No products in the cart.
Podcast
Q & A – Setting up a Hive – KM147
This is Episode One hundred and forty seven of our beekeeping show – Setting up a Hive. In this show we answer questions about Setting up a Hive, Preparing for Winter and dealing with Nasty Bees.
We are Gary and Margaret, We are kiwimana.
kiwimana are beekeepers who keep bees on the Wild West Coast of Auckland in New Zealand. We love to teach about beekeeping. We sell beekeeping supplies and share information to help you keep honey bees organically.
Every new subscriber that joins our free beekeeping newsletter is asked “What’s Your biggest Beekeeping problem”.
In this show we endeavour to answer some of your burning questions.
Thanks for joining us today, we appreciate that you have taken the time to listen.
This show was made with the Help of our supporters.
This Months Questions
Setting up my hive
Setting up my hive correctly, and siting it
William Finch
Four hour drive
Availability of nucs and queens: a four+ hour drive is so far!
Sadie
If you are in New Zealand, avoid driving a join a local Swarm list HERE
Preparing for Winter
Getting my hive through the winter.
Tiffany
Wintering down a hive, wondering. if I’ve done enough to get the girls through winter
Links Mentioned
- How to Prepare a Beehive for Winter In New Zealand
- Our Hive Mat with the Small Slot
- Robbing Screen – Stop Robbing Wasps and Bees
Getting Hands on Experience
Getting hands on experience in working with bees.
Andy Cockcroft
Find at our Amazing Beekeepers Club Map HERE
Response About on Handling Nasty Bees
We got an answer from an unknown beekeeper, this is in response to Alan’s question from KM143
A good way to do this I was shown by an old time Beekeeper (back in the 1950s was to cut a square of heavy cardboard big enough to cover the super top.
Method: As soon as you take off the lid and cover board place the cardboard over the super.
Next slide the board across to expose the outside frame. Remove this one and place against the hive wall. Move the board again to expose the second frame and examine, replace in the hive. Repeat this for the next 3 frames then replace the outside frame. Now do the same on the other half of the super.
Keeping the frames covered at all times helps keep the Bees in the hive as you examine each frame. If windy it might pay to place a light weight on the board to stop it blowing off the super. Make sure as you slide the board you don’t lift it as this will agitate them. The true and tried way of course is to replace the Queen with a new young one.
Unknown
Girls don’t want me around
Currently my biggest problem is knowing what to do when the girls don’t want me around and let me know with their tails.
Currently I walk away but this can be half way through a hive inspection so I have to find the courage to go back to put the hive back together and leave them in peace.
Peter Hernaman
Want to be part of the next show?
Well that is our ideas. We hope you enjoyed this Q & A Show. Will be back in a couple of weeks with a new show for you. If you can add to the conversation as well, please comment below.
Have a question, hit that Tell Us Button.
Show Times
- Setting up a Hive 00:02:14
- Four hour drive 00:06:33
- Preparing for Winter 00:09:44
- Getting Hands on Experience 00:13:39
- Response About on Handling Nasty Bees 00:15:57
- Girls don’t want me around 00:19:03
- End of the Show 00:22:37
Media Credits
- Jazz guitar #5 109bpm by Sub-d via FreeSound
- cl_funky_b1 by craqs via FreeSound.org
- Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
- Blues Riff in G (Nylon) by FullMetalJedi via FreeSound.org
