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OK ... stop now ... as I said this is in the beginners section we are not going to get into a debate about the wisdom of either the OP using Warre Hives (and there are lots of Warre beekeepers successfully using this format) or being treatment free (There are a growing number of TF beekeepers...

Play nicely people, clearly the OP is a relative newcomer to the craft, we can still be beginners even with several years under our belts - so, it's in the Beginners Section now. Constructive advice will no doubt be welcomed by the OP.

If you want to clear the bees from the top boxes you need to make a clearer board ... have a look at this thread ... https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/clearing-bees-from-supers.57407/ Although this is mainly about frames hives it will work for your Warres ... you will have to make one as I...

More like a snake oil salesman ....

Yehhh ... that's it isn't it ? By the time you are finished you have got everything organised, you are into a routine, the muscle memory is there and it's getting a bit easier .... then ... you don't do it for a year and all that familiarity is lost !

I hope you didn't feel that there were negative comments - beekeeping is always in need of new blood and younger beekeepers. You will always find somebody on here (at all times of the day and night) to offer help, advice, sympathy and encouragement. Over the years we have seen lots of new...

Yes ... but I found that the different colours of honey were often scattered across individual frames ... not that easy to separate out and with a 15 frame extractor ... I gave up trying and its all gone in together - a unique blend of honey from forage in my location.

There is an expression in beekeeping .. If you want to make a small fortune from keeping bees - start with a very big one ! It's possible to make a reasonable additional income from keeping bees but even the major beefarmers (we have a few on here) will tell you that it's not as easy as it may...

I've just finished extracting - a fairly good year considering the start. Whether you like the process of extraction or not there is a perverse pleasure in seeing the frames spinning out that glorious golden liquid and the buckets filling - whether it's one bucket or a hundred it's the same...

I have some of my original home made frames still in my supers ... they are not that random fortunately as I set up a jig when I made them ... but ... they don't sit well in my extractor and I was cursing them this week as I tried to squish them into the Lega. In the end they got propped at an...

Poots in Dorset so not dissimilar to me up here in Fareham (we are perhaps a bit warmer and less wet & windy as a result of the hill behind us and the Isle of Wight in front). My bees are flying and even in the miserable drizzle were coming back with some interesting pollen baskets (Goodness...

No .. I had an old fridge with a tube heater and ST1000 thermostat but when I got the Lidl Jam maker I decided that the space it was taking up was better used and it went to the tip (I jar up as I need it so I was not using the 'warming cabinet'). I'm not sure my two bucket draining system...

And it worked ... the honey warmed just a little is a bit quicker to spin out and strain ... you are right. Very little honey dripped into the tray. Now all my extraction is complete it's serving a secondary purpose - three empty supers in a stack make a perfect insulated box for my cappings...

And a big shed ... or two ...

First four hives for a new beekeeper is ambitious ... what experience do you have ? If you are a complete beginner - perhaps having completed your association course over winter - I would be inclined to start with two for the first year - even with two it's a steep learning curve, You also...

That's rather a lot of frames of honey to have in the brood box .. if you have colonies desperate for stores I would be redistributing 5 of those 7 frames ... plenty of time for them all to build up their stores for winter - we are barely in Autumn.

All my machines are nearly as old as me and were old when I bought them ..Startrite Inca planer thicknesser, Kity bandsaw, Elektra Beckum table saw - they have all been excellent and despite their age were built like the proverbial brick outhouse and made to last - but - I was always on a...

Yes... He had lots of good advice, usually right. We miss him on here.

This is the best chemical solution ...with a bit of peanut butter and/or chocolate. https://www.screwfix.com/p/pest-stop-sure-set-plastic-rat-trap/468XT?tc=ST5

Yes .. I think in the scheme of things it's easy to forget the odd thing that might save you a lot of clearing up .. in my case it was half an hour but had the honey gate really leaked it could have been hours. These garden trays (I usually watch for when they are on offer for about £13 for...