ENVIRONMENT

Are you ready for winter?

Some things to keep in mind or get done soon.

• 1.       Have you taken care of varroa mites?   You almost certainly have mites and if you have not treated them, your bees may not survive the winter.   You should have mites under control by the end of August, but better late than never.  Oxalic Acid Vaporization if you best option.  Four treatments, five days apart are recommended.
• 2.       Do your bees have enough food stores?  You should lift the back edge of your hive to estimate the weight.  Honey and nectar are very heavy.  How heavy is heavy enough?  If you can easily lift the edge of the hive, it is very light.  If you can hardly lift it, it is very heavy (a good situation).  If your hive is light you should be feeding thick sugar syrup (2 parts sugar, 1 part water).  This should already be done, but better late than never.
• 3.       Do you want to insulate your hives or protect them from the wind?  There is a thin foil quilt insulation at Home Depot that is 2 feet wide which is just right for 2 deep boxes.  You can wrap it around 3 or 4 sides and staple it on or secure with a bungie.  Many materials can be used.  If your area is windy, you may want to put up a wind break of some kind.  Also, make sure your hives will not blow over.
• 4.       Some Insurance.   If you think your bees may run out of food during the winter, you may want to make a candy board or a sugar brick.  These will be demonstrated at the meeting today and posted on the TBA website along with meeting minutes.
• 5.       Protect your bees from condensation at the top of the hive.   The bees create heat and water inside the hive during the winter.  If that heat and moisture rise and contact a cold lid, it will condense and rain onto the bees (very bad).   Use a vent box with foam inside the lid, or put rigid foam insulation under your lid, and/or tilt your hive slightly to the front to force condensation to run forward and down a side wall.