Recent content by Mark Young

It is a couple of miles outside of Goudhurst. It may turn out that I now own a section of Tree Trunk with bees in it. It's on a construction site and they will not let anyone unqualified or without the correct plethora of training certification use power tools on site. The H&S expectations...

I hate having to ask this... Is there a humane way to kill bees which are living in a felled tree which is going to be cut up and removed? It is not possible to retain the trunk in which they live and the works cannot be delayed.

I guess I am a little odd in that I don't mind the European Hornets doing whatever they do. They are always around my apiaries this time of the year and don't really cause much trouble to the bees. I quite enjoy seeing the odd one trying his luck around the hives; but they usually leave empty...

Either would be fine I should think. It wouldn't be ethical to sell it at this stage but Honey, Wax and Waxworms are all edible. Just filter it well and probably best not to crush and strain...

Sounds pretty nasty! I think that by the time you notice tubes, then that comb is only fit for burying in the compost heap and the wooden frame will need a thorough clean up and rebuild. By the time webs and the mess they leave behind are present then i'd probably just throw it in with the...

Obviously there are costs attached to all hobbies, be it a Sporting, Equestrianism or Philately pursuit... In my experience which I realise is a relatively short time of keeping bees (6-7 years) I haven't once thought to myself that this is an expensive hobby in general comparison. There is a...

You are absolutely right; the natural thing to do is leave them alone, but that's not exactly beekeeping - which is something we all love to argue about on here! :spy: I wouldn't recommend enticing unmanaged bees into an urban built up environment with close neighbours; but unmanaged colonies...

I have tried standard foundation, small cell foundation and foundationless. I don't use any supports in my foundationless frames at all. I can't say I never have any cross combing, but its so rare to be insignificant. I crush and strain using a stainless fruit press (The same tool is more...

You are more likely to break a foundationless comb when handling it and you have less control over the comb being built straight. Foundation makes handling easier and guides the comb in the general direction the beekeeper wants it to be built in. If you go foundationless, a starter strip is...

The joys of beekeeping... I use a Honda UMK 435 - Bees don't like that one! I have resorted to closing them up the night before best I can and getting at it by 05:00am in the morning, done by 06:00am that way. Just in time for breakfast. I guess that option is OK if you don't have...

Routine treatments recommended by profiteering salesmen don't sit too well with me. (yeh, yeh, trust issues!) The annual vet shots for example; they appear to have more and more evidence stacking against them that they are nothing but a billion dollar industry driven cash cow. Ever wonder why...

I hope so, because we sure as hell aren't solving the problem by breeding mites from survivor stock whilst destroying most of the other useful micro organisms within the hive. But then again - just like everyone else, I don't have the answer and the Survival of the Fittest solution, although...

I was talking to a chap from my local NFU this morning and we got onto the subject of Bees, then Bee insurance... He helped me realise that in actual fact I have no idea what I want from Beekeeping insurance, but would be happy to quote me if I could give him a list of policy expectations...

Thanks for the response. Be a good winter project for whem the ground is workable. I think I will try digging big holes and filling them with something solid then gravel to ground level and a block on top of that.

Isn't a concrete block the same thing (give or take) ? If I built a raft I may as well put it on the pond :) Edit - Perhaps the raft is the new anti theft invention being discussed downstairs...