HA HA HA HA HA, or how to avoid the Woody Woodpecker Show

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

psafloyd

Queen Bee
Joined
Sep 27, 2010
Messages
3,461
Reaction score
4
Location
London/Essex
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
Probably about 5/6 at the moment
I wondered if anyone in the London/South Essex area can advise me on woodpecker protection.

It has not been impressed upon me as being an essential task, so I wondered if there were few examples of woodpecker attack (or even few woodpeckers) in our area.

Any advice greatly received.

Pádraig
 
Well I am in SouthWoodham Ferrers,which is around 12 miles from Chelmsford,
nine miles from Maldon ,I have made up welded galvanised wire Cages,as a friend of mine from near chelmsford who has quite a few (more than 30) colonies had last year several of his colonies attacked,the woodpeckers seem to go where the built in handles are in a national and put a hole in the size of your fist,then eat all the grubs that they can find,meanwhile the hole in the side does the rest and finishes off the colony.
Having my hives in the country I certainly would always protect against woodpeckers.
 
Hmmm. Possibly near enough to be a worry, then. Anyone else?

Have you any pics of your cages?
 
Cover the hives with a wheelie bin.... leaving a small entrance of course..
 
Where we are in Berkshire they are a menace - though to be fair, we have more woodpeckers than blackbirds. Green and spotted. I have made cages out of a sheet of weldmesh. Unless they have got hefty tin snips or a plasma cutter, they aren't getting in.
 
A wheelie bin? Where would i get a wheelie bin?

Got any neighbours you dont like?.....

Ok,, look in the river for some supermarket trollies then.....

50 gal plastic water butts?
 
woodies attack ours in february, so i assume it spring biuld up of larva

i am near the M1 M25 junction in London and at our Association apriary a few miles east then any unprotective cedar hives have been attacked, but ply hives though marked are not that damaged

i use 500mm wide strip of clear damp proof membrane to protect the sides looks less ugly than the black stuff
 

Latest posts

Back
Top