Beekeeping

[chas brookes]

Hi all from previous posts I know there are a few beekeepers out there my wife and I got our first hive this year. We are starting to have a problem with wasps and wondered if any of the more experienced beekeepers out there have any suitable advice thanks Chas

 

[Rob]

Hi Chas

I asked a friend who keeps bees, his first suggestion is to narrow the width of the entrance into the hive.

If that does not work, he is always going to apiarist meetings, so I can get him to ask around.

Hope that helps

 

[chas brookes]

Hi Rob thanks for advice this backs up the advice someone else gave us, we have narrowed the entrance and will keep are fingers crossed. I thought I would also let you know I put the Gransfors SFA I purchased from you to, good use on the Bow making course I attended at Woodcraft School. It was the quickest way to remove the waste timber off my Wych Elm billet, and was so sharp I could also use it for planing cuts.

Charlie EG Fire Station

 

[Rob]

Superb! Let me know how it goes - my mother used to keep lots of bees

(guessed it was you from tyhe avatar)

 

[locum76]

what kind of problem are the wasps causing?

we've just started beekeeping at the farm this year and noticed quite a few wasps in the hives. after asking our mentors (at the edinburgh and midlothian beekeepers association) if this was a problem, they said the bees would take care of it.

it would take an awful lot of wasp raids to cause a good hive a problem, and ive watched the bees in our hives mobbing wasps.

btw, how is it going? did you get much honey this year?

 

[bushman762]

Hi there,

Get empty 2litre juice bottle (glass or clear plastic is best) or similar and 1/4 fill with water then with a thin stick smear some honey or jam on the inside neck of the bottle....the wasps will get caught, but the bees wont touch it even when put on top of each hive or at the entrance....and yes if they have started robbing the hive big time close the hive entrance right down to 2''....this should help. It works a treat before the wasps get a grip on a hive.

Best Regards,

 

[locum76]

Hi there,

Get empty 2litre juice bottle (glass or clear plastic is best) or similar and 1/4 fill with water then with a thin stick smear some honey or jam on the inside neck of the bottle....the wasps will get caught, but the bees wont touch it even when put on top of each hive or at the entrance....and yes if they have started robbing the hive big time close the hive entrance right down to 2''....this should help. It works a treat before the wasps get a grip on a hive.

Best Regards,

thats quality advice for the future dude. the hives we have are modern smiths and im sure the entrance aint much bigger than 2" anyway...

 

[chas brookes]

thanks bushman762 and locum76
the bees seem to be coping but we are getting an increased presence of wasps at entrance. We have already reduced entrance and will place some traps to give the bees a helping hand.
We have extracted about 24 lb of honey which we are pleased with in are first year, we could probably taken more but we have left them several frames for supplies for the winter.

 

[locum76]

you could take all the honey and reward the bees with sugar solution for the winter...?

 

[chas brookes]

Hi Locum 76
we did think about taking it all as we will be feeding through the winter, but the wife is funny like that and thinks she should reward them by leaving some of their honey for their effort. As it will be the first time we have had a hive over the winter and the swarm is very good tempered we want to give them as much help surviving the winter as possible.

 

[davef]

We've just taken 45ish pounds from our two hives not bad after staring with 1 hive in April!
Wasps rob out the hive and will empty it of stores if given the chance, we narrowed down our entrance blocks even further by hammering small nails into the gap area at 8mm intervals - also good for stopping mice getting in.