screen bottom board - removal for ventilation?

swarmswapper · June 27, 2016, 05:39:57 PM

seems like a common sense thing to do in hot weather but thought I should throw it out there ...

I am a newbee so .. I have screened bottom boards on all my hives, on these really hot days I have been removing the 'inspection board" from the stand to allow increased air flow.

I have noticed however the presence of ants scouring these boards for pollen etc as well as the occasional earwig.. is this a concern to remove these boards during the daytime ( I am replacing them at night when earwigs and moths are more active)

thx
john

iddee · June 27, 2016, 07:08:03 PM

They should ONLY be installed when doing a mite count. They should be in the barn the rest of insect flying season. They make a great place to raise wax moths and SHB in the debris that falls.

Nugget Shooter · June 27, 2016, 07:50:01 PM

Lots of different opinions and methods used by these good folks so will be several different opinions. That said I am in AZ and the temp here was 107 today with 35% humidity and I used SBB, but so far have always left them (bottom boards) closed and open them up several times a month long enough to help in monitoring activity and unwanted critters in the hive by reading the debris. New beek here as well

tjc1 · June 27, 2016, 08:11:59 PM

Quote from: iddee on June 27, 2016, 07:08:03 PM
They make a great place to raise wax moths and SHB in the debris that falls.

Iddee, maybe this answers a question I've been wondering about. Until I take the boards out when it gets warmer, I have sometimes noticed wax moth feces here and there on the board, but have never seen any evidence of them in the hive. I also have occasionally found a wax moth cocoon on the wood frame of the base between the screen and the board when I've removed the board to inspect and or clean it. So, maybe they are living in that space and eating the stuff on the board....?

iddee · June 27, 2016, 08:42:25 PM

No maybe about it. They are, and unless you do like nugget shooter and clean it several times a month, they will get even worse. I don't go into my hives until I have a particular reason to, so some may not get opened for a couple of months. That would give me a great crop of pests if I used closed SBB.

Psparr · June 27, 2016, 08:58:59 PM

I have a screened bottom on my original hive that is going on five years now. I pull the insert out about once a month if that, to see what's on there and I scrape it off.

Nugget Shooter · June 27, 2016, 09:29:11 PM

Quote from: iddee on June 27, 2016, 08:42:25 PM
No maybe about it. They are, and unless you do like nugget shooter and clean it several times a month, they will get even worse. I don't go into my hives until I have a particular reason to, so some may not get opened for a couple of months. That would give me a great crop of pests if I used closed SBB.

Gonna agree here and perhaps some of the lessons I have not learned yet or AZ is different in its hot dry desert environment, but part of my newbee plan has included debris digging and helps me learn. I would also be uncomfortable leaving them with bottom in without cleaning for several months for the reason mentioned. and though never have seen a SHB likely due to heat we do have wax worms and they do try to settle into the closed bottom here....

Learning for me includes reading the bottom board and you can actually learn much from wax, poo, and other stuff

swarmswapper · June 27, 2016, 09:35:58 PM

thanks for the input gents, I appreciate the advice.

My plan was to continue removing in the heat (I do not expect to hit 107 Nugget shooter - today we were around 90 and that's plenty hot enough for me) with only a handful of hives close to home this is not a big deal .. yet

I have been inspecting debris and cleaning them off as was mentioned - I feel this provides a bit of a non intrusive peek into what is going on in the hive as well ...

thx
jd

heidi.k.cummins · June 27, 2016, 09:36:16 PM

Thank you so much for this post, I just ran outside like a crazy woman and removed the trays from the screened bottom boards. I am on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the heat is nuts right now. Thanks again it makes perfect sense for it to be removed and replaced to conduct mite and beetle counts. We clean them every inspection but the muck that was on the feral cut out we did last week was scary definitely a place for nasties to hide out.

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GSF · June 28, 2016, 09:42:32 AM

Heidi, yall are like us as far as heat/humidity. Look for them to start bearding on the outside of the hives.

KeyLargoBees · June 28, 2016, 10:17:30 AM

Heidi.....trays are different than boards...especially if you run oil in them. But yes if you run dry trays they can provide breeding grounds for critters.

I have just boards and if I put them in any months besides Dec-Feb the girls let me know.....will go from no beard in the evenings to one that touches the ground. They do NOT like to be closed up inside on evenings with 75-80% humidity LOL.

heidi.k.cummins · June 28, 2016, 11:12:36 PM

The very strong hive had been bearding and washboarding constantly, they appear to be doing better since removing the tray. Thanks guys!

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Psparr · June 28, 2016, 11:47:47 PM

Quote from: heidi.k.cummins on June 28, 2016, 11:12:36 PM
The very strong hive had been bearding and washboarding constantly, they appear to be doing better since removing the tray. Thanks guys!

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I would question everything we think we know.
I'm not saying don't do certain things, just learn from what you do.

If they aren't bearding, and that looks good, they may be in the hive fighting to correct the "problem" created by too much ventilation. Who knows. If the hive seems to grow and looks healthy because of it great. Just take everything with a grain of salt that's all.

mtnb · June 29, 2016, 12:08:32 AM

Up here, my bees hate the SBB completely opened. I tried it one time last year. I went out at around 2am to check on them and they were making such an awful sound that I immediately closed it again the next day. But we don't ever get really nice warm nights. Maybe for a week or two each year at the most. Just the other night it got down to 34*F. I switched to all solid bottoms and they seem to like it better. Mine never beard from heat. Kinda wish they would cuz I think it looks cool.

Nugget Shooter · June 29, 2016, 10:20:18 AM

Quote from: Psparr on June 28, 2016, 11:47:47 PM
Quote from: heidi.k.cummins on June 28, 2016, 11:12:36 PM
The very strong hive had been bearding and washboarding constantly, they appear to be doing better since removing the tray. Thanks guys!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
I would question everything we think we know.
I'm not saying don't do certain things, just learn from what you do.

If they aren't bearding, and that looks good, they may be in the hive fighting to correct the "problem" created by too much ventilation. Who knows. If the hive seems to grow and looks healthy because of it great. Just take everything with a grain of salt that's all.

Great answer.....