BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM.
Not working the Hives for Over a Month?
Beeboy01:
I'm trying to avoid a problem. My wife is scheduled for a knee replacement in about ten days and I'm going to be the primary care giver during her recovery. It's her second knee replacement so I'm aware of just how busy I'm going to be during the first month or so after surgery.
My potential problem is that my hives are doing well with a lot of honey on them but there is no way I'm going to be able extract for a good six weeks. I've added enough supers to carry them through the end of the Cabbage Palm flow and expect them to start back filling by August. I've been hit by small hive beetles in August and feel like I'm setting up my hives for an infestation.
So far the SHB population in my hives is minimal and I'm using beetle blaster traps and swifter sheets for control along with baited CD cases in the trays under the screened bottom boards.
So would what I've already set up work or is there something else I could do to up the game against SHBs? Basically I need to get the hives ready to be un-managed for a month or more except for an occasional quick check and a cleaning of the trays under the screened bottom boards.
I know mites can be a precursor to a SHB infestation but with all the honey still on the hives I can't treat for them effectively with OAV. My last mite count was low so I'm hoping they won't be a problem till I can extract.
Of course maybe I'm just being an overly protective bee keeper and all will work out.
Thanks for any and all input. :smile:
TheHoneyPump:
Stating the fairly obvious: Go pull all of the honey off now, extract now. In the next 6 days, before your wifecare needs in 10 days. Leave them with minimal stores left, just barely enough to survive, and condense the hive size to the min/max of what you think they need for space until you are able to get back to them. Then walk away with no worries or stresses, knowing they do not need you for month(s).
Bill Murray:
Im going to assume most of what you have on (supers) are not capped. I have 3 yards that have not capped nectar yet. Do a mite check. Move supers as needed. Or dont do a check and move all uncapped frames to your strongest hives removing all capped. Most of my bees only get looked at on a monthly basis. If you are on with mites you should be good.
I hate to give advise But, this is what I would do.
FloridaGardener:
--- Quote from: TheHoneyPump on July 18, 2021, 05:02:44 pm --- Leave them with minimal stores left, just barely enough to survive, and condense the hive size to the min/max of what you think they need for space until you are able to get back to them. Then walk away with no worries or stresses, knowing they do not need you for month(s).
--- End quote ---
Okay I love this advice because I already had all brood nests backfilled and the midsummer brood break is done. Now the bees are chowing down a space in the middle of each hive again and Qs are laying, there is some capped brood.
But I have 100 brood frames of capped honey this year... and I know the populations are going to drop after that brood break...and here come the SHB. I usually don't extract from the brood comb - I let the bees use it - because I only take the virgin white wax. But had a bumper crop this year and too much honey! !
And I WANT A BREAK ! It seems like nothing was synchronized for me this year. I need some vacation-from-bees time. My freezer is already packed with capped brood comb.
Somebody please tell me if it's a mistake to put the sanitized/frozen comb back in a hive body, wrap it all up in double plastic kitchen bags, and store it. Won't critters chew through the plastic for the honey?
Beeboy01:
Thanks for all the ideas so far. Can't extract yet because I'm in the middle of a flow and getting ready for my wife's surgery. Working with a two frame extractor is a time bottle neck no matter how fast I work. Think I'm just going to roll with it and wait till mid August. All the hives are strong and waiting for a little over a month should work. Just don't want to get knocked back this year after getting up to six strong hives. Once a routine gets set up post surgery I will be able to block out a little time for quick inspections.
If need be I can set up the extractor and decapping table then extract one or two boxes a week depending on how much time I have. Not an ideal solution but a way to get the job done and probably the path I'll take.
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