Existing hives are in horrible shape!!!!

[Chris.english70]

My uncle gave me access to 3 existing hives that the family has left.  There has been no housekeeping, the brood box is a disaster and the honey supers he left on to overwinter are now flooded with brood.  I've added a deep brood to one but another I couldn't even budge the super and have great concerns about rolling the queen the way they are built up and cross combed.  Any suggestions? I added a deep brood box above the honey super on the one I couldn't get apart in hopes that if they draw it out I can move it to the bottom and start cleaning from the top down?

Any pointers would be appreciated. I can see down into them a bit and see lots of drone cells and actually saw an old (discolored) queen cell.  I don't know how many years it has been since the brood box has been touched!

[little john]

I wouldn't do anything drastic for another 4 or 5 weeks, that is - until the season is in full swing.

If - as you say - they've been neglected for years, then another month isn't going to make a great deal of difference.  Then you can pull the boxes apart - and even use cheese-wire to separate them if you really have to - and in the process, should the queen then be injured or killed (unlikely, but always possible) - then a new queen can be created without too much drama.

With regard to brood in the supers - that's just something you're going to have to live with for now - so treat them as if they were brood frames.  When the time is right, you can put them above a queen excluder in order to clear them.  In general terms, I'd suggest you don't rush to sort this lot out - I'm guessing there's quite a lot of work to do, so tackle a little at a time, and if one lot of bees start to get cranky, then move on to another hive.

Best of luck - keep us posted as to progress ...
LJ

[Chris.english70]

I guess I forgot to mention I also inherited a bumper crop of hive beetles?

Gonna order screen bottoms and beetle traps..

[little john]

Oh boy - that's bad news ....

I know absolutely nothing about beetles - there are plenty of folk on here who do.  But - sounds like you're up to speed on what to do with them. 

Hopefully they'll never make it into Britain - well, I can dream ...

LJ

[BeeMaster2]

I had to deal with SHBs from day one. I recommend you use an oil tray below a screen bottom board. I was killing thousands of SHBs in every hive every month with the SBBs my third year I had 12 hives and a close neighbor had 5 hives and we actually decimated the local population. For several years we both have been running dry trays because the numbers are way down.
Jim

[BeeMaster2]

Beetle traps are only good for small numbers of SHBs.
Jim

[Blacksheep]

i USE THE SMALL FLASHING STRIPS AROUND THE TOP[ EDGE OF THE BOTTOM BOARDS AND NO BEETLES!I f you use the strips you must put them on all your hives since they can't get into the one with the strips they will go next door!Thes trips are like a foundation strip on a house for termites but it is only 1 inch wide and the flange is bend down ward to about a 45 degree angle and it is staples to the edge of the flange on the bottom board.I hope I made that clear to understand.
I also use the micro fiber cloth on the top rear edge of the frames.When the bees chase the beetles to thre top of the box they get caught in the cloth.It does work!

[GSF]

I haven't used the micro fiber cloth yet but I have a friend who swears by them.

[BeeMaster2]

I tried a good good micro cloth that I took from the kitchen drawer and bunch of dryer clothes and the beetles walked all over them. A few had a hard time but most did not care.
Not sure what type you are using that works so well.
Jim