I Have Too Many Bees

[The15thMember]

Well, the hour is upon me.  In my sixth spring I've finally reached the point where I just have too many bees and am not sure what to do about it.  As I mentioned on some other threads, the blackberry flow finally kicked in after a nectar-less early spring, and I went from 3-4 box hives to 6 box hives today.  Several things are different this spring that brought this to a head.  Firstly, I've reached the number of hives that I want, which is 10, so I don't really want to split any more colonies for increase, which is what I've done at this stage (or actually before it) in past years.  Secondly, I came into this season with a prodigious amount of drawn comb, about a third of which had some honey and pollen in it, which meant that even though my early spring flow was very weak, the colonies were able to grow pretty rapidly because I was able to give them drawn comb and emergency stores, and the ones that came out of winter strong actually built up faster than normal. 

My problem mostly lies in the fact that I use 8-frame mediums, so I have to add boxes rapidly, and at 6 boxes the hives are basically as tall as I can manage.  I'm 5' 7" and at 7 boxes tall the top box would be above eye height for me.  But at the rate the bees are bringing in nectar, they are going to need more room before the blackberry flow is over. 

I can't split and keep all the colonies I'd create, I don't have the space or desire for more.  If the colonies swarm the same applies, I can't/don't want to catch and keep all the swarms, but letting them fly off just feels like a waste.  I can prevent them from swarming by continuing to open the brood nest, but if I do so, the hives will get too high for me to work.  And I'd like to keep them from swarming because they'll put up a ton of honey, but the way things are stacking up (pun intended), I also can't add more supers or the hives will be too tall.  What should I do?     

[Michael Bush]

> I just have too many bees

Impossible.  That's a contradiction in terms. 

If they are too tall, you can harvest, or you can split them.  You'll get more honey if you don't split them and apparently you don't want to anyway.  So it seems you'd be better off harvesting.

There is also the option of a ladder... but it comes with it's own set of problems.  Basically you have to lift the full super over you head to walk down the ladder with it.

Another thing is move to a top entrance and make your stand just 3-1/2" tall.  That's what I do.

[Bill Murray]

Ladder, or if you have the wooden-ware split then recombine later.

[Terri Yaki]

Have you considered selling some nucs or whole hives? In PA we can do that fairly easily. My mentor tells me that it is a matter just getting inspected and then you are licensed.

[The15thMember]

Thanks for the replies, guys. 

If they are too tall, you can harvest, or you can split them.  You'll get more honey if you don't split them and apparently you don't want to anyway.  So it seems you'd be better off harvesting.

My concern is that in our humid climate, it takes bees long to cap honey.  I often have 3 supers on a hive and none are ready to be harvested because the first box isn't capped yet.  But we'll see how it goes.  The blackberry isn't as runny as the sourwood, so maybe it won't be a big issue, and perhaps I can reduce them when the dearth hits before sourwood.   

There is also the option of a ladder... but it comes with it's own set of problems.  Basically you have to lift the full super over you head to walk down the ladder with it.

Ladder

There is absolutely no way I can do this safely with a ladder.  Not only is that precarious under the best of circumstances, but the area around most of my hives is not level. 

if you have the wooden-ware split then recombine later.

I don't.  I don't even enough boxes for the flow if things keep going like this.  I'm going to have to get a few more, but I'd rather not invest in any more bottoms, tops, stands, etc.  I just don't want or need this operation to get any larger. 

Have you considered selling some nucs or whole hives? In PA we can do that fairly easily. My mentor tells me that it is a matter just getting inspected and then you are licensed.

I have, and I don't think you even have to be licensed in NC, but I'm just not really set up for it this season.  I'm also not sure about what is more economical, breaking the hives down and selling bees, or letting the hives get big and selling honey.  And if possible I'd like to try to manage the hives for honey production because I've never had the opportunity to focus on that before, I've always been mostly concerned with growth.   

I talked to my family about it, and what I'm going to do for now is just have my dad help me lift boxes down.  He's 6' 4" so I should be able to get to 7 or 8 boxes before he'd have trouble lifting them, and he's almost always outside working on something over the weekend when I typically do inspections.  That way I can just try letting the hives get big for this season and see what happens.  If it becomes unmanageable then I'll develop a plan to do things differently next season.       

[Michael Bush]

How high off the ground is the bottom box?  A short stand can buy you one or two boxes...

[The15thMember]

I just use two cinder blocks.  Some of my stands are partially buried in order to level them. 

[Michael Bush]

A cinder block is 8" tall.  A two by is 3-1/2" tall.  A medium box is 6-5/8" tall.  Basically if you drop it to 3-1/2" tall you'll gain one box.

[The15thMember]

In my climate wood is not an option.  Even pressure treated lumber will only last a few years in contact with the ground.  But I could probably use half-height cinder blocks. 

[Terri Yaki]

In my climate wood is not an option.  Even pressure treated lumber will only last a few years in contact with the ground.  But I could probably use half-height cinder blocks.

Paver stones would work but they might be costly.

[Michael Bush]

Yes, half height blocks are 4".  Pavers might be only 2".