And More Winter Prep

We're seeing the last few sunny days for awhile, and it poured rain last week, so it definitely feels like winter is on its way, and I am taking the steps I think I need to get these hives ready for winter.

Each year I have in mind what I think the "ideal" setup for winter will be, and this year is no different. But I've revised some thinking about it, and much of that has to do with trying to simplify the process (and lessen the time), as well as eliminate the unnecessary. I have 35 hives right now to manage- its a lot of work for one person (or is until I figure out how to make it even simpler).

I have pulled all my hopeful Knotweed supers off- oddly, only two hives bothered to collect any surplus- supers on others were empty. A veiled relief- as I lack time right now to be extracting more. So almost all hives are set up exactly the same way, except for the first year hives. And pretty much, with a few modifications, this will be how I winter them.

Its fairly standard:

1. At the bottom is a screened bottom board with a pull out mite board. These are sort of vestiges of the olden days when we thought they did any good, now they seem unnecessary, except for the minor plus of being able to look at mite dropsn and detritus. But since its not the way one counts mites anymore, and doesn't help to lessen them, its not really useful and I could see not using these anymore. None of the first year hives have them. One plus, lest I forget, which I really like, is that they don't have to be tilted to drain. One thing I am considering changing, is eliminating the landing board. 
2. On top of that I have a slatted board. Most hives have these. I can't say if they do any good for sure- but I am sure of one thing: which is I think I see a lot more brood happening in the lowest super than I used to. One wierd thing about them is that the bees now all enter on the sides, as they climb the walls- the slats are too high to reach. I can't see why this would be a plus, and maybe its a minus. Not sure if this is essential or helpful.
3. Then I have 3 Western Supers for brood boxes. Two really, are for brood, but sometimes all three. I rarely move them around anymore (thankyou slatted boards maybe?), and minimize fussing with them. This year all hives have seemed to do well, and I am happy with these- better than deeps for sure.
4. On top of these- right now anyway- I have a Miller feeder, and I am feeding 2:1 syrup. I just today mixed 170 pounds of sugar, which I think allows me one feeding for all the hives- though probably like a gallon each. I built these feeders- they have the whole on one end, so if the hive is tilted correctly, the bees get every drop. They pretty much suck down a gallon each night.
5. On top of the feeder, I have a 4 or 5" deep ventilation box, with a 3/8" spacer on the bottom, a screen, and loose shavings above that. I think this is key- and I''ll discuss why below.
6. On top of the vent box I have a telescoping lid, usually I stick a push pin in the vent box on one end to keep the lid more open so it can breath. Lately, I have been finding Marmalated Stink Bugs in these boxes- gross.

That's the layout. For winter- after feeding and my last mite treatment- I plan on doing the following:

1. I'll top of the shavings in the vented boxes. Kill any Stink bugs. Add push pins to ensure good venting and a sloping roof to the back.
2. I'll install an "ell" flashing, like 2x2 or something, over the entry, to provide a dry entry. This is to allow eliminating the large metal roofs I put on each year- and which are somewhat a pain and superfulous.
3. I'll install a entrance reducer under this flashing.
4. I will wrap all hives in black heavy duty weed cloth. I am of the opinion that this is a superior method, for a few reasons- but I also doubt very much its essential for bee health (and I am a total non-believer in the pointless practice of insulating hives). The black wrap is a time tested method of ensuring that hives can warm up in the winter qiuickly when the sun peeks out (arguably a good thing, but I think it is), they provide a wind screen to any cracks in the hive, but breath, and lastly, they protect my equipment from both rain (when I eliminate the roofs) and splashing from the ground. The final is a real plus.
5. Lastly, I will be prepared to emergency feed my hives with syrup- or dry sugar- through the screen of the vent box. I originally planned on doing this when i built the boxes, and had some ideas of how to do it- but instead, built feeder trays below. These seemed to work really well, and allowed for a great cluster of bees. But they are a pain- and I can't attest to their value for sure. And it was a scramble getting them off in Spring each year to beat the burr comb and egg laying. So this year, I forgo them and will convert them into feeders or something.

I've mentioned before in this blog how great a thing I think feeding thick syrup in early Spring is, if done through a vented box. The usually reason not to do this- and to feed dry sugar instead- is that its too cold- bees won't take it- and it adds moisture.

What I found instead was that by using pint jars and burying them in the shavings, so their holed lids sit right on the screen at the center and is easy to access, is that syrup stays warm- warm like 70 degrees in winter. And they suck it down when needed.

I'm experimenting with this- and will probably still provide a dry sugar back up, but I'm not sure yet.

I think that's the entirety of my plan this year- super simple- or at least, simpler than past years. I will do one more mite treatment (my hives did SO much better this year- but I did see a good kill on my last treatment), and a OAV treatment or two in early January. I am also considering overwintering with blue towels with OA, as I did last year. Something amazing happened- I had zero mite count until Summer- and this is my best guess- hard to not want to do again, though its not recommended by anyone.