2 Bee House

So I finally got to the point that I could hardly park my truck in our garage….and that breaks one of our prime directives….garages are for vehicles…not stuff. Deep boxes, warre boxes, frames, smokers, bee suits, empty feeding jars, smoker fuel, saved comb, cinnamon, vinegar, sugar, supers, swarm traps, nuc boxes, and a myriad of other bee related items were taking over my garage….add to this all of the garden equipment one collects over the years and it became apparent that I needed more space.

After much research we decided on a Tuff Shed from Home Depot. So we ordered and had built a 10 x 20 shed designated to be 1/2 garden shed and 1/2 bee house. We chose this size because in our area this was the biggest one we could get that did not require a permit. Here is a time lapse video of its construction.

One of the first places I went to for ideas was Pinterest. Here is the pin board I created. Not being a big wood worker I collected ideas that I thought I could accomplish. Here are some of the results, pictures of our new garden shed/bee house.

10 x 20 Tuff Shed

You can see my 4 hives off to the left. It is really great having everything close to where I need it when I’m working in my little apiary. It is also nice to have a place for everything and everything in it’s place.

I added this loft to allow me to store all of my unused boxes.

Shed loft

I used quite a bit of peg board so that every tool would have it’s own spot in the shed.

peg board helps to organize

easy access, peg board on door

peg board in garden shed organizes tools

organize all your tools

I found some cool plastic covered wire baskets that fit into the peg board that is great for small items: gloves, hose fittings, bee gadgets etc….

Shelves for garden shed

work bench and storage shelves

Building shelves, a work bench and shelves under the work bench was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The shelves are measured to accommodate the rubbermaid containers that are ideal for storing stuff.

I found this LED solar light that is perfect so that I don’t have to run electricity to the shed. Easy to mount solar panel on the outside and then a light on the inside that can be set for 48 lights or 24 lights. I leave it set at 48 LED’s and it lasts a good hour or so. My neighbor gave me a hard time, accusing me of setting up my large screen TV inside my “garden shed” LOL.

LED solar cell

24 LED light

Couple of upgrades I’d recommend: 6 window pane man door, windows on each end, double swing door for larger stuff and an upgraded floor. This model, TRS-800 Sundance, came with a steal beam base which we really liked for durability and getting it up off the ground and provide ventilation under the building.

I still have a ramp to build and will put hardware cloth around the base, to prevent critters from getting under, and will put in some kind of block base to cover the steel frame….should look pretty good when it is done.

All in all I’d highly recommend having a building of some kind near you hives. It makes life a lot easier and more enjoyable.

Aug 18 2013

Importance of Water and Good Neighbors to your Apiary

Easy inexpensive water feeder

This is the time of year when it gets hot in our area. Availability of water is critical to the health of your bee hives. I found that an easy inexpensive water system involves a simple poultry water bucket that you can get from your local feed store. I find that this small one works great and I just put small rocks in the base to give the bees a place to perch as they get a drink. Because the top is somewhat clear I can see when it is getting low so that I can fill it up again.

Why do bees need water? When bees leave the hive they are collecting several raw materials; nectar, pollen, water and plant resin. Nectar is the carbohydrate, pollen the protein and the resin is turned into propolis and used to seal off the hive from the weather. The pollen, nectar and water are mixed together with bee saliva to form bee bread. The bee bread is what the bees eat and what is fed to developing bees. Many humans also collect and eat bee bread for its reported medicinal properties. Bee bread is comprised of:

55% Carbohydrates, 35% Protein, 3% Minerals & Vitamins, 2% Fatty Acids, 5% other stuff.

So, back to the water, we went on a short vacation. Before leaving I made sure everything was squared away in my apiary. Each hive was strapped down (in case a wind storm came up while I was away), set up a swarm trap, made sure the water bucket was full.

While I was away either it was really hot and the water evaporated….or a racoon or other wild animal drank the water. In any event when I came back the first thing I noticed was that the bucket was dry.

