mildew inside the cover...

drjeseuss · May 22, 2015, 01:02:07 AM

I have hives with telescoping covers over a typical inner. The inside (bottom) of the telescoping cover has mildew, especially around the edges. The hive has a screen bottom board. They've been capping honey so I know they are pushing a lot of water out, and its been cool at night, so condensation is no surprise. Anyone have any tips for this, from ways to prevent the mildew to dealing with it after? I have a single hive with a screen inner cover and gable roof that isn't having this problem. Is the help from the screen top or the extra airspace of the gable? I'm not excited about replacing all the covers, but also don't want to fight uphill all year.

rwlaw · May 22, 2015, 08:33:40 AM

Popsicle sticks under the inner cover works just fine.

Rurification · May 22, 2015, 08:46:05 AM

I'm over in Greene County and have never been able to prevent mildew from getting any where it wants. I stopped worrying about it. The bees clean up what they need and the mildew on the covers doesn't seem to bother them.

AR Beekeeper · May 22, 2015, 08:54:05 AM

Scrub the mildew with a cleanser and rinse with a strong solution of bleach and water. If possible have the hive in full sun, especially morning sun will help dry the hive. If you will close the hole in the inner cover, and place a piece of Styrofoam on top of the inner cover, the air will not condense on the top but will cool on the side walls and go out of the bottom screen.

drjeseuss · May 22, 2015, 11:09:27 AM

My hives last year had little in the way of upper ventalation, and all had a bad mildew problem inside the hive. This is what prompted me to use a 100% screen inner cover on one. It also has the gable top. No mildew to speak of. I'm hoping it's the screen, which is fairly cheap and easy to produce. The gable top was a pain to make, and I'd rather not change the other hives to these... unless I really need to. I think I'm going to try swapping the standard inner for a screen inner and keeping the telescoping cover to see if that helps. Since it's on the outer and not inside the hive, I can live with it if the bees can, but I feel this is a symptom of a problem that will also lead to early equipment failure. I'll try a few things and see where I end up.

mikecva · May 22, 2015, 01:25:56 PM

I have two screws at one end of my inner cover. They sit up between 3/8 and 1/2". In the spring to fall the screws are on the side facing the boxes causing an upper entrance and extra ventilation. I the winter I simply flip the inner cover over so the gap is between the inner cover and the telescoping outer cover. I normally have little to no mildew. -Mike

Rurification · May 22, 2015, 02:54:33 PM

I have my hives in full sun with full ventilation - and I still have mildew. It's humid here [even in the winter] and there is mildew everywhere. It's not a battle I think worth fighting anymore.

drjeseuss · May 22, 2015, 11:44:24 PM

What's the norm for the telescoping cover? Painted or bare wood in/under?

BeeMaster2 · May 23, 2015, 12:05:19 AM

I paint the outside but not the inside.
Jim

drjeseuss · May 26, 2015, 02:52:19 PM

I cleaned the inside of the telescoping cover, then replaced my inner cover with a fully screened inner. We've had several very humid and rainy days here, though the mildew did not return on this one as it did on another. It appears the larger area for moisture to escape, rather than concentrating it through the smaller hole seems to have solved the issue, or at least helped dramatically. I'll be keeping the telescoping covers, but swapping to the screen inners on all the hives, at least during the warm season. Will this went off too much heat to overwinter in the midwest? I've heard 'cold doesn't kill bees, moisture does'... but there must be a line there somewhere I'd think.