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Author Topic: Okay, varroa screen on, What next?  (Read 11860 times)

Offline yoderski

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« on: May 29, 2006, 11:57:26 pm »
I was able to get our varroa screens on today with the help of my son, but realized too late that I didn't want to trap the hundred or so bees under the screen by shutting off the old hive entrance.  Thinking that later would be better, I came back to the hive in the afternoon, where I find that now instead of hundred, it is more like a thousand in that small space where the mites are beginning to drop.....So now what do I do?  go through the whole process again and this time brush them all out, or wait until they vacate the premises or will they keep using that space forever?
Jon Y.
Atmore, AL

Offline Finsky

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2006, 12:14:01 am »
Now it is not time to sieve mites  :P

If you have a lot mites, here is method how to catch 95% of mites  away  from colony with drone brood.  Spring and summer is difficult time to cure varroa because mites are mostly under brood caps.  

 http://www.xs4all.nl/~jtemp/dronemethod.html

In Autumn and in early winter you may use chemicals.

You may open drone pupae and look, hor much you see mites.
.

Offline SherryL

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2006, 12:32:34 am »
Hi Jon,

I don't have a screened bottom board, so I'm not quite picturing what your talking about, but it sounds like your field bees are not making it back into the hive, but being trapped under the screen?  

I'd probably remove the screen and start over.  I suppose eventually the bees would figure it out, but if they're still under there in the morning then you might want to try it again.

sherry

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2006, 01:51:08 am »
Put a spacer around the varroa screen so that the entrance stays open.  I keep a handful of 3/8 inch slats I cut from a 1x4 handy, you never know when they'll come in handy.  Then a few minutes of cut and fit and you're back in business/
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Offline Finsky

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2006, 02:00:49 am »
What do you do with that varroa screen?

Online Michael Bush

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2006, 08:19:21 am »
>I was able to get our varroa screens on today with the help of my son, but realized too late that I didn't want to trap the hundred or so bees under the screen by shutting off the old hive entrance.

I'm having trouble picturing what your intentions are and what your Screened Bottom Board looks like or if it's a "guy's insert" or what.  Are these commercial Screened Bottom Boards?  I've never seen one where there wasn't an entrance.  I closed all mine off, but that was with the tray in and a top entrnace.

> Thinking that later would be better, I came back to the hive in the afternoon, where I find that now instead of hundred, it is more like a thousand in that small space where the mites are beginning to drop.....

How are they trapped here?  I don't understand why there isn't still an entrance where you always had the entrnace.  But if some are confused and are under the screen, you can put the tray in.  If they are trapped between the tray and the screen you can remove the tray.

>So now what do I do? go through the whole process again and this time brush them all out, or wait until they vacate the premises or will they keep using that space forever?

They shouldn't be in that space.  You should still have an entrance where there was always an entrance.  If you have that there should be no significant nubmer of bees on the bottom.  If there are put a tray in.  If you don't have a tray, make one out of cardboard.

Does this set on top of the old bottom board?  Does it make the entrance on the opposite side?  If it does then you need to turn the bottom baord 180 degrees so the new entrance faces the same direction as the old entrance.  With some screens this means that the old bottom board is facint the opposite direction with the intent that you can slip a sticky board under the screen.

If you're trying to move to a top entrance, I would not do that at the same time as converting to a SBB.  I'd close the regular bottom board off first and when they are using the top entrance, then put the SBB on.
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Offline yoderski

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #6 on: May 30, 2006, 09:33:09 am »
I probably didn't explain myself very much.  I bought the screened  board from  Betterbee, and when you put in on top of the bottom board, you have a new entrance on top of the screen.  However, there is the opening where the tray is supposed to go that I left in the front of the hive.  I guess the problem would be solved if I turned the whole screen around and had the opening in the back like they recommended.  It doesn't seem to be a good idea to have a lot of bees in the area where the mites are dropping down, so maybe I will just to switch it around.  Finsky, I just got these hives this spring, so I am trying to put a few things in place to help with mites.  I do have the drone frame in each hive which I replace every month, and so far have not noticed a lot of mites.  I will figure something out.  Thanks for your help!
Jon Y.
Atmore, AL

Offline fuzzybeekeeper

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2006, 01:08:26 pm »
yoderski,

If I am understanding you correctly, you left your old bottom board in place and put the screened bottom board on top of it.  You now have two entrances but only one goes into the hive.  The bottom entrance just goes into the space between the bottom boards.  Correct?

The screened bottom board is designed to be your ONLY bottom board.  Take the old bottom board away.  The screened bottom board should be open to the ground below.  The mites fall through the screen and all the way to the ground.  They cannot climb back up the 12 to 18 inches to the hive and then they die.  The only entrance is above the screened bottom board.  The old bottom board is no longer used.

Let me know if this is not the case.

