Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 259
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- Are you ready for the nectar flow?
More rain on the way.
Join the conversation: / 3062274013832702
Do you have a question, or topic that you'd like to have addressed in a future episode? Please visit the main website: www.fredsfinef...
Smoker fuel that keeps your smoker going and the bees calm:
nwpabeekeepers...
Today's Topics:
1) I had a bear get into my hives last night. Which noise makers do you use?
Affiliate link to the alarms that I currently use: amzn.to/4bMLCTW
2) How long should I wait before moving newly trapped swarms?
3) If I use QMP in a hive that still has a queen, will they kill her?
4) Is there a good honey refractometer under $100.00 ?
Three refractometers in this video: • Honey can ferment. Hon...
5) Ants are in my hive, is aluminum foil ok?
6) Can I use a honey super from last year on a hive this year? Will the bees accept the old racks?
If you are looking for a good cause to support, please consider:
hivesforheroes...
1) I had a bear get into my hives last night. Which noise makers do you use? 11:11
2) How long should I wait before moving newly trapped swarms? 18:15
3) If I use QMP in a hive that still has a queen, will they kill her? 23:24
4) Is there a good honey refractometer under $100.00? 27:45
5) Ants are in my hive, is aluminum foil ok? 32:44
6) Can I use a honey super from last year on a hive this year? Will the bees accept the old racks? 37:55
@Adam.Holmes, please put your times at the beginning of the lines so TH-cam will create sections in the video. There is a specific pattern to use from YT to recognize it.
Happy birthday Mrs. Dunn. Thank you Fred. The ladder next to the tree where the swarm was really gives perspective.
I was impressed by that swarm's ability to stay on that branch during the worst of it. I hived them today :)
Bought some of those pellets you suggested. Thank you! I love them! Last a long time and burn cool! MK
Thank you so much for taking a moment to share your experience :)
Have a great Memorial Day Fred! Thank You for your service SIR!🇺🇸
Great video as usual. Even when I know the answer to a question I learn more from your explanations! Thanks, Fred...
I'm so glad to have filled in some tiny informational gaps for you :) Much appreciated!
Fred, totally agree with your recommendations regarding the bear fence, but keep in mind bears can detect smells from 11 miles, once they are at the bee yard, the fence will need to do it's job regardless of how close it is to a hive, hopefully
I’m in eastern Washington and those hive gates are game changers. HIGHLY recommend!
Wow, thank you for sharing that they have benefitted you there. Much appreciated :)
My wife just ordered the smoker fuel. I hope it helps your club Thank you for all you do
Please thank her for me :)
My highlight of the weekend is to see the laying of the wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier…they give it all, every branch. So thankful for theirs and many other’s sacrifices, the blank check you and I gave Uncle Sam (USN) was never cashed. 🇺🇸
Hello Fred. Useful video every time. Thanks a lot. Jesus bless you
Fred, you've honed your episode skills down to the point that universities should be using them, I'm not kidding. Thanks for another great one, they just keep getting better! I was glad you covered the Layens hive some in this one, all greatly useful information for sure!
Thank you so much, Tommy! I hope your weekend it fantastic.
My existing hive split yesterday while I was here and I was ready with a brood box and a shallow frame box. The queen landed on a grapes arbor pole and the swarm followed. No stings! I wanted another swarm this year and my wishes were satisfied.
I'm glad they did exactly what you wanted them to :)
Great watch thanks Fred , have a great weekend
Thanks so much Fred for all the information and for answering my question about the qmp.
You are very welcome :)
@FrederickDunn I actually inspected the hive yesterday and I found eggs, larvae and capped brood. So I think everything is back to normal😀
The switchgrass pellets are absolutely the best smoker fuel I've found.🙂
There you go! Not just me :) Thanks for sharing!
How can i order these pellets
@@Peter-od7op Fred has the link above in the info section.
That was a fantastic opening sequence of the storms. Did the ladder survive? Have a great Memorial Day and thank you for your service.
Yes, the ladder just tipped over against a tree. It's a 12' ladder.
Beautiful video Fred, thank you for updates! Jim -Florence, SC
Glad you enjoyed it! I hope your weekend is great :)
Interesting observation- I have a massive colony from a swarm I caught April 27th, I had to slow it down some, so I did a walkaway split(moved the queen), I replaced frames with new foundation, i went back in 2 days to make sure emergency cells were in progress, they started drawing out the new foundation & right in the middle of the new frame & fresh drawn comb there was an egg sitting in a new uncapped emergency cell- they physically moved an egg!! I thought this might of have happened in another colony this spring but wasn't sure but now I know it is possible..
