Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => FARMING & COUNTRY LIFE => Topic started by: Brian D. Bray on November 16, 2006, 10:04:46 pm
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The 80 Mph winds here in Western Washington have put me out of the bee business for the remainder of the winter. The new housing development up the hill from me (and across the creek) has one road built so that the wind coming down the hill was aimed at my bee yard.
Between the wind, rain, and temperature all I have left is a few boxes and a few frames that might be salvaged.
The startlings and crows seemed to make short work of the bees, comb, and honey that got blown about.
But since I was planning on getting some packages in the spring to up the size of the yard, I'll now by 6 packages instead of 4.
The poll is meant to give me a laugh after my loss.
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Brian, sorry hear of your loss. :-x Here in florida those are hurricane force winds, are the hives the only damage sustained?
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that sucks. that's what i was worried about, but we made it through. it was dumb luck and the desire for winter sun that kept me from putting my hives near any trees. other than that, tie straps and rr ties were what saved my one little hive....
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That's a real rip. Sorry to hear of that. We all know how much money it can be to have to buy packages and build new equipment.
Fortunately we don't get taht kind of wind here in Northern Utah, but I have been planning on planting an evergreen hedgeline around the beeyard. Didn't get to it this year. Perhaps it should go on the priority list for the spring.
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Brian, that is absolutely horrible about the devastation to your colonies. How many did you have/lose? We live about 45 km north of Vancouver and man did we feel the effects of this hideous storm that hit you as well. Our wind was awful too. It was supposed to begin on Monday night around midnight, but as of Tuesday night still had not surfaced. Wednesday the winds and rain did come in full force. Very, very strong. On Wednesday about 5:00 PM we lost power, as did a myriad of people in the Lower Mainland. The power was not restored until about 4:00 Thursday (yesterday). It was very dark and cold. Fortunately we did not have freezing temperatures and the house temperature did not dip below 14 degrees, celsius. We are always prepared for the power outages, have oil lamps, kerosene burner stove and other things. The bees faired out OK, it is still raining hard, but nothing blew over or was damaged. I was grateful that I had gone out and put the heavy rocks on the lids though. When I hear of decimated hives, it is a very sad thing, I know the bees are just insects, but picturing what they must have gone through is heart rendering. Good luck is trying to see if you can piece anything back together at all. Please let us all know what happened in the end. Cindi
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We can get some nasty 'straight line' winds through out the year. Fortunately three hives are against buildings and two are in a natural wind break. I have metal tent stakes and tie-out augers for pets that work real well. This and bricks/stones help a lot. I hope they are good up to a tornado. But nature has a way of putting us in our place and slapping us down when we need it. So I'll try and keep from getting too cocky and hope for the best.
David