Hi
So what started as a small hobby, ?oh I?ll just get one hive for some honey and to watch bees do their amazing thing?, currently up to 5 hives, let?s see if I stop there!
3 of the 5 hives I bought as nucs, these are coming along nicely, quite strong and doing well generally.
2 of the 5 hives, less good These were captured swarms and bought fairly late in the season, slightly concerned particularly about 1 of the hives which isn?t too strong, currently only about 4/5 frames in use (all my hives are 8 frame full depth.) Of particular concern is a roach infestation affecting both the hives. Not talking about one or two under the lid, talking dozens scuttling around, seen them darting in an out of the comb, worried they are stealing nectar etc and not sure if they are affecting the brood? If they are stealing sure this is hampered the colonies affect at establishing themselves.
The hives are slightly unusual, a sort of double hive home made system I bought where the two hives are in effect one unit. There were a lot of saw cuts in the bottom of the hives for ventilation. I have blocked these up, trying to limit the entry points so the bees can better control unwanted entrants to the hive. The hive entrances were milk bottle cap sizes (so they can be plugged), there were two each for each hive at the top of the hive, noticed there is a lot of debris at the bottom of the hives (I try and clean this best I can when inspecting) so going to plug the top entrances and make one smaller entrance around 20mm diameter at the bottom, see if this helps the bees keep the hive cleaner and control intruders.
So, any thoughts how I can control the roach infestation? The hives are in bush at my in laws in the countryside just outside Perth and they are raised off the ground on a few bricks?.