Questions and answers from the Beekeeping Community app — beekeepers helping beekeepers, worldwide.
Third year in Kent, four colonies, and I'm annoyed with myself. Two Apiguard trays, 14 days apart, started on the 8th of August and finished on the 5th of September, ekes…
First year in Minnesota, two hives. I extracted four mediums in late August, let the bees clean them for a day, then stacked them in the garage with a lid on top and forg…
Central Texas, twelve colonies. The yellowjackets have been hammering my two weakest hives for three weeks — robbing screens are on and holding — and yesterday I finally …
Third year, NC piedmont, five colonies. I wanted to treat in August but our highs sat in the 90s all month, so I waited. This week the highs finally dropped to 82-84°F an…
Vermont, second year, three hives. Formic Pro came off late August and my verification wash this week says 4, 3 and 5 per 300, so lower but not the under-3 I wanted. A cl…
I've always used the alcohol wash, but two club members swear by sugar rolls and I wanted real numbers, not forum opinions. So last weekend, all eight Oregon colonies: ha…
Third year in the North Carolina piedmont, four hives, and the yellowjackets have hit their stride. During the day the guards handle it fine — I watch them tackle a wasp …
Supers came off my five colonies in Devon last week, all extracted, so Apivar is going in this weekend for the first time — I've used thymol the last three autumns and wa…
Found my weakest colony dead this week — the one I'd been watching since the queen went patchy in July. Post-mortem: maybe two hundred dead bees, a little scattered cappe…
September in Provence means the yellow-legged hornets have found my apiary again. The secondary nests are at full strength now and the hawking has started — hornets hover…
Every spring this forum fills with dead-out posts, and most were decided in September. So here's my list from 22 years and a lot of scraped bottom boards, in order: 1. Va…
Annual tradition, third year running: the end-of-season wash thread. Post your pre-treatment count, what you treated with, and your post-treatment verification wash so we…
Fourteen years in Tuscany, and after watching fluvalinate and coumaphos become expensive placebos across much of Europe, I treat rotation as non-negotiable. My current lo…
Quebec, five hives, well, four now. Found a dead-out this week — colony had been dwindling since July and finally gave out, and by the time I opened it yellowjackets had …
Finished a full Apiguard course on my worst hive (of five) here in the Willamette Valley and did my verification wash yesterday, three weeks after the second tray went on…
Six seasons in Flanders and first time using Apiguard (formic every other year until now, fancied a change while temps suit thymol). First tray went on two weeks ago, sec…
Wasps have gone from background noise to constant siege at my Perthshire apiary this week. Fascinating and grim to watch the difference between colonies. My two strong do…
Pulled the second Apiguard tray last weekend after the full four weeks, waited a few days, then did my recheck wash yesterday. Pre-treatment I was at 8 per 300, now I'm a…
Skåne, 8 years. I've been informally mentoring a neighbour two villages over — second season, two hives, lovely guy, completely allergic to monitoring. His position: "the…
Georgia, 22 years, and this is my first season running oil trays under screened bottoms on all eight hives instead of just the worst two. Since folks ask about SHB every …
Join 12,000+ beekeepers logging hives, asking questions, and mapping forage.
Get the Beekeeping Community app