The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Bees & Beekeeping => Topic started by: cloddopper on April 08, 2018, 04:29:49 pm
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8 April and it's warming up first swarm down south should be ready to emerge any day now .. usually between 09 30 & 14. 45 hrs
Have your sugar syrup already made to feed hives you are splitting , neucs you are making up or swarms you are re homing .
Remember a feral swarm will need treating for varroa as well as feeding
The earlier you feed the quicker & bigger the hive will grown .
One of the latest ways of knocking varroa in nthe hive down with out toxic chemicals etc . is use a wire mesh varroa floor & when th count of fallen varroa in the hive is reached . Simply use icing sugar in a flour shaker to heavily dust all the bees in the brood box by pulling up a frame at a time & dusting it both sides .
Over the next couple of hours the bees will help each other remove the varroa mites as they clean themselves off the powered icing sugar , & then drop them off through the mesh floor .
Put in the cleaned floor a few minutes after you have dusted thee bees then check the fallen VARROA count per square a day after after replacing the mesh floor . Do it daily till you notice a big drop in the numbers of fallen varroa then icing sugar the hive at every week at weekly inspection time .... keeping written notes of each hives count of fallen varroa