Can You Check Too Frequently?

FrogPond · May 23, 2005, 07:41:45 PM

OK, this might be a silly question, but is there such a thing as checking a hive too often? One of my hives seems sort of week and I am not seeing much brood... I installed the three packages at the same time and one is lagging. But I am not sure if I should (could?) check every day to see if the bees are coming along. I am pretty slow at checking and I want to make sure the queen is in there - or not. On the other hand, I do not want to pester them and cause them to do some odd behavior. Comments appreciated.

lee · May 23, 2005, 08:02:30 PM

your bees did the same thing my bees did. i installed 3 packages at the same time just like you did all are doing good but one of them here is a pic of the one that is lagging . this hive must bee a bunch of bums :lol:

SherryL · May 23, 2005, 08:04:45 PM

Yep, you can definitely check too frequently. This topic was just discussed not too long ago (maybe try doing a search, or just look back a page or two), but everytime we open the hives, smoking, jostling frames, ect., we're setting the girls back days.

I try to take a look once a week - later in the summer as I get busy with things, sometimes that week slips to 9 or 10 days, but if you don't get in there often ENOUGH then you can start running into burr comb problems, and issues with queenlessness, ect. that you might have been able to avoid or detect sooner if you're not getting in there often enough (I'm speaking of those that say I put them in in the spring, and take the honey in the fall).

This is only my second season with hives, so I'm in no way an expert, but I'm sure some of the seasoned members on the board would advise the same.

SherryL · May 23, 2005, 08:05:49 PM

BTW Charlie, took a look at your blog last night, what a wonderful place you have there - makes me happy just seeing the pics!

leominsterbeeman · May 23, 2005, 10:18:50 PM

Once a week is enough.

How often would you like it if someone tore the roof off your house, blew smoke on you and re-arranged the furniture?

There is a lot you can learn from just watching from the outside.

Counting take-offs and landings;

seeing drones

Bringing back pollen

Signs of robbing

Smell

Looking for chilled brood/larvae

Hive debris

Mouses/mice/Moose

Jerrymac · May 24, 2005, 12:03:47 AM

meeses?

BigRog · May 24, 2005, 12:34:02 AM

Someone has to say it
I hate those meese's to pieces

BRaawwhahahahaha

thegolfpsycho · May 24, 2005, 12:37:33 AM

BAHAHAHAAHA... I wanted to... but .... I.... was... um.... chicken! bahahaahahaha

FrogPond · May 24, 2005, 09:29:23 PM

I am pretty new to this and appreciate all the help. My hives came with a moose/meese restrictor, so I am safe there. Anything else I should know?
:lol:

Finsky · May 25, 2005, 07:35:39 AM

Quote from: leominsterbeemanOnce a week is enough.

How often would you like it if someone tore the roof off your house, blew smoke on you and re-arranged the furniture?

There is a lot you can learn from just watching from the outside.

Counting take-offs and landings;

seeing drones

Bringing back pollen

Signs of robbing

Smell

Looking for chilled brood/larvae

Hive debris

Mouses/mice/Moose

Quite an odd list to spend time? I prefer to look inside.

I use to look, are they carrying honey, pollen, from where?

I do not watch robbing. Hive must be so strong that it defence it's hive.

Chilled brood ? Not in Finland. Never seen. But I have seen holes in brood frames.

Debris? Un necessary to look after.

Mice. Cant help watching.

burny · May 25, 2005, 07:41:31 AM

good info. i check ours (internaly disassemble) as little as possible and always have a clear understanding of what im doing/looking for. always do a little cleaning when you do go in. unless something is screwed up be as respecfull of thier home as possible. :D

burny

burny · May 25, 2005, 07:44:57 AM

whats the problem wid mice ? they eat honey? make mess ? chuckum out!

b

Michael Bush · May 25, 2005, 10:09:44 AM

>whats the problem wid mice ? they eat honey? make mess ? chuckum out!

They move in during the winter and kill hives. Eat the bees and the honey and the brood until there is nothing left but wax debris and mouse stink. I used to loose five or six hives to them every winter in every yard. I went to top entrances on most of them and none of those got mice. But I still lost about three last winter to mice at my outyard where I didn't get all the bottom entrances closed. I had a nuc that I thought the entrance was high enough to keep them out. I was wrong. Nothing left at all except old cocoons (from the combs they ate), chewed up wooden frames and a mouse nest. It was a styrofoam nuc and the mice REALLY seemed to like it.

Finsky · May 25, 2005, 11:09:17 AM

Quote from: Michael BushIt was a styrofoam nuc and the mice REALLY seemed to like it.

I have had since 1987 stryrofoam hives and I have only one mouse made hole in th wall.

My friend bought his first stryrofoam hives last autumn and he has hives 2 km from me in the forest. In six hives mouses had gone in biting the walls.

More trouble mouses cause when they are locked in my store during winter. I have brick house but somehow someone find his way to my store. Ouside of storeroom I catch many mouses. They climp to second floor via outer wall and come in through eaves.

Barny · May 25, 2005, 11:37:01 AM

I have field mice and rats that love to make nests in my hives. I think that the top entrance during winter would be a great fix to the moose, er mice. My mice make nice warm homes out of cotton and, like micheal bush said leave "mouse stink" everywhere. They also chewed up some of my pallets and brood supers beyond repair. :x :evil:

lively Bee's · May 25, 2005, 11:58:47 AM

Frogpond,

If the queen is not laying a good patteren then you may have a bad queen. I bought 12 packages this year 11 were as good and gold and top notch queens 1 queen is not worth a heel of beens she lays a poor patteren and has VERY mean off sping and just is a very poor queen.

So here is what I called my supplier and told them the problem I had and they shipped me a new queen at no charge.

She could be poorly mated. This could also be your same problem.

Thank you
Keith

lively Bee's · May 25, 2005, 04:57:36 PM

Frogpond,

If the queen is not laying a good patteren then you may have a bad queen. I bought 12 packages this year 11 were as good as gold and top notch queens 1 queen is not worth a heel of beens she lays a poor patteren and has VERY mean off sping and just is a very poor queen.

So here is what I called my supplier and told them the problem I had and they shipped me a new queen at no charge.

She could be poorly mated. This could also be your same problem.

Thank you
Keith

Jerrymac · May 25, 2005, 05:00:37 PM

Now that is weird. :?

Same post about 5 hours apart???

You been nipping at the bottle :shock:

lively Bee's · May 25, 2005, 08:31:48 PM

hmmmm Now how did I do that :?:
I dont know

taw · May 26, 2005, 12:43:49 AM

Quote from: Michael Bush>whats the problem wid mice ? they eat honey? make mess ? chuckum out!

They move in during the winter and kill hives. Eat the bees and the honey and the brood until there is nothing left but wax debris and mouse stink. I used to loose five or six hives to them every winter in every yard. I went to top entrances on most of them and none of those got mice. But I still lost about three last winter to mice at my outyard where I didn't get all the bottom entrances closed. I had a nuc that I thought the entrance was high enough to keep them out. I was wrong. Nothing left at all except old cocoons (from the combs they ate), chewed up wooden frames and a mouse nest. It was a styrofoam nuc and the mice REALLY seemed to like it.

I have slatted racks in my hives (right above the screened bottom board. They are supposed to help curb the mouse problem (or at least keep them out of the brood chamber) and give the bees space (reduce swarming).

Anyone have good or bad experience with them? And yeah, I know this is drifting off the original topic. :)