First open - cross combed mess

Crysalismum · September 21, 2019, 10:54:41 PM

I have opened my hive after winter (snowed until last weekend and rainy yesterday) & it?s a pleasant 21?C & sunny so opened.

Is this just because of the plastic frames (no available timber in ideal size when I needed a new box last) I had some cross combing at the end of winter but they have gone nuts over winter &- I can?t remove anything without destroying the whole structure?

Recommendations?

BeeMaster2 · September 21, 2019, 11:15:20 PM

Crystal,
The easy way would be to leave them in the present box and give them foundation frames to build on. Then later on you can move this box above a queen excluder and eventually remove it.
Another way would be to place the box up side down and push all of the frames out of the box. Then you can cut the comb out, one piece at a time.
Do not do this until it warms up quite a bit.
I would like let it Bee and let it grow. Eventually you can move this box up to the top and they will replace the brood with honey and you can harvest it.
Jim Altmiller

CoolBees · September 22, 2019, 03:32:05 AM

Jim already covered my response. Several options, but the laziest one (my favorite) is to under-super that box all thru the season till it's the top box on a tall stack of boxes. By then it will be just honey, and will be much easier to deal with.

Crysalismum · September 22, 2019, 04:37:37 AM

Thank you- & I never thought to turn the box upside down! I just ended up putting the lid back on outsmarted by 🐝 🐝

I will lift it and put one under. Thanks for helping 👍

Michael Bush · September 23, 2019, 09:47:31 AM

I had a box that looked just like that. All fins, no proper comb...

Crysalismum · September 24, 2019, 06:55:08 AM

How did you manage it?
Was it in plastic too?
Did they sort out on the next frame?

Michael Bush · September 24, 2019, 08:00:50 AM

>How did you manage it?

Scrapped them all off.

>Was it in plastic too?

Yes. Plastic one piece frame/foundation.

>Did they sort out on the next frame?

I often get one fine or a couple of fins, but I was refering to an entire box that looked just like that. Fins between every frame and nothing but fins between every frame. The did not sort it out in that box. The only did one box that way...