My eco solution to rat problems

[FreakSoupAccident]

Hi - I'm new to this forum so please be gentle!

 

I have my beehaus but no bees as yet. I've assembled everything and it all looks in order. However, in the Beehaus Starter Kit there does not appear to be a Feeder.

 

Quite a few people on here seem to be talking about feeding their bees fondant and I'm a little worried that when I get my bees (not totally sure when that will be right now) I'll have no way of feeding them (pretty important if the if the spring isn't very good I guess).

 

Any pointers appreciated.

 

Thanks

Soupy

[Redwing]

I dont know mch about bees but I think the blocks of fondant are just placed in the hive, I gather that the exact placing is important so hopefully someone will be along soon that can clear that up for you!

[Olly]

If it's fondant, you just plonk it on top of the bars - mine was wrapped in cling-film, and I was advised to make a hole so the bees could get to it, and sure enough they just scoffed it straight from the cling-film.

 

At certain times of year it's advisable to feed sugar syrup, and you will need a feeder for that - either a contact feeder, which is a bit like a plastic bucket with a lid that you fill and turn upside down, and the bees get to the syrup through perforations in the lid, or you can get ones which are a bit like an extra super, but with a tank inside, that they climb up to.

 

If you're getting bees later in the year, then there should be enough forage around for them, although a nuc might need feeding. Are you in touch with a local beekeeping group? I bet they'll be happy to give you advice (although do remember - if you ask three beekeepers the best way to do something, you'll get four different answers! )

[FreakSoupAccident]

Ok thanks for your answers

 

I am in touch with my local BBKA group and have joined up but I've not been to any meetups yet.

 

I think I'll get a syrup feeder to sit inside an empty super.

 

Ta

Soupy

[Melbourne12]

Here's a link to the Thornes catalogue to show the different types of feeder. https://secure.thorne.co.uk/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/millhouse/thorne/shop/springer?ACTION=thispage&THISPAGE=page10122.html&ORDER_ID=952308048

 

Because you have a Beehaus, you need to be careful about the dimensions of the feeder. Some of the large contact feeders will be too big for the "half size" supers that the Beehaus uses. I suggest a so-called rapid feeder, shown on the Thornes page. We've used these with success. They don't have a huge capacity, so you may need to top them up every week, but you'll probably be looking at your hive quite frequently anyway.

 

You only use fondant in the winter. We're now giving our overwintered bees 1:1 syrup (1 kilo of sugar to 1 litre of water).

 

If you get your bees in a month or so, you might like to give them a boost with a syrup feed to start them off, but they should soon (as others have said) be foraging for themselves. You won't then need to feed until the autumn.

[Kermit]

If you can't find a feeder that fits in the size of a half sized super then you could knock up an eke. By that I mean build a simple 4 sided extension that would fit around the feeder. This will be the size 2 supers and sit over the crown board.