Using a super as an apiguard eke

[dolbz]

I'm planning on treating with apiguard but don't have an eke. Do I really need to purchase one of the apiguard ekes or could I just leave an empty super above?

 

[Heather]

You will lose some precious heat with that- it only needs a strip of wood about 1" depth and width cut into 4 pieces (nailed) to frame the outside edge of a brood box.

 

[rae]

They will build brace comb in the super. Mine did exactly this last year - I now have some small ekes.

 

[Ivor Kemp]

There is a picture someone left for me at http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6484

 

[Mike a]

I've used Apigard trays under the roof before without a crown board as most roof designs have a good 20-25mm space. Now I use an empty super with a crown board over the top and often feed at the same time during September and October if required.

 

[Heather]

Mike - are you meaning Apiguard and feed at the same time - as I was advised treat then feed as they dont tread the paste through so much as too busy on syrup so less effective. Maybe others think differently...

 

[Polyanwood]

I sometimes treat with Apiguard and feed, especially if I am worried that I am running out of time. Seems OK. If I don't have an eke I sometimes put the Apiguard on the very middle of the brood nest on top of the frames and the feeder a bit to the side directly on the frames in a super with a crownboard on top.

 

[milkermel]

I'm planning on treating with apiguard but don't have an eke. Do I really need to purchase one of the apiguard ekes or could I just leave an empty super above?

Nah make one, if I can do it then anyone can!! used a super when drilling together to make sure it was square and flat. cost me about £2 it think!

 

[oliver90owner]

Yep, as others say. 4 pieces @ (460 - thickness)mm and likely good enough to staple them together with a staple gun if no screws handy. Nothing fancy, just functional.

Pilot holes if you screw, or the wood may split.

Regards, RAB

 

[Mike a]

Mike - are you meaning Apiguard and feed at the same time - as I was advised treat then feed as they dont tread the paste through so much as too busy on syrup so less effective. Maybe others think differently...

Its a very long story but in an ideal world, I would of treated then feed or the other way round, but last year was very strange and it caught me and many others out down in the South as we had an Indian summer through to mid October.

 

[Arfermo]

There is only one problem with using a shallow eke. If you have taken off some supers immediately before applying the Apiguard, you might well find that the bees will be excessivly crowded into the decreased space. For that reason, using a super as an eke for at least the first stage of the treatment could allow the hive numbers to decline sufficiently for them to manage. You would then need the shallow eke to proceed with the second stage and a shallow eke is about a simple a thing to make, such that no self respecting beek would admit to being unable to make one in a matter of half an hour or less. All in all, despite the super volume being a trifle larger than absolutely necessary, it is not too critical if the ambient temperature is reasonably normal for the time of year, bearing in mind that the mesh floor needs to have the tray inserted and any space above stuffed with foam and the front entrance reduced too with no ventilation holes up top either, so that the maximum heat retention is achieved. At this point in time in particular, it would not disadvantage the bees unduly but leave the Apiguard treatment until September and the situation could be quite different, such that the Apiguard would not work well enough to be effective. Your choice.