Thank you Fred so much for answering my refractometer question! I always watch your videos. When I first started even went back and watched the early ones! You are an amazing, long distance mentor, that has blessed me by teaching me so much! God Bless you!
Thank you so much :) I'm glad it helped :)
I’ve built my new 15 Layen’s hives this year with a 4” 3/8” slot openings. Less work in winter and spring as I expand dealing with reducers.
Typically in spring this time of year when things are ramping up I remove the follower boards. I have not observed any advantage of keeping it in. They do not seem to build faster in any measurable way.
I have found that removing the follower board does reduce external bearding.
Thanks for sharing :)
I also planted about 50 hyssop plant with some borage and Baldy Safflowers.
I hope they all do well, I'll be watching the borage in particular this year to see how the bees work it, and also to see if some of the wing damage occurs as claimed by others.
Goliath sunflowers are the BEST! I’ve had 4 swarms . I’ve caught 3, lost 1 so far.
Thanks Fred it's definitely looking like it's going to be another bad year for hornets,wasp, and lantern flies.
Thanks, Fred! Another great week.
I cleaned out few deep better comb frames….they were thick and dirty, so I just cut them off the frame, and there is a nice “starter” strip of cleaner wax around the outer edge of these frames. If I were to use these as just empty frames in swarm traps for the bees to fill in with their own wax, would you leave the wires, or take them off? I won’t be extracting these as deeps are for the bees only as brood boxes. I wasn’t sure if the wires would help the bees ‘align’ the wax, or if they would avoided wires because they are sharp. Thanks!
This is just a personal call, I'd remove the wires and have them as foundationless frames.
Any "Oops" Old / Fragile / Dusty or Mouldy Comb in Frames : Can be "Cut Out" and Melted down. . . The older the better for "Luring in Swarms" !
Just get a Sharp Eg Bread Knife. Cut away all attached Edges and 'dredful quality' Comb you DONT want to Extract ! Just keep a narrow "under Top Rail of your Frame"
Strip of 'Started Wax Cells' eg 1/2 Inch or x5 cm worth.
"BEES will Draw out perfect NEW Straight Comb, if you either do :
Empty Frame / Foundation Frame / another Empty etc etc
OR an Empty / A Drawn Comb of Bees / another Empty etc etc.
Especially if your Housing a 'Caught Swarm' or making a "Split." And FEED them some 1:1 Syrup (or slightly more Water to Sugar Syrup.)
Bees need a ton of Food (Resources) to build New Wax.
And boy, they build it Quickly ! It's lovely stuff, unless they make 'attachment comb' in unwanted spaces. So make SURE their are NO Big GAPs
or Shim SPACE : they could bung it up with random Wax for sure! A Sticky mess to sort out. 🤭
Especially in doing a Hive Inspection. (Been there in my early Beekeeping Days !) Learn from any mistakes, to not have it happen the next time. Fill 'dead space' with a Chicken Feed Sack, Compost Bag, some cut Correx Sheeting
but don't use any 'unfoiled' bare 'Styrofoam' or you will have 'tons of Snow Beads' thru your Hives.
Homebuilders 'Heavy Foiled' Insulation Blocks are FAB for blocking dead areas : if you maybe have a 'tiny' Seam of Bees mid Box, you haven't enough Frames to fill out a Full Box remit. Add a Block, go get more Frames and add next time ! 😎
Thank you, Fred.
I got these stand off feet that hold oil 2 sets of four 10 bucks and it solved any issues completely
😁Morning☕Fred.👍
European hornet queen made a nest in one of my swarm traps.
I have 2 bears that come about 3-4 am. They walk up my driveway to get to my yards. I've been fortunate enough to see them ( I get up at 3 am) and hit the alarm on my car. They don't like it. They stay away about 2 months.
They have great memories, and unless they are desparate, they avoid any locations that make they uncomfortable :) Glad you were there :)
happy Friday mr dunn,thank you,
Same to you!
Orange juice , apple cider vinegar & small amount of sugar in a plastic bottle makes a extremely good all hornet species & yellow jacket drowning trap that honey bees will not go in, I make them every year
Great vdo ty i will by the pellets
Thanks, Peter!
Eco wood will NOT stop Carpenter bees.I have many extra entrances in some of mine.
It's not pest control either, good point.
