Chickabee Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 5 years ago my husband bought me a beehive (national) for my birthday. I wanted a hot tub it was all very scary. The bees arrived in the post a few days after the hive was delivered. Armed with my new gear a friendly local bee keeper took me through the process of setting up the hive. My then 13 year old son took much more interest than me ( I just love watching them). For the past 5 years he has nurtured, fed, got new queens set up a dummy swarm. Now he's gone to university. He left saying "it's ok mum there's not much to do at the moment". That was 4 weeks ago. I'm now stuck. I know they'll need feeding and I know they'll need treating for varroa, but I don't know when and how. Also do I still need to check the frames. He's not back til Christmas. I will be very grateful for any advice. I'm not afraid to don the bee suit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 I wouldn't inspect the frames at this time of year, it's too cold - just open the hive enough for feeding or treatment. Are you sure he didn't feed/treat before he went? I'd ask him what he has been using for varroa treatment, there are various products - MAQS is very popular this year, and it's new so he won't have used it last year. Feed them 2:1 sugar syrup (2lbs:1 pint), as much as they will take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted October 13, 2013 Author Share Posted October 13, 2013 That's great, thanks for you advice.. I will look for the varroa treatment online . By did feed them before he went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 It's too late for a thymol treatment or for maqs. If your son hasn't done an autumn varroa treatment then the most obvious way to go is oxalic in winter. He will be able to do that. If it's warm you could quickly check stores. They need 6 or 7 full frames. Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Oh I've just bout maqs will it last til next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 You need to have a good read of the maqs faqs on their web page. Minimum ambient temperature is 10 degrees and I'm sure it's getting colder than that at night. More importantly there is brood loss and some people have lost queens ; I had one superseded.You need all your winter bees and you definitely need your queen. I just wouldn't risk it. MAQS is new and works well but my advice would be to use it earlier in the season when you can keep a super over to let the bees space out and repair queen losses in good time. You might find that the expiry date is around when you might want to use it next year but I reckon 2 or 3 months won't make any difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
