solid floor or mesh floor for winter?

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I don't bother closing the entrances when vaping from the bottom - very little escapes that way until it has risen as far as the crownboard

 

[Erichalfbee]

I don't bother closing the entrances when vaping from the bottom - very little escapes that way until it has risen as far as the crownboard

Yes that works with a varrox but not a sublimox

 

[krennie]

Where do you live, Krennie?

Folkestone Kent

 

[Poly Hive]

Skimming through this thread I haven't seen anyone ask the basic question. Are your hives elevated on stands or close to the ground? It makes an odds.

PH

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Are your hives elevated on stands or close to the ground? It makes an odds.

Not really - know people who overwinter hundreds of hives on OMF just on pallets and they come through fine.
All mine are on 18" stands - same

 

[krennie]

Skimming through this thread I haven't seen anyone ask the basic question. Are your hives elevated on stands or close to the ground? It makes an odds.

PH

hello . - my hive is a wooden national and is raised on legs - here is an old photo taken earlier this year

 

[madasafish]

Skimming through this thread I haven't seen anyone ask the basic question. Are your hives elevated on stands or close to the ground? It makes an odds.

PH

Mine are all on 25 to 30cm high stands. Hence closed floors.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Folkestone Kent

If your bees were on a windy Welsh hillside they might benefit from having the inspection board slotted in for winter (or an empty super under the BB, or a solid floor) but in warmer Folkstone I don't reckon it's worth the bother.

Glad you posted the photo, which is the opposite of a windy Welsh hillside and shows the hive hemmed in by 6' fence panels and a eucalyptus. I'd be more concerned with loitering damp caused by a lack of airflow, and leave the board out.

In the end you must weigh up the options, follow your instinct and monitor. If you do put in the board, check it every so often: it may be covered with mouldy pollen, mouldy wax and other mouldy mould, in which case take it out.

 

[Poly Hive]

I rest my case people.

PH

 

[krennie]

If your bees were on a windy Welsh hillside they might benefit from having the inspection board slotted in for winter (or an empty super under the BB, or a solid floor) but in warmer Folkstone I don't reckon it's worth the bother.

Glad you posted the photo, which is the opposite of a windy Welsh hillside and shows the hive hemmed in by 6' fence panels and a eucalyptus. I'd be more concerned with loitering damp caused by a lack of airflow, and leave the board out.

In the end you must weigh up the options, follow your instinct and monitor. If you do put in the board, check it every so often: it may be covered with mouldy pollen, mouldy wax and other mouldy mould, in which case take it out.

thankyou for useful advice.