Hi Frederick,
I didn't get a reply to my previous comment.
I love your tests, I hear more and more about an alternative to the smoker, Apisilos I cross.
Have you already tested this product?
If anyone has, I'd love to hear about it. It seems very interesting to me, I hate the smoker.
Sorry you didn't receive a response on the Apisolis flameless smoker. It's a good unit for mild colonies. It doesn't have the same effectiveness on colonies that may be considered "hot". It's great for areas where there are fire restrictions. You have to continue to purchase their cartridges. Since it works on mild colonies, I find that 1:1 sugar syrup with 1 tsp of Honey B Healthy added, also has equal calming results. I will be doing a full video review of the Apisolis unit later this year. I've also shifted my smoker fuel recently. The switch grass pellets seem to calm the bees with less smoke. Some smoker fuel (burlap for instance) actually antagonizes the bees and increases their defensive response more than if not using smoke at all. So the smoker fuel you use is also important. Smoke and smoker fuel do serve to move the bees away from the keeper during inspections, but it has a wide range of levels where the impact on their venom production and other indicators are concerned.
Great introduction video
Happy Friday Fred
Thanks, I'm so glad you liked it :)
Bees like Comfrey too
The bumble bees definitely dominate my comfrey patch. The honey bees, at lease here, seem to have other preferences. Thanks for sharing.
I tried rabbit feed (compressed grass) and it was hard to get lit, once going it was great, the smell was awful but left a tar like substance everywhere. Won't be doing that again! 😅
Most rabbit pellets are alfalfa :) likely to have high moisture content also. Thanks for sharing your experience :)
Raccoon was funny. Happy Birthday to the Mrs. Thank you for another informative vid.
You were talking about the bees piling up on the outside of the hive because of high humidity. Some of my horizontal LL are doing that and I’m wondering if giving them more room or less room by moving the follower board will be more likely get them back inside at night. Seems they could control the humidity easier with less space but on the other hand it seems like they’re too crowded and they move outside. I’m leaving 3 to 4 empty frames on them to lessen congestion.
They are great at climate control, I've also observed the entrance hole of a tree-colony nearly completely closed off by bees on the front, only to have them return to the inside as night arrived. Sometimes more space does give them a place to congragate inside, particularly up above the honey frames.
@@FrederickDunn my town (Pilot Point) was hit by a tornado or 2 tornadoes last night. I live outside of town. It blew the roof off my barn and part of it is up in a pecan tree. I had 2 big pecan trees snapped off at waist and head high. Knocked down the telephone pole my electric meter is attached to and I’m without power or water. The power company doesn’t furnish those poles either. You have to put it up yourself along with the meter box. I can’t believe my hives didn’t blow away. I have heavy weights on them and tie down straps around the stands on my vertical hives. The Marina, gas dock and restaurant on lake Ray Roberts was destroyed. The news said at least 7 lives were lost in its path. I went to town for ice this morning and trees down everywhere. My friend has a huge tree uprooted and on his roof. I was caught in it in my truck trying to head south and it was blowing my truck around and almost ran me into the ditch. I’m in a mobile home and feel safer running from them. I’ve lived in this area 62 years and this is the worst I’ve seen here.
Thank you Fred! I placed an order for the pellets. I’ve traditionally used butcher paper to light shredded paper … do you have a link for a TH-cam video on how to light the pellets? I ask because I used traditional would pellets (those used for barbeques) but they took too long to start so I gave them away!
I use my propane torch to light the pellets. Once they are going, they stay lit. BUT, you can't light them with a match...
liking the combining idea,im outa boxes too,smart kid that quinn😊
Quinn is a little bee-wizard. I do like his ideas :)
Happy birthday Mrs. Dunn. I can tell you what is happening in the south, at least my little part of it, northwest Alabama, we were set up for the best nectar flow we’ve had in years, I had to pull honey and extract it because I didn’t have enough supers and then it began to rain and rain and then it rained some more and after that we started having bad bad storms, the sun came out this afternoon but more rain is forecast for tomorrow, however I’m really happy because in spite of all the rain I’ve extracted more honey this year than I’ve ever gotten. PS two of my layens hives have swarmed twice and they are still wall to wall bees. Thanks Fred have a great weekend!
All good information :) Sounds like you did the right thing at the right time. Also glad it's not just my Layens' hives :)
I heard a timing box discussed on another YT channel in regards to grafting for queen rearing; could you discuss how this works? Thanks for all the great videos.
