A BEE thread....for those interested in beekeeping.

[3goodeggs]

NICE!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What did you use for bait?

I'm picking up a package in a couple hours.

 

[Beekissed]

Lemongrass EO and also some beeswax that had a good honey smell rubbed into the walls, woodwork and underside of the bars of the hive....couldn't get my hands on any old or drawn comb as an additional lure, so tried the beeswax as an alternative. Placed three drops only of the lemongrass on top of the frames...dipped my finger in one of the drops and swiped it briefly on the entrance...it's so cool out right now that I was afraid that scent wouldn't travel far from inside of that well insulated hive box.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Beekissed
Where is the entrance on your hive? (Very nice btw!)

 

[Leahs Mom]

Hello all
I am new to bees and just got my packet
Themperarures here went from 60 to 90 in 2 days

@blueducklings

Hello to you too! I'm new to bees also. We were valiantly trying to get a local split from a TF beekeeper that has excellent honey and husbandry. We may still get one in the next couple weeks to inhabit a long langstroth that my husband is building.



In the meantime, got a package that I don't have great expectations for...but who knows.... I am TF and as natural as possible so they may have a fighting chance. Put them in a tbh. It had bees in it for one season so had some lovely propolis insid and I also had a bit of comb on some of the bars that I put in for a start.

Photo of hubby putting the little buzzers in our first-ever hive. He found an old tyvek suit in the basement that he put on mostly to keep his clothes clean....and we decided to get a helmet for the first interactions.... likely won't wear them ever again but it's nice to know we have the screens if we want them.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Beekissed

PS: I'm very inspired by your hive. We may just have to try that...cleaning out the barn and finding some old furniture that is going to goodwill or the dump.

You've got me thinking

 

[Beekissed]

@Beekissed
Where is the entrance on your hive? (Very nice btw!)

Under the bottom "drawer", I have the face of that drawer shimmed out to bee space so they can just crawl up into it. Funny thing is, the bottom of the frames I got, that I didn't use on the frames, fit right into that space, so I'm using one of the frame bottoms as my hive entrance reducer.

I'm thinking my next hive will be an insulated filing cabinet mounted on a wide base so that when the drawers are pulled out it won't topple from the weight of the honey. It would sort of be like a square tree, wouldn't it? Just some modifications to ventilate, insulate and provide entrances and I think it would be a pretty neat...and cheap...hive box.

 

[Leahs Mom]

In general -
Any thoughts on ways to keep ants from a hive? We have some tiny black ants getting in there. I have already tried putting vaseline mixed with cinnamon on the legs. Not sure if/how ling it might have worked as it will be kind of "crusted over" with dirt and what-have-you.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
We set out a hive box last summer but it ended up getting mice and some large black ants instead of bees! This one had some old brood comb in it and some frames from a local beekeeper. If I did it again, I'd put on a hardware cloth mouse guard over the entrance.

 

[Bugseye]

In general -
Any thoughts on ways to keep ants from a hive?  We have some tiny black ants getting in there.   I have already tried putting vaseline mixed with cinnamon on the legs.  Not sure if/how ling it might have worked as it will be kind of "crusted over" with dirt and what-have-you.

The way I did it: I had a large expired container of cinnamon and just sprinkled it on the rocks around the hive occasionally. That worked well.