Excellent, well-informed, and entertaining content to guide the millions of backyard beekeeping enthusiasts towards a more healthy and productive environment for us all. Thanks for your effort.
It’s great to see how much you care about your customers. You are relentlessly building the highest quality product you can. I hope to encourage you in your videos. The things you love the most are the most fun to watch! If you hate something it’s also fun to know the struggle. Keeping it real is refreshing. Thank you
We bought bee's from an aging bee keeper like this, black and mouldy. Shocked when we opened up the hive. It stank. Really agree with Laurence about new frames. We recycle each frame after two seasons.
@BlackMountainHoney Yes, our hives are thriving and it's a pleasure to check them. We do weekly checks through the season then leave the brood box alone till first warm days in March. Our bee keeping experience has improved no end thanks to Lawrence tips and" golden " queens.
Not to detract from Laurence's videos, but Stewart Spinks at the Norfolk Honey Co has a number of videos on shook swarms. Looking forward to Laurence's when he does his!
My family was acquainted with a lovely Welsh gent and his young family who immigrated to western Canada in the 1980's. Stan asked to place hives upon several sites of our very large grain farm. One day, he pulled up with hives stacked on the flatbed, he opened one and I almost gagged, the cones were blackened and of nauseating cheesy odor, I asked him about it and he said "The bees do all the cleaning!" ... but, Stan really was the worst for maintaining hygienic hives, heck even his processed honey contained bee wings and parts floating on top, lol. Whatever, I did not judge the guy, he was the most interesting and engaging happy fellas, I just was not overly eager to receive his honey, lol. We lost our friend Stan and his young son in law in a vehicle accident as they hauled his daughter's belongings to a distant drug rehab location, the daughter I'm sure has forever carried the burden of their needless loss. Much loved in the community, at least 400 had attended the funeral, I cried my heart as I gave my condolences to his grief stricken wife and her young widowed daughter 😥
Couldn't agree more . . . Bees do so much better on fresh comb, the better performance pays for the frame and foundation. I did a Pagden artificial swarm in May and gave the new hive a Broodbox of foundation to use as a super. They drew it out and filled it . . . now I have a full box of brood frames fully drawn to replace manky comb as and when needed.
My bees are new to their hive. Plan to melt down the foundation and reuse the wax to coat the plastic frames. Now can I boil plastic frames to get the wax off or use the hive tool and scrape it off into a pot and melt it down that way?
Make sure the foundation you’re using can withstand high temps first! Some of them are fairly flimsy and will also melt or soften and warp - if you bought them from a proper supplier (official - not Amazon or eBay or wherever) you should be okay to dunk them in hot water (not boiling as it’s much more likely to warp) then scrape off gently 😊
What do you actually do with the old frames? Melt down the old wax (what method / equipment do you recommend for this that is cost and time efficient) and for the wooden frames, do they just get binned or is there a good way of putting new foundation in?
For small scale, I honestly don't think it's worth it. Probably costs more in time and fuel to clean and rewax. I just burn the worst of mine now and buy new ones to replace. A cost effective comprimise would be to cut out all the wax and discard then torch the frames to sterilise and remove the residues to allow new wax to go in. Cheap and effective
@@BlackMountainHoney Thanks, thought as much! I've got buckets of old was I was trying to figure out what to do with. Found a ton of wax month in some too!
For what it's worth, I have a solar wax melter that I use for rough processing most of my wax. Doesnt cost any extra to throw old comb in there (separately)
The norm in my country is roughly 30% new frames every year. I'm not saying everyone is doing it but that's the teaching and anyone serious about beekeeping replaces a few frames per hive every year.
My vote is thus. I try and generally remove and destroy 2 frames out of 10 each season. 20%. Or the 2 darkest. The theory being that each frame has a working life of up to 5 years I mark them up with a black sharpie and try and move them away from the action or near the action (depending on the time of year) to try and get the frames without stores and without brood.
I have a couple of frames I want to replace but I didn't have any frames to replace them. I placed the frames on the outside of the beehive to replace them next year. When would be a good time of year to replace the frames?
I believe bees should be sold on brand new frames. The very best for beginners is a full colony of bees on new frames at the start of the season when there is a good nectar flow on. For myself, in my hives, some frames will be very old but some will be replaced each year with blank frames as I no longer use foundation. When the old wax has been removed I boil my old frames in water with a bag of added soda crystals to clean and sterilise.
Excellent, well-informed, and entertaining content to guide the millions of backyard beekeeping enthusiasts towards a more healthy and productive environment for us all. Thanks for your effort.
It’s great to see how much you care about your customers. You are relentlessly building the highest quality product you can. I hope to encourage you in your videos. The things you love the most are the most fun to watch! If you hate something it’s also fun to know the struggle. Keeping it real is refreshing. Thank you
We bought bee's from an aging bee keeper like this, black and mouldy. Shocked when we opened up the hive. It stank.
Really agree with Laurence about new frames. We recycle each frame after two seasons.
It really makes all the difference keeping on top of them does it?
@BlackMountainHoney Yes, our hives are thriving and it's a pleasure to check them. We do weekly checks through the season then leave the brood box alone till first warm days in March.
Our bee keeping experience has improved no end thanks to Lawrence tips and" golden " queens.
