Caring for your bees
The sections for feeding and treatments will follow this page.
I always see questions, asking about when to feed, how much to feed, and WHAT to feed.
The most terrifying thing about keeping bees, is that NO answer may be exactly correct.
The amount of feed will depend entirely on the location, the climate, the number of bees and the TYPE of bees. It will depend on if you are feeding for spring buildup or just starting a new colony on empty foundation, OR if you are preparing your bees for winter.
So I am just going to tell you what I do when I feed my bees.
If there is something I did not cover, please feel free to Email me and I will make every attempt to answer as well as adding to this site.
Treatments
I am not overly fond of dumping medications into my hives. However, I am also not an advocate of doing nothing and letting them die.
I treat if I think the problem will kill my bees. It is better to save the bees, and give them a better queen, than it is to buy a package or a nuc to replace them with.
I am also a firm believer that there is nothing natural about beekeeping. The word itself, BEEKEEPING shouts unnatural. Bees survived a long time without being kept. In their natural environment they are likely better capable of surviving than when we stick them in a box. BUT, I have no argument against keeping them as naturally as possible. I would only argue that allowing them to die when WE have the means to prevent it should be avoided.
Replace the queen with a better one, raise your own queens from your best hives, and with your help, those bees will only get stronger.
Mowing around your hives!
I often see this question asked on different forums. HOW, do you mow around your hives to keep the weeds and grass down?
For me, and the bees I keep there is a simple answer.
I weed eat around the hives, and that night after the bees are settled in, I go out and spray round up around the hives. I spray far enough away from them so that I do not have to worry about bumping them with the lawn mower.
Then... I just mow..
In my effort to keep gentle bees, I think I have succeeded, at least to this point. If and when the bees come after me for weed eating or mowing, I will find out why. Are they queenless? Has something like a skunk been bothering them? Do they have a disease or mite overload? If there is nothing obvious, they will get a new queen. I keep bees because I enjoy it. I do not want to have to "worry" every time I go near the hives, trim, or mow around them. If you have 4 minutes to spare, watch the vid below to see for yourself how " I " mow around my hives..
For me, and the bees I keep there is a simple answer.
I weed eat around the hives, and that night after the bees are settled in, I go out and spray round up around the hives. I spray far enough away from them so that I do not have to worry about bumping them with the lawn mower.
Then... I just mow..
In my effort to keep gentle bees, I think I have succeeded, at least to this point. If and when the bees come after me for weed eating or mowing, I will find out why. Are they queenless? Has something like a skunk been bothering them? Do they have a disease or mite overload? If there is nothing obvious, they will get a new queen. I keep bees because I enjoy it. I do not want to have to "worry" every time I go near the hives, trim, or mow around them. If you have 4 minutes to spare, watch the vid below to see for yourself how " I " mow around my hives..
Common sense is as much a part of beekeeping as it SHOULD be daily life.. If you do an in depth inspection that morning, do not expect your bees to be happy if you mow around them an hour later. As mentioned above, they may have other reasons to be upset. Mowing around your hives may work perfectly in the spring, but as summer rolls in and the nectar begins to dry up those gentle bees may get a bit more uppity.
Use common sense and pay attention.
If you have questions about what I do, please Email me, I will answer to the best of my ability.
Scott