Screened Bottom Boards

[paus]

I tried one 6 inch hole with oil pan under the hole , 2 six inch holes with oil pan under, the back half screened with oil pan, neither of these worked as well as full screened. I only tried one hive of each but it only took one full screen to completely convince me.  I caught 23 SHB the first 24 hours of full screen, nuff said.  With a quilt top and DSBB i see no bearding in hot weather here in NE Texas, no mold, or condensation in cold weather.

[The15thMember]

I plan to have  BeeWeaver bees after re-queening. Since we live in the Texas High Country, those "Texas Tough" bees would seem to be the right ones for us. And I would expect them to be "highly hygienic." They claim to have been "treatment-free for varroa" since 2000.

Now that I see that specific phrase, I see that they do not claim to be completely "treatment free," which I'm aiming for.

You should certainly ask them about the specifics of that statement, but most beekeepers aren't treating regularly for anything except varroa.  It could be that they've had some sort of disease outbreak in the past 20 years, and they had to treat for that, but it's not like their bees are regularly exposed to any treatments.   

[Ben Framed]

I plan to have  BeeWeaver bees after re-queening. Since we live in the Texas High Country, those "Texas Tough" bees would seem to be the right ones for us. And I would expect them to be "highly hygienic." They claim to have been "treatment-free for varroa" since 2000.

Now that I see that specific phrase, I see that they do not claim to be completely "treatment free," which I'm aiming for.

It also seems to me that a SBB with an oil pan under it would be the way to go. The alternative would be to cut a hole in the solid bottom board, screen it, and put an oil pan under it.

Or maybe I'm missing something?

Dora check this out. I think you will enjoy this topic.. "A Treat for no treaters"
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=53970.msg488317#msg488317

[Michael Bush]

> I plan to have  BeeWeaver bees after re-queening.

I had Weaver Buckfasts back when it was just Weaver and then B.Weaver Buckfasts up until 2001.  They were wonderful until 2001 when they were the meanest bees I've ever seen.  Maybe they have calmed them down since them.  I'll never find out...

[Dora]

I usually only see heavy metal tea in the trays when I catch commercially thrown swarms. That is why I stopped trying to catch swarms when I?m surrounded by the commercial beekeepers at the farm.
Jim Altmiller

Jim, what do you mean by "heavy metal tea"?
(After skipping over your reference the firs time, I still can't figure it out.)

[Dora]

Found some polypropylene serving trays on eBay. They were only $4.50 each and were of a size that would sit nicely into a screened bottom board. There would only be a small gap around the outside of the tray which would mean that the odd beetle would miss the tray but that?s OK as they would then climb back into the hive and be hassled again by the bees. The only way that I could build a tray for that sort of price would be to use second hand material.

Could you please tell us what size trays you found? A 14x18" tray is the closest I could find, at $8.49

[BeeMaster2]

I usually only see heavy metal tea in the trays when I catch commercially thrown swarms. That is why I stopped trying to catch swarms when I?m surrounded by the commercial beekeepers at the farm.
Jim Altmiller

Jim, what do you mean by "heavy metal tea"?
(After skipping over your reference the firs time, I still can't figure it out.)

Autocorrect got me again.
It was supposed to be heavy level of mites.

[William Bagwell]

Could you please tell us what size trays you found? A 14x18" tray is the closest I could find, at $8.49

If you need more than four your better off buying on Amazon. Same size and brand, in black are $34 per dozen. Double to triple that in other colors.

Standard base made out of 3/4" needs cleats to hold the tray, one below is 1 1/2" so slides into grooves. Have four bases like this one...

[Ben Framed]

I tried one 6 inch hole with oil pan under the hole , 2 six inch holes with oil pan under, the back half screened with oil pan, neither of these worked as well as full screened. I only tried one hive of each but it only took one full screen to completely convince me.  I caught 23 SHB the first 24 hours of full screen, nuff said. With a quilt top and DSBB i see no bearding in hot weather here in NE Texas, no mold, or condensation in cold weather.

Thanks Paus.

Phillip

[Dora]

Could you please tell us what size trays you found? A 14x18" tray is the closest I could find, at $8.49

If you need more than four your better off buying on Amazon. Same size and brand, in black are $34 per dozen. Double to triple that in other colors.

Standard base made out of 3/4" needs cleats to hold the tray, one below is 1 1/2" so slides into grooves. Have four bases like this one...

Thanks much, William. Very helpful, including photo!