A few days after having filled up the watering can I noticed that there were no bees drinking from it. Earlier in the year I would always see a dozen or so bees at a time getting a drink….but now nothing…..odd.

A week or so later I was talking with my bee friendly neighbor across the fence. She noted that she loved seeing my bees drinking from a plant saucer that they have near a window at her house. I was at first concerned that my thirsty bees might be intruding, but she reassured me that both she and her husband liked watching them and that they happily kept the saucer full.

Bee water park

So….two morals to the story; 1) Always keep an ample supply of water close by for your bees. In this case I was lucky, had it been a swimming pool or deck fountain even the best of neighbors might not be happy. 2) Keep your neighbors happy about your bees. Keep them informed when you are going to be getting them and let them know how they are doing…and of course they should always get the first of the honey when you collect it.

Jul 10 2013

A cool bee escape for the Warre bee hive

I have a Warre hive that overwintered this year. As a result the bees came into this season strong and ready to collect honey. The top box in my Warre stack is heavy with honey so I hope to have my first honey harvest. The challenge at hand is how to get the bees to move out of the box that I want to harvest.

Warre Bee Escape

There are several ways to encourage the bees to move. One is the use of a fume board. This is a cloth covered board onto which you spray or pour a chemical that really smells bad to bee noses. This drives them down the stack into the box below. Another way that I’ve read about is using a power blower. Remove the box and send a stream of air through the box blowing the bees south. Neither of these really appealed to me.

Darren from House of Bees, the craftsman that built my Warre hives, made some cool bee escapes. These give the bees a way down but due to the little maze he has made they don’t know how to get back. I’m placing the bee escape under the top box and hoping the bees will go down and out of the hive and then not come back into the box I want to harvest. Right now it is packed with bees so it will be interesting to see what happens.

Jul 6 2013

The Trap is Set…….Bee Fishing

Jess and I put out a swarm trap this year. Hard to say if it will work but here are the specifics.

Swarm season in the Pacific Northwest starts in May and runs through August depending on the weather and the nectar flow. Since this is the season we figured it could not hurt to try. We used one of the swarm traps that is available from several places…we got ours from Brushy Mountain. It is made of a wood pulp type product so will wear out over time and weather. We mounted it to a piece of 2′ x 2′ plywood that I cut a handle into the top and some strap notches in the sides. The goal here is to be able to hang it from a nail (if driving a nail is appropriate) or using nylon straps to strap it around a tree trunk.

I read lots of opinions on how to place the trap, which direction to face and how high it should be off the ground. You can get frozen in the thought process….my recommendation is just pick a place and run with it. There is always next year to try a new location. I’ve also had several stories within our club, West Sound Beekeepers Association, in which a swarm decided to move into a hive that happened to be empty but still in the yard…so I think the bees pretty much figure things out on their own.

Our hive is facing south east, so the morning sun hits the entrance and it is hanging from a nail on a post about 5 feet off the ground. I did put a piece of comb on the inside so that the smell would permeate the trap.

Stay tuned, if we catch a swarm I’ll let you know.

As you can see based on the post date it is July, we actually hung the trap the first part of June, I just didn’t get around to making a post until now. As the season wears on I’m less excited about a swarm…an old poem tells the tale:

A swarm in May is worth a rick of hay.

A swarm in June, worth a silver spoon.

A swarm in July isn’t worth a fly

I think the sentiment here is the later in the season a swarm sets up shop in a new home, the less time there is for them to draw out new comb and stock pile resources for the winter. If we were to catch one now I might just combine it back into a weaker colony.

May 23 2013

The language of bees

For the past 9 or 10 years we have been sponsoring a girl by the name of Kadiatou, who lives in Mali Africa. We make a small monthly donation through World Vision which helps to improve her quality of life and the overall program supports schools in her village. We receive updates and pictures a couple of times a year and we are encouraged to send her items that will fit in a small envelope as well as to write letters to her.