I’m going into my third year and plan on doing this!! Thank you for the tips on it, great reminder of what else to look for this upcoming season!
I remove my old frames after doing a demeree, this way they are empty and you don’t lose any eggs or larvae. I find this is the best for me.
Did someone steal your legs?
I agree with you Laurence 💯
Have you done a video on how to do a shook swarm? I can’t seem to find it.
Many thanks Denbee Honey
Not yet. Will do one this year :)
@@BlackMountainHoney thankyou so much
Not to detract from Laurence's videos, but Stewart Spinks at the Norfolk Honey Co has a number of videos on shook swarms.
Looking forward to Laurence's when he does his!
@ excellent thankyou for that I’ll take a look
My family was acquainted with a lovely Welsh gent and his young family who immigrated to western Canada in the 1980's. Stan asked to place hives upon several sites of our very large grain farm. One day, he pulled up with hives stacked on the flatbed, he opened one and I almost gagged, the cones were blackened and of nauseating cheesy odor, I asked him about it and he said "The bees do all the cleaning!" ... but, Stan really was the worst for maintaining hygienic hives, heck even his processed honey contained bee wings and parts floating on top, lol. Whatever, I did not judge the guy, he was the most interesting and engaging happy fellas, I just was not overly eager to receive his honey, lol. We lost our friend Stan and his young son in law in a vehicle accident as they hauled his daughter's belongings to a distant drug rehab location, the daughter I'm sure has forever carried the burden of their needless loss. Much loved in the community, at least 400 had attended the funeral, I cried my heart as I gave my condolences to his grief stricken wife and her young widowed daughter 😥
Couldn't agree more . . . Bees do so much better on fresh comb, the better performance pays for the frame and foundation. I did a Pagden artificial swarm in May and gave the new hive a Broodbox of foundation to use as a super. They drew it out and filled it . . . now I have a full box of brood frames fully drawn to replace manky comb as and when needed.
It does make such a huge difference doesn't it!
My bees are new to their hive. Plan to melt down the foundation and reuse the wax to coat the plastic frames. Now can I boil plastic frames to get the wax off or use the hive tool and scrape it off into a pot and melt it down that way?
Make sure the foundation you’re using can withstand high temps first! Some of them are fairly flimsy and will also melt or soften and warp - if you bought them from a proper supplier (official - not Amazon or eBay or wherever) you should be okay to dunk them in hot water (not boiling as it’s much more likely to warp) then scrape off gently 😊
What do you actually do with the old frames? Melt down the old wax (what method / equipment do you recommend for this that is cost and time efficient) and for the wooden frames, do they just get binned or is there a good way of putting new foundation in?
For small scale, I honestly don't think it's worth it. Probably costs more in time and fuel to clean and rewax. I just burn the worst of mine now and buy new ones to replace. A cost effective comprimise would be to cut out all the wax and discard then torch the frames to sterilise and remove the residues to allow new wax to go in. Cheap and effective
@@BlackMountainHoney Thanks, thought as much! I've got buckets of old was I was trying to figure out what to do with. Found a ton of wax month in some too!
@BountifulBees no worries. There is hardly any usable wax in the darker ones so not viable really
For what it's worth, I have a solar wax melter that I use for rough processing most of my wax. Doesnt cost any extra to throw old comb in there (separately)
@@timothymoore7890 which is it you use / is it something ud recommend? I was considering the abelo one but was planning to investigate it further
The norm in my country is roughly 30% new frames every year. I'm not saying everyone is doing it but that's the teaching and anyone serious about beekeeping replaces a few frames per hive every year.
As an American beekeeper I can say that yes there is a huge difference between Disease Control from the UK and America
There really is! Are we too over the top or is the US too lax?
@BlackMountainHoney id say were probably to lax honestly we could do better on preventing transmission from hive to hive
My vote is thus.
I try and generally remove and destroy 2 frames out of 10 each season. 20%. Or the 2 darkest.
The theory being that each frame has a working life of up to 5 years
I mark them up with a black sharpie and try and move them away from the action or near the action (depending on the time of year) to try and get the frames without stores and without brood.
@yoooreds yeah I will adopt that same principle moving forward
Mine are maximum 2 years old to be honest except one that I use for collecting swarms
Is it okay to upload the old frames in the first stage using the Demaree method?
I wouldnt be using them for anything at all. Straight in the melter or the fire!
So if a beekeeper frequently performs the Demaree manipulation, he will not end up with a poor maintenance state of the frames.
I have a couple of frames I want to replace but I didn't have any frames to replace them. I placed the frames on the outside of the beehive to replace them next year.
When would be a good time of year to replace the frames?
Id get in there early next year before they start brooding in them and add a fresh frame of foundation in the middle once the first flow begins :)
Sorry but I’ve tried to get those stands , but need to get them from your provider. Can you help please
Great video I was wondering if you needed thumbnail designer, I've sent you an email.
I believe bees should be sold on brand new frames. The very best for beginners is a full colony of bees on new frames at the start of the season when there is a good nectar flow on.
For myself, in my hives, some frames will be very old but some will be replaced each year with blank frames as I no longer use foundation.
When the old wax has been removed I boil my old frames in water with a bag of added soda crystals to clean and sterilise.