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I do a similar thing. I cut the cuff off old pairs of socks and put it over the cone so it overlaps the cone. The bees can feed anywhere on the sock so they don't have to stampede to the edge of the syrup which is when I think the leaders may get pushed into the syrup by their hungry sisters...

I am constantly filling up the bird feeders to try and distract the little buggers! (Am I allowed to use that bad word?)

Hi all, I keep my 4 hives in a private rural garden 5 miles awasy from my home. A couple of weeks ago the homeowner informed me that he was re-organising his garden and the hives would have to be moved about 10- 15 metres to the side of the garden. He didn't realise I couldn't just move them. So...

Are you a member of your local BBKA group? In my group we can sign up for swarms and people without any bees get priority. We have volunteer swarm collectors who contact people on the swarm list when a swarm is available.

I was at Beetradex yesterday and was shocked by 2 people (not together) in the queue who seemed to have walked out with their goods without paying - at least they didn't return while I was in the queue - and that was at least half an hour. The first said he had to go and check on his dog in his...

Hi, I am planning to use oxalic acid by trickle method on 5 hives. However, the colonies in 2 of the hives appear very small. Is it safe to use Oxalic acid on these? I think I have scared myself by reading the extra small print on the Api-Bioxal packet about overdosing the bees. I am planning to...

Thanks for all the advice. The main issue with the Bee box is that the supers and brood box have curved edges and a lip so that they lock onto each other; there is likely to be a gap with an ordinary clearing board because of the curved edges/lip so the bees would be able to get back in. It...

Hi this year I decided to try out a poly hive and chose the Paradise bee box. However, there does not seem to be a clearing board available for it. I don't think an ordinary wooden crown board with bee escapes will fit securely and brushing the bees off the frames is going to be quite a task. I...

I have my polyhive strapped to the stand but I have also hammered metal garden staples into the ground either side and attached bungee straps. I also have a couple of bricks on the top. That polyhive is going nowhere!

I have 2 hives at the bottom of my garden where I also have 2 ponds and a stream. However, last year the bees were gathering around the water pipe from my kitchen sink. I had to start doing my washing at night and emptying washing up water by carrying the bowl outside and tipping it down the...

Planning to change to fondant as soon as the weather is dry enough to open the nuc. Have seen some dead bees on the floor and evidence of wax underneath. Have been using thymolated syrup - does that ferment? I also bought some ambrosia - is that invert? Sorry, still a newbie and still learning!

I too helped rescue a feral colony on Sunday. I was alerted by a neighbour. The colony was in a small tree up a bank from the canal and close to a main road on the other side. I had a look and as the colony was not too high up from the road side thought I might be able to retrieve then myself...

Just thought I would remind you of the note at the bottom of your posts indicating a 3 point check before responding - is the reply "true", "necessary", or "kind". I suggest your reply was neither necessary or kind. The reason I think very carefully before posting a question on this forum is...

How about Daffodil or Dahlia and Erica?

I love that you name your queens. I thought I was the only one that did that! Good luck with Crocus.

My friend had this problem with her bees only there were a load of dead bees in the feeder part itself and we couldn't figure out how they got in there as the lid was well fitting and the cup pushed right down. We summised that there must have been a stampede of hungry bees causing those at the...

Thank you. I do care about my bees- maybe too much! Your post makes a lot of sense and I may even try the double brood with 8 over 8 next year. I shall leave the "kiddies" to argue about when is a nadir not a nadir as you are quite right- their comments are not helpful to me at all.

Thanks Steve. I had read the Wally Shaw article which suggested that the "half" should be at the top from September to April. There is a small amount of brood in the "half" which is why I put it back on top rather than removing it. I think I will do as you suggest and put it back underneath as...

You are right, I am getting totally confused. I was feeling confused and useless before I posted on the forum. I was very hesitant about posting on here having viewed responses to other people's posts but as I couldn't find anything helpful regarding reducing back down from brood and a half I...

Unfortunately I have to do my best to avoid swarms as I have neighbours all around me. This is why I put them on brood and a half in the first place. However, if I can get them back into just the brood box I will try alternative methods of swarm prevention so that I am not having to move brood...