Bee Bits
Santa
Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild
This is where we try to present what one might call "one liners"
for beekeepers. The entries come from our meetings, suggestions, the web, and
news letters of other beekeeping clubs. We do not know if they are true and/or
correct, rather they are what one beekeeper said to another beekeeper. Remember,
ask a question of 10 beekeepers and you will get 12 answers -- to which one
member muttered "must have been an easy question".
- To get bees to start drawing comb on new plastic frames for honey flow place
a queen excluder and one frame of at least a small amount of brood in a super.
The bees will tend at the brood, then begin making comb and filling it with
honey.
- To find a queen among brood frames spray both sides of the frame with water.
Every bee will stand still and face uphill — including the queen —
with no scurrying around.[SM]
- Try eucalyptus leaves in your smoker. They make nice, smooth smoke and will
kill Varroa mites.
- Before boxing a swam put a sheet below it. Then if, or is it when, a mistake
happens take the bees off the sheet — a lot easier than getting
them out of the grass.
- Tried of keeping the smoker lit? Then try 2 Tablespoons of vanilla in 1
quart of water makes a spray that can be used in place of smoke.
- Burlap is suggested in many books for your smoker. Where do you get it if
you don't have access to some sand bags? Fabric stores sell "natural
burlap" for about $3 per yard.
- Want to store fluids in those "paint thinner" type of one gallon
cans but cannot find new ones. Search Google using "F style" in
your key word list. Why "F style", we have no idea, but they come
in two types depending on the lid.
- For ants the books mention a moat of "motor oil" but who wants
that in their back yard? A suggestion on the Bee-L forum was to use vegetable
oil as ants will avoid it and it is "bio degradable".
Santa
Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild
March 8, 2005