Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: tryintolearn on July 20, 2012, 10:54:31 am

Title: top ventilation
Post by: tryintolearn on July 20, 2012, 10:54:31 am
just reading posts and noticed the top ventilation one...with a weaker number of bees in hive and the beetle problems i have here,  will venting the top give the beetles that much more room to enter?  i take it off during the day when I'm in the yard for maybe an hour and watch it closely but I'm kinda nervous about the beetles...i have 4 beetle barns in the hive and found about 70 in just one the other day...i had a fellow beekeeper tell me the weak colony will send an alarm pheromone a stress pheromone out and the beetles hone in on that.... trying everything i can to keep this hive going....

i just placed another deep on it and manipulated frames took one from bottom to top they are filling some off a cotton flow here but not filling fast as id like....i know they do what they do but I'm anxious about the colony here.............................tryintolearn

                                                 
Title: Re: top ventilation
Post by: AllenF on July 20, 2012, 01:43:20 pm
You are going to be hard pressed to keep beetles out of any hive.   If wax moths can fly in, then the smaller, faster beetle can get right through the front door.   A popped top is not going to hurt much.   
Title: Re: top ventilation
Post by: Sundog on July 20, 2012, 06:09:12 pm
You could...

Make a top spacer section with screen (aluminum) on top to keep the riff-raff out, then prop up the top.  That is what I have on my Lang, above a "standard" top board.  Seems to work pretty well.

I have one that is only 3/4 in thick and another that I use in winter that is about three inches tall, so I can get a feed station under the screen and inside it.  Then you can prop up the top and nothing will get in through there. And when you take the top off you can have fun crushing all the SHBs that can't get in that way.

Also comes in handy when rearranging hive sections to temporarily close the top of a section and still allow air flow.

Have fun!
Title: Re: top ventilation
Post by: Sparky on July 20, 2012, 10:53:00 pm
You could make a inner cover with slots in the sides and put house screen on them so moths and beetles are not able to come in. Here is one of my earlier home made ones that was routed out before the screen was installed. Now I do not take the time to rout the area of the slot out, instead i fold the edges of the screen under so not to poke your hands and staple them on.


http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/7/ventcover4.jpg/ (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/7/ventcover4.jpg/)
Title: Re: top ventilation
Post by: tryintolearn on July 22, 2012, 11:07:15 am
so im ok?  leaving the top slighty ajar
Title: Re: top ventilation
Post by: Nature Coast Beek on July 22, 2012, 11:55:46 am
From my experience this year...

I had a very strong hive that I split, but before I split it I thought that I'd add some top ventilation to "help them out". One of the biggest things I noticed on inspections after that was the increase in SHB. I placed some traps and what not, but was seeing consistent numbers of SHB every inspection. The hive was strong so they had little problem keeping the SHB corralled and what not. I did a split on 7/1 and after doing so I eliminated all the ventilation. My inspections post ventilation, no SHB now. I do also keep my front entrances very small since I'm building bees this year and honey is of little interest. Just what I've experienced with "ventilation".
Title: Re: top ventilation
Post by: Sparky on July 22, 2012, 11:11:32 pm
so im ok?  leaving the top slighty ajar

Yes you can prop the top if you do not mind the moths and shb that get in. One way to reduce the amount of shb that get into the entrance is to turn the entrance reducer with opening up against the bottom box instead of facing the bottom board where they land and run in.
Title: Re: top ventilation
Post by: tryintolearn on July 23, 2012, 09:19:21 am
thamks sparky i think ill try that one
Title: Re: top ventilation
Post by: T Beek on July 23, 2012, 08:34:27 pm
I've used top entrances for the last five or six years and will NEVER go back to bottom entries alone.  I use a 'notched' inner cover (Thanks Frank!!!! in Canada, this forum misses you)) that can be raised (as supers are added) as my colonies grow (a perfect addition  to KYBO IMO).  

I'll only open the bottoms as they get big (or HOT) and ONLY if they are a strong colony and then ONLY open the smallest possible bottom entry.

I also use a separate (medium or deep) box above my inner covers as a feed/ventilation box (it has 4 holes on each side drilled and screened over).  This and using "ALL Mediums" has been a life changing experience as keeping honeybees goes.   8-)  At least for 'this' beek.

That's what WORKS very well for me and mine.  :)  and is presented as absolutely anecdotal at best as is "ALL" the advise provided on this forum.   8-)

It's all just anecdotal and based on personal experience for the most part.

Thankfully I've only seen ONE SHB which came from a package purchased from Texas. 

Wisconsin colonies, regaradless of how they were obtained, and placed in direct sunlight, will not have issues w/ SHB>  HOO-RAY!

t
Title: Re: top ventilation
Post by: Sundog on August 13, 2012, 12:32:12 pm
(http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab218/Sunchaser01/Bee%20Stuff/DSCN1187.jpg)

(Finally took a photo)  The rings on the top board are stains from a top feeder that I used in conjunction with a similar but taller section when I fed them sugar water last winter.  No SHBs or other bugs get in this way.  The hive is two years old and has yet to beard.

Having fun!