Bee Checkin' Those Beez!

Bee Checkin' Those Beez!

As summer is in full swing be sure to keep an eye on your hives, your mite levels, the activity levels of your hives and space availability. During your hive inspections, check for beetles, mites, ants, wax moths and pest control. Does your hive have enough space for the honey flow? Add a super when your boxes are 80 percent full to allow the hive to grow. Do a mite check to see what your varroa count is. Summer treatments when mite levels are high are imperative before the population decline of fall when bees are at their most vulnerable state. Organic treatments available! Keeping an eye on your honey frames vs. brood frames is also key in making sure your hive is in balance and productive. If your hive is honey bound and has no room for the queen to lay eggs and expand, extract a few frames of honey to make room. Also be sure to maintain logs of your honey and brood frame counts. Record keeping is vital to a successful and healthy apiary setup. You want to keep a close eye on what you are extracting throughout the season so that as the bloom and flow seasons start to diminish, you are leaving enough honey for your bees to overwinter as well as enough room for the brood. Balance is key! We have a shorter season here in the northeast than many parts of the country and we want to make sure the bees come first. Plan to leave at least 100 lbs of honey for your bees to overwinter! For more questions feel free to email us at any time at TheJennyBProject@gmail.com

Have bees but not sure what to do next? Contact us for a hive visit, rates available at TheJennyBProject.com