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I might have to move to Hampshire!

i got the cheapest one from Wicks which worked fine, then mislaid it and got the cheapest one from Screw fix as a replacement. Of all the things i have ever bought for bees this has been by far and away the best buy. For speed and far far less mess.

thanks - assume you don' extract on the garden wall ;)

yep - you earn at least £1 an hour too. i understand its a hobby.

hmmmmm :)

thanks - perhaps you should set up a mobile extraction business!

Thanks for that - really useful. The biggest efficiency improvements for me over the past 40 years were without question the 9 frame electric extractor and the heat gun. The gun was cheap, speeded the whole process and reduced mess significantly. My biggest extracting disaster, and i think...

Defo cheaper!

It takes over the kitchen leaves a stick mess takes ages and generally is a pain. About 5 years ago I was told at the Devon County show that you could use a paint striper gun to remove the cappings - wow! who would have thought it? I have upgraded to a 9 frame electric extractor, but that...

I come from a farming family, farmers understand that they benefit from bees. I am not saying there are not rogue farmers but the vast majority will spray with bees in mind, especially when they are spraying crops that benefit from bees. I have just spoken to a very experianced sprayer...

That may well be the case, I have already shaken one as they are evil sods, was going to squash and unite that one as had enough of them in any case.

Hasn't the drone laying queen hive (in my case 2 hives plus other similar in area) produce a fair few?

First check of my bees and i found 2 out of 10 hives with drone laying queens, something i have not seen that often over 38 years of small scale beekeeping. Both had capped queen cells which i assume would be viable? Given this is the earliest i have checked my bees, it got me wondering if...

"Whoever told you that queens won't swarm in the first year 'no matter what' needs to pipe down before his head is put in a vice and 'ID!OT' tattooed on his forehead" i will book my 84 year old dad and my 78 year old aunt into the local tattoo saloon this afternoon!

ok so many of you may have the time to undertake full inspections each week regardless of the likelihood of swarms but others may have a little less time - so i guess what i'm asking is what's the likelihood of a 2nd swarm. PS i have noted not to come out with such sweeping statements for fear...

Personally i am always amazed that there are not more problems between neighbours and bee keepers. I would never keep bees in my very large garden, a sting bloody well hurts, by definition many bee keepers will be stirring their bees up on warm days at weekends.

With the fantastic early conditions that we are experiencing, at least in my part of Buckinghamshire, resulting in so many early swarms i was wondering what the view is regarding 2nd swarms. To be clear i am not talking about casts here. I have never had a swarm building up to such a point it...

Yes sorry in the context of boosting I meant sealed brood in the context of queen rearing I meant eggs and young larvae

Sorry I mean frame of eggs and young larvae

thanks for the replies - the frame of broad was inserted on the 26th by 30th they had produced c 8 queen cells. I didnt bother looking any further as to me that was confirmation of queen -ve so put hive back together and left well alone (although i am treating all stock for verroa) so i was...