going for my bare hand. They got me anyway.

Thanks for watching 😊

🙏