Recent content by Smuffles

You're right! I've wedged a bit of mesh down to stop the bees getting under the dam The Swevinty Langstroth feeder is a much better design as it has no issues at all but I guess they couldn't just out right copy it

The old feeders are fine just glue/staple a sheet of plastic bag between the two dams to stop the bees flying up when you take the roof off. You will get a bit of comb up the middle but it's nothing to worry about. Saying that if I get a new hive I'll spend the extra on a new style one :)

We have a Polyhive sale during October. Our larger Winter Sale Starts Dec 26th and has Wooden Hive parts, poly hive parts, tools and equipment. Remember - Our sale will continue to run until we are out of stock, however, all these items are limited stock and we are expect to run out quickly -...

I'm not sure that is correct as trapped air is an extremely good insulator and the air effectively is trapped in the feeder.

I've personally not used the feeder in the poly nuc, just the Full sized hive. The nucs now come with a length of wood which I'm guessing is to float on the feed to give the bees something to climb on.

I've just left the feeder on top of my hives for the last 2 winters which gives them a bee space above the top bars and extra insulation. In summer a framed crown board would be nice but I cant say I'd go out of the way to make one.

Update Hived them first thing this morning they seem to like their new home so far. Should I feed them now or wait a day? and how strong/much would you give them. Cheers

Hi collected a swarm today in a box around 5 pm but left the box at the location until 9 pm to let the few bees I'd not boxed find there way into the box. What is best to do now? Do I transfer them into a new hive tonight or leave them until morning? They have ventilation but do i need to...

I agree the hand holds would be better in the middle I also would have preferred them not to extend to the bottom of the box. They also make painting the box a lot harder than other polys. The plus side is they are the cheapest of the national sized polys and the bees thrive in them, I had 2...

It's Possibly a Buckfast Dadant which is a 12 frame dadant that's square tho I believe the external dimension would be 20" by 20"

I think I've read a post from one of the more experienced professionals that says do nothing the edges will harden over time as long as your careful to begin with, the weight of a full box compresses the surface just enough to harden it. Varnishing the surfaces will probably end up in the boxes...

I've got one of the new feeders, they are much better. The gap up the middle is narrower to stop brace comb and there is a plastic cover between the 2 dams to stop bees flying up and in to the syrup every time you try to check it.

I worked for Tesco for 9 year up until recently and I suggest you complain to customer services 0800 505 555 its totally unprofessional of her to say that. Shes probably more worried about having out of stock items than giving you good service sadly.

materials, I just wondered how cheap you can make a hive for with a bit of time and the skill. I'm currently at have time to work on my skills :)

I'm very impressed :) Roughly how much did it cost you to make?