I'm not sure what a timing box is? Since it's already on another video, didn't they explain how it works? I'm not much of a grafter. :)
Hey Fred great content as usual, I'm a hobby beekeeper down in New Zealand with two hives and my question is in regards to OA, what is your opinion on weekly vaping the hives for verroa mites year round instead of using other methods, even if there is not many mites in the hives. Thanks for your time
Matt from south island new zealand
I've just added this to my list for the Friday LIVE Q&A this week :)
Jeff and Becky from the BetterBee Beekeeping Today Podcast episode S6E4 at the end 48:30 just mentioned Borage while interviewing Paul Horton (a former UK bee inspector). From the Transcript:
Becky: Oh, so it's when the bees forage on borage, it's obviously great for nectar, but it came up in their flow chart as something to look for as a problem in the hive. They got this ingenious flow chart that I've never seen before to guide a beekeeper through inspections, but it came up because of the fact that the actual flower will tear the wings of the bees. I didn't know that.
Jeff: The beekeepers, when Paul was an inspector, were complaining about the bees being okay, but their wings are all torn up. He says, "It's probably because you have borage nearby." I never heard of that. That's something to look for.
I wonder if you will notice this phenomena with a field of borage?
That's very interesting, I'll be watching for that trait with the borage. We'll see... Thank you so much :)
I have a problem and this is only video I've found like it. Congratulations on being original and Happy belated Birthday. I have a small just starting wasp nest. Just the queen so far. But atleast 4 of the 20 cells are capped. I'm trying to relocate her but when i release her she just comes back to original site. Can this be done? Or am I just wasting time? She cant stay and I don't kill.
th-cam.com/video/HVZWf63HmtY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Kt_cch-5k9uoZDAA
Happy Fred-day, just retrieved a swarm trap that was about 200 yards away from my home apiary. The bear...took it off the tree and inspected it for bees. No swarms yet. I will not put it back unless I put an electric fence around it.... too much work. I will have to control my swarms better. More honey less swarms, that's my goal this season... and no bears in the apiary. Parmac 12, you want at least 7000 volts on the fence. I am considering fencing my entire yard. In NH, the department of Agriculture is the ones to contact for compensation.
I have used a motion detector sprinkler for deterring deer, would it work for a bear? It might make the electric fence work better.... Well I just set up my sprinkler and a game camera. I will update when I get some Yogi action.
Now, with the game camera, you may get some fun video there! They just don't like surprises, so maybe that will work. I have the pest-away sprinkler system, it is a pain with batteries etc...
Hi Fred. Thought we had Bad Weather in Scotland 🏴 Rain on Rain for Weeks now.
Sun came out 🌞 for x12 Hours Yesterday ! Did Bees from 10am until 7.30pm non stop !
All Hives doing Great.
(No Swarms on my Watch. 🤭)
Did a Couple of Splits. And took some Capped Brood only :
to assist Weaker Colonies. Didn't want Bees Boiling over like an unwatched Porridge Pot. . . 😉
🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Happy Beekeeping 2024
🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Glad the 'Bee Inspector' likes my 'Combine' Technique. Cool Kid. . . 😎
Wonder why that 'Swarm up that Tree' didn't land in that Steadier Pine Tree instead (?)
That Speedied up VT Footage sure must of given that Swarm a 'bit of a Shaking' by that Wind & pending Thunder'. 🙄
I also like to Plant plenty of : Borage, Sunflowers and Lavender Plants.
Also growing some awesome grown "Supermarket" bought : Lemon Trees (bearing Lemons) and another Citrus Tree called a "Callamondia" aka very Small Orange Fruits ! (One plants is only 1.5 feet Tall with approx x30 Fruits all over it. Each x1" in Size !)
Their Citrus Flowers smell so beautiful : My Scottish Bees must think they are in Fla. 😁
Plants good until September, then they will become 'House Plants' until next Season.
Wonder if I can get : Scottish 'Citrus Fruit' Honey into my local Honey Show. . . 🙃
Observing that swarm cluster during the high wind conditions really demonstrated some extraordinary ability to cling and remain together. I was impressed. They are hived now and doing well. Thanks for sharing what you're seeing in your neck of the woods :)
Fred, 4th year beekeeper here in Portsmouth NH, , always so much to learn and you have been a staple to my knowledge. There has been a strong nectar flow here on the seacoast of NH and all of my hives are thriving , bringing in lots of resources. This year I found myself with and extra queen and decided to throw together a resource hive with her the first week. Of May . I placed her in an empty nuc along with 2 frames of brood and shook 2 frames of bees from one of my stronger hives along with an empty frame and 2 frames resources . The girls have done a great job filling the nuc with bees and resources. I have 3 other hives alll doing well and recently considered turning the resource hive into a normal hive, I have an empty 10 frame deep box set up in my apiary that I would like to move the Nuc into but am unsure if I can just take out the 5 frames from the nuc and place them into the empty hive? The nuc has been sitting on top of the empty hive that I want to use. Not sure if this would help with transition into the empty box. Any thoughts on this? As always appreciate your guidance . -Shirley R.