Fuzzybeekeeper

Offline yoderski

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #8 on: May 30, 2006, 06:48:27 pm »
You are right, I left the old bottom board in place.  But I thought on the pictures they showed, that was where the tray to monitor the mite fall was placed....Or am i wrong on that?
Jon Y.
Atmore, AL

Offline SherryL

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2006, 07:17:10 pm »
Jon, maybe if you turned the old bottom board around, so you could slide a tray in from the back?  I think you'd still maybe want to run a piece of trim or something to block the opening, but you can easily work it any time if it's at the back of the hive and not the front.

Did your bees find their way back in by morning?

sherry

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #10 on: May 31, 2006, 02:24:45 am »
I looked in my betterbee catalog.  It has the notation--reversed for illustration purposes.  So the bottom board has to be reversed in order for the systemn to work properly.
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Online Michael Bush

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #11 on: May 31, 2006, 08:11:05 am »
However you have to do it for the insert that you have, you need the opening to the hive facing the same direction as before you put the insert on.  For many of the inserts that means you turn the bottom board 180 degrees.  This was designed so you could slip a sticky board in from the back.

Personally I would buy a SBB with a tray.  The main purpose of a SBB, in my opinion, is ventilation and as an insert you can't open it wide open in the heat.  I don't think it makes much difference on the Varroa mites, as far as getting rid of them, but it provides an easy method to monitor them.
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Offline yoderski

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #12 on: June 01, 2006, 08:59:33 pm »
I got the bottom boards turned around, and that seems to work fine.  They don't have the tendency to cluster at the old "deadend" entrance because it is behind the hive.  Eventually, I will put a tray in to monitor the mite burden, but so far, everything seems to be going fine.
Jon Y.
Atmore, AL

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #13 on: June 01, 2006, 11:03:47 pm »
A simple tray or sticky board is Aluminum foil with Crisco on it.
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Offline TwT

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #14 on: June 02, 2006, 01:07:00 am »
Quote from: yoderski
I got the bottom boards turned around, and that seems to work fine.  They don't have the tendency to cluster at the old "deadend" entrance because it is behind the hive.  Eventually, I will put a tray in to monitor the mite burden, but so far, everything seems to be going fine.


dang if I only read this post today I could have help also, my SBB's are from betterbee and you just have to spin the old BB toward the back and place the SBB on it towards the front, tray slides into the back so you cab monitor the hive without working from the front but seems like with your help you got it straight, when I put mine own to monitor it lasted  only one day, the next day I went out and removed the BB's from under the SBB's and set the hive done and all they have has since then was just SBB's , never monitored 1 time use the BB's for swarms and removal hives...
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

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Offline KONASDAD

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #15 on: June 06, 2006, 01:54:48 pm »
Can you use a SBB w/ a slatted botton too? If so, should you? and Does SBB go on top of the slatted board?
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #16 on: June 06, 2006, 06:57:50 pm »
Why not, I do.  
The bottom board always goes on the bottom, then the slatted rack, then the brood boxes. and then the second slatted rack (instead of a queen excluder) and then the supers.  With ventilated tops I call it my DuBray (From Bray) Progressive Beehive System.  
I experience a minimum of swarming if the queens are kept up--often 2 years without a swarm.  A Large brood box (4 mediums aka unlimited) with room to expand within the hive (the slatted racks).
Bee seem to like a ventilated hive that allows them to move large volumes of air through it in one direction for evaporaton and airconditioning.  
Being on an Island I'm rather restricted on how much range my bees have as well as availability or resources but I can still get 4-5 medium supers off of a hive.
Let's see 5X35 lbs = 205 lbs of honey, If I was able to cross the bridge and take my bees out into the Skagit flats (river delta) where a lot of crops are grown I'd probably get more, but I'm not greedy.
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Offline KONASDAD

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #17 on: June 07, 2006, 03:25:59 pm »
Thanx for input.  The order should be bottom board, slotted rack, then screened bottom brd?
 You then use a slotted rack between brood and supers for ventilation. Would a shim do the same thing?
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Offline cphilip

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #18 on: June 07, 2006, 04:12:19 pm »
I am not sure I understand SBB's either. I ordered one but don't have it in front of me to see what you guys are talking about

I was under the impression it was used INSTEAD of a Solid bottom board.

But I also assumed there was some way to close it up in winter.


If you order an IPM Screened Bottom board and put it on a Hive stand. is that  going to work to some extent?  Or together or do you also need a Solid bottom board at some point later on?

I have no experience with SBB's. Just have Solid bottom board on the current hive.

this is the one I am going to be using.... plus a Hive stand under this...


Offline kensfarm

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Okay, varroa screen on, What next?
« Reply #19 on: June 07, 2006, 06:05:34 pm »
Quote from: cphilip
If you order an IPM Screened Bottom board and put it on a Hive stand. is that  going to work to some extent?  Or together or do you also need a Solid bottom board at some point later on?


That's how I have mine set up..  SBB sitting on the Cypress Hive stand.

I wonder if you did have the solid BB under the SBB.. would the mites be able to climb back up into the hive then?