More Insulated Hives!

Talking about hive insulation and other enlightening beekeeping topics.

00:00 - Standard 3-medium hive winter set up.

01:10 - Cold walls = condensation and mold.

02:07 - Insulated hive!

03:05 - Wet honey = not good.

03:35 - Hurray for Tuck Tape!

04:20 - Alarmed bees (volume boosted).

04:55 - See you in 5 months!

05:25 - Mouse guard / shrew guard.

I began using quarter-inch / 6mm mesh to keep shrews out of my hives after losing about 6 of about 8 colonies to shrew predation several years back. It worked. I haven't had issues with shrews or mice since. But the mesh sometimes needs to be removed and cleared of dead bees through the winter. Regular mouse guards can get clogged up too, but the mesh seems to clog up quicker. It it possible for shrews to get through the larger holes in the mouse guard? Perhaps. However, I haven't had any issues with shrews since switching to the mouse guards, so I'll probably stick to the mouse guards for now. (Quarter-inch mesh is cheaper, though.)

06:55 - Sheltering the hive entrance.

07:46 - A small cluster in a big hive (not good).

08:40 - Cluster clinging to top cover (not good).

10:00 - Probably not a viable colony (but still alive).

  / phillipcairns  
  / mudsongsbeekeeping  
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#beekeeping in #newfoundland