Hi Shirley, I'm so glad to know that I may have helped in your beekeeping journey, and success. On Friday, I'll be doing a live stream, and I will cover this situation. Since you may be waiting for my response, I'll give you a response here -
Yes, you can move your nucleus frames into a 10-frame brood box with no issues.
Step 1- bring a platform to put your nucleus hive on.
Sep 2- Pre-stage your 10-frame brood box and include 5-frames, with 5 spaces for your nucleus frames in the center. If your landing board will be facing south (preferred) you will want your 10-frame box to also face south. Put 2 of the 5 NEW frames on the east side, and the remaining 3 NEW frames to the west.
Step 3- Spritz the new frames with 1:1 sugar syrup as you place them in the box.
Step 4- with your new 10-frame deep box in the same spot that you took your nucleus hive from, transfer all of the frames from your nucleus hive with bees on them (mid-day is best when most foragers are out and about). Keep the frames in the same order, with the same orientation.
Step 5- Install an insulated inner cover, outer cover, and reduce the entrance to 3/8" high by 3" wide.
Step 6- bring up a comfortable chair and watch your bees come and go. SMOKE - I find that using 1:1 Sugar syrup with 1 tsp / quart Honey B Healthy to spritz your bees (light spritzing of the guards) will calm your bees during this transfer and you don't need smoke on a hot day. If it's cooler outside, then light-smoke is preferred to the sugar syrup spritz.
@@FrederickDunn always appreciative of your insight, perspective and time.. interesting ,I have been using the sugar water ( mixed with hive alive and honey b healthy). For the last 3 years-you taught me that when i first started keeping bees) It seems a more gentle way to handle them and haven’t seen the need (other than cold days) to use smoke.. also, totally loving “the Supervisor” , He makes me smile with his exuberence and thoughtful caring comments, he probably has better knowledge base then most of us out here.. such fun to have younger generation walking in your foot prints . -Shirley
Happy Birthday 🎂 to your better half Fred!
My unproven theory about having less SHB bc of antz. The ants 🐜 forage at night perhaps they are eating SHB and larva before they make it to the hive? I purchased my original first two nucs from Hungry Bear Farms, they brought the nucs up from the south. Shb and roaches were in the nucs and thrived. My hives are strong enough to combat the SHB. Every year no matter what i tried the SHB population kept getting stronger except this year. I read carpenter ants do eat bugs beetles...in one of the nests on my hive I found a bunch of honey bee heads. I'm guessing they foraged them from the ground outside the hives. When I open the covers the carpenter ants grab their eggs and run out on their own. Waiting to see if SHB numbers continue to stay down.
Happy Birthday to the Mrssses 🎉🎉🎉
raccoon getting a tan😅
That particular raccoon has issues... that was the Camojojo light-cam and it's in full color. I haven't checked that out yet. :)
Can you paint over Eco Wood?
Yes, but if you're going to paint, I think I'd to that in place of eco-wood treatment.
Hi Fred 👋 Could you in detail talk about marking queens? They are a lot faster than one would think. Last year I tried to corral one into the little queen cages. She flew away bopping up and down bc of her weight and never came back. Last week a mated queen fell out of a box on to my trailer. I took off my gloves so I would not hurt her got stung 3 times in the same spot by the girls within seconds. I just could not catch her. She went under her nuc so I'm pretty sure she will make it back to the hive. Anyway don't have the confidence to mark them without them flying away or hurting them. I think after 3 yrs it's time to learn. If i have to move a queen I put the whole frame into an isolation cage. Thanks for all you do Fred!
th-cam.com/video/p_FKWzG4z84/w-d-xo.htmlsi=U41AXVM4ReTmi4VT marking the queen. And in this video, I demonstrate a muff that contains your queen for handling: th-cam.com/video/KuDMFQL2Ptc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=16itxNTGtmvbAIPK
@@FrederickDunn Thank you!