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Nik



Joined: 27 Jan 2009
Posts: 7
Location: Lancashire
PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 11 4:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We lost 6 hives last year so I can sympathise. Ours were not the strongest colonies but the wasps were very bad. They started at one end end killed off one hive at a time. This year we reduced the entrance by putting a piece of overflow pipe (20mm) into a board at the entrance. This was an idea put to us by the local bee inspector. They bees have the ventilation they need from the OMF and the pipe gives them some distance to fight off the wasps in a narrow space. Add this to lots of wasp traps, being very careful when feeding and the hard winter last years that reduced wasp numbers generally and we seem to have got through OK this year. Went in the other day to do oxalic acid treatment and one of the hives has bees in a cluster over 10 frames! Can't wait for the OSR to start - we might even cover some of our costs this year if the weather holds.

Dogwalker



Joined: 20 Mar 2007
Posts: 1231
Location: Mid Wales
PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 11 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

7 degrees here this afternoon and a few bees flying

meggy



Joined: 11 Jan 2011
Posts: 32

PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 11 7:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We also lost hives last year although they got through the winter to about March (2010) - it seems the badgers were really hungry by then and raided them, scattering everything around and eating through the combs. This happened even with several brieze blocks weighting down the hives. It was so upsetting. We've only got one hive at the moment (at least we hope we have). Hope you get a swarm or two this year to replenish.

blossom



Joined: 06 Dec 2010
Posts: 100
Location: Pays de La Loire, France
PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 11 7:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'm interested to know what sort of hives you have. Langstroths? Warre? Peron? Sommat else??

Dogwalker



Joined: 20 Mar 2007
Posts: 1231
Location: Mid Wales
PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 11 9:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I've got Langstroths because that's what was abandoned in the garden of the house my daughter bought.

One colony and one spare hive. I'm going to try and make time to make a top bar hive for a spare but not sure if I'll be able to.

Nik



Joined: 27 Jan 2009
Posts: 7
Location: Lancashire
PostPosted: Wed Jan 12, 11 9:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We run Nationals as we have quite a collection of parts from various sources and National components are readily available at a reasonable cost.

Lorrainelovesplants



Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne
PostPosted: Wed Jan 12, 11 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Try cargo straps to hold your hive together if you have a badger problem - it works for us.

We have Smith hives - smaller and lighter for me with my back problems.

Mrs Baggins



Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 837
Location: West Kent
PostPosted: Sat Jan 15, 11 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Blossom. I've got Nationals. And I had the entrance blocks in.

I can't TELL you the animosity I have towards wasps now. I've always been live and let live and never understood why ppl hate them so much. Now I want them all to die. My poor, poor bees...

And the bar stewards ate all our honey as well. I hope it gave them indigestion. Gits.

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