World Vision, Mali Africa, Beehives, Beekeeping, African Bees

World Vision helped me get hives to a family in Mali.

We often find these letters a bit difficult to write. We have very little in common and are careful to not include a lot of detail about material items. Lets face it….the average American can not relate to the daily struggles that the average African villager has to face, nor could an average 14 year old girl from Nonsombougou, Mali have any concept of what it is like to live in our world. We are not only separated by half a world but by language (she speaks French), religion, polotics, currency, life style, terrain, weather, education and basic daily concerns. As a result our letters are pretty generic. She writes to update us on her education, what her interests are and usually draws a picture….our letters include topics about the weather, animals, and encouragement. Each letter from us has to be translated from English into French…..and each letter from her needs to be translated from French into English. We did learn, however, that her Dad is a farmer. They plant sourgum and have a goat and a cow……which leads me to why this story is on my bee blog.

A couple of months ago I sent over an inquiry through World Vision asking if Mr. Traore, Kadiatou’s Dad, would be interested in adding bees to his farm. To my delight his answer was yes. A phone call and a couple of months of waiting we just learned that their bee equipment has arrived. I immediately sent out a letter to Mr. Traore congratulating him on his new arrivals. As I wrote the letter it occurred to me that now we have something in common, something we can both relate to on every level. We will have the same concerns, want to know the same things and will try to solve the same mysteries. We now share a common language……the language of bees.

If you are interested in sharing the investment in a hive click here….or you can click the beekeeper below to donate/invest in the whole set up for a new beekeeper. Your investment will change lives.

As I get updates from Mali I’ll post them here. In this way you can get a glimpse into beekeeping in the Pacific Northwest from me….and beekeeping in Mali Africa from Mr. Traore…..the newest beekeeper in our family.

World Vision Beehives to Donate Click Here

Jan 19 2013

Keeping the Beekeeper alive through the winter

We are in the middle of winter and have been in a cold spell. Dry days and clear nights have lead to temperatures in the teens and 20’s. I’ve used a flash light to look in the windows of the two warre hives to check on the bees. Green roof hive is looking good but I’m afraid flowers hive might be dead. I can see the bees all clustered together but no movement at all. Also seeing quite a bit of furry mold on the comb. The nuc is still a mystery as I don’t want to open it up to check….I hate this part of beekeeping.

At our bee club meeting last night we had the discussion about overwintering our bees. One lady suggested that perhaps it would be a good idea to move the hives into a warmer, protected area like a carport or shed. While this sounds good it was pointed out that what is really better for the bees in general is to let the stronger ones survive the winter then try to graft some queens from this stock. In this way we are promoting bees that are stronger and that can deal with winter in the Northwest.

Three things affect our bees in this area

Food
Moisture
Wind

If each of these are kept in check the bees should make it.

My goals for this year:

Have at least 2 of my 3 hives survive.

If my nuc survives move it into an 8 frame western

Capture one swarm

Graft a queen from my healthiest hive

End the season with 3 or 4 full hives and 1 or 2 nucs

I do have quite a bit of work to do on equipment. I need to build the nuc boxes I bought from Brushy Mountain when they had their sale and I also need to build a lot of frames so that I’m ready to stock the western, and I hope to build a jig that will help me to glue and nail straight frames……Can’t wait for the next day that is in the 40’s so I can take a closer look at the hives….Til then all I can do is worry.

Nov 20 2012

My favorite nucs from Brushy Mountain, Free Shipping on Black Friday

Many of you may have heard me commenting that though I love Brushy Mountain Bee equipment I don’t like the expense of having it shipped. Well now is the time to buy. Free shipping on Black Friday. I don’t get any benefit from passing this on, I just think it is important to tout good quality and I think their western nucs are the best on the market:

Free shipping from Brushy Mountain

Link to my favorite Nuc click here.

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