Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers 66 Queen Excluder Problems?

Welcome! In this video, I answer questions about backyard beekeeping that have been submitted during the past week.
This series is geared towards basic small-scale backyard honey bee keeping.
If you have a question, please post it in the comment section of this video for future consideration.
Questions discussed today are as follows:
1) Is it hard for my honey bees to get through the queen excluder and put honey in the honey supers above?
The Metal Queen Excluder I show in this video is here: amzn.to/2Ncaco9
2) Are the BeeWeaver bees you have aggressive? How do they compare with others and are they really varroa resistant? Read their story about treatment free bees beeweaver.com/...
3) Swarm Trap tips and tricks do you have any suggestions?
Here is the swarm trooper: amzn.to/2AVl2w6 or make your own from left over hive equipment.
4) How do people supply water to all of their bees? Any tips? • Honey Bees choose thei...
Bio-Balls are shown in this video: • Honey Bee Feeders and ...
5) Are ants bad for my bee colonies?
6) Why do we even test for mites? Why not just treat with Oxalic Acid before and after honey flows? OAV treatment demonstration: • Varroa Mite Oxalic Aci...
7) How often and how much old comb should I be replacing each year?
8) How long to you leave your sugar syrup on the hives? Should I take them off before the nectar flow?
These are the rapid round feeders I buy most: amzn.to/2YgwOKr
9) Is it ok to reuse old hive equipment, frames, honey, boxes?
(REFERENCE) " nosema disease - naldc - USDAnaldc.nal.usda.gov › download › CAT87201459
Nosema ... spores readily are destroyed by moist heat (135° F for 10 min), live steam."
Steam has a temperature of 212 f, 100 centigrade
Steam cleaning is known to kill 99.9 percent of germs, bacteria and viruses.
Curious? Read more about steam and how it can be used here: www.achooaller....
A minimum sanitizing temp must be 175 deg. f
Plastic frames may melt at greater than 400 degrees f or 255 Celsius
Bees Wax melts from 144-147 f, or 62-64 Celsius
In this video demonstration, I use my Wagner Steamer - Model 905 which is so old, it's no longer available.
Here is the link to the updated model: amzn.to/2M9CL5a
Join the discussion on Facebook: Fred's Fine Fowl and Honey Bees
Or, visit my main website: www.fredsfinefo...
Flow-Hive 2 units are currently my favorite beehive and honey harvesting setup.
Please avoid fakes, here is the real deal at $50.00 off: mbsy.co/honeyfl...
AU - mbsy.co/zSDf9
EU - mbsy.co/zSDbm
Thank you for being here today!

[@Adam.Holmes.]

1) Is it hard for my honey bees to get through the queen excluder and put honey in the honey supers above? 1:57 2) Are the BeeWeaver bees you have aggressive? How do they compare with others and are they really varroa resistant? 10:11 3) Swarm Trap tips and tricks do you have any suggestions? 21:44 4) How do people supply water to all of their bees? Any tips? 31:02 5) Are ants bad for my bee colonies? 36:41 6) Why do we even test for mites? Why not just treat Oxalic Acid before and after honey flows? OAV treatment demonstration: 41:41 7) How often and how much old comb should I be replacing each year? 47:22 8) How long to you leave your sugar syrup on the hives? Should I take them off before the nectar flow? 50:58 9) Is it ok to reuse old hive equipment, frames, honey, boxes? 56:08

[@jayschuon8330]

Thanks Fred, we took the queen excluder off two weeks ago because they just weren't going up. Now the place is full and we need another super!

[@FrederickDunn]

Annnnd there you have it :)

[@bradgoliphant]

This was so helpful Fred. You always give such great advise and I'm grateful for you.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much, Brad!

[@davidcotton7927]

I always enjoy your videos. I have followed your advice with spraying sugar water rather than using a smoker. It works great and calms the bees down. If they start to get a little excited, I just give them another spray and they calm down.

[@FrederickDunn]

It just seems like the right thing to do doesn't it? :)

[@BigHistoryBuff44]

Fred just wanted to say I very much like the setting for this one.

[@josephmckoy6923]

Frederick. You are so intense but in such a measured way. I love it. I am going to get two flow hives this summer and probably some bee weavers just on your observations. I have used top bar hives but was not happy with them. Keep up he great work.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much :)

[@ZelmaBees]

Hello Fred, thanks in advance for your time and videos

[@mattsara2802]

Thanks for all the info Fred. 🍯🐝🌸

[@FrederickDunn]

Any time!

[@piledriver141]

Hey Fred, great video. You answered some questions I had and some things I hadn’t considered. Thanks for all you do!

[@noahzegart5190]

I like the observation hive behind

[@wayner.farmer9047]

Thanks for a prompt sensible answer!

[@emmamccarthy5235]

I have had exactly the same problem as the person in question 1. Going to remove the QE as my bees are building comb over it as well and see what happens. Thank you

[@georgegarcia5052]

What a great video, I especially appreciated your comment regarding the use of metal professional queen excluders versus plastic. So true!!!! I myself have settled on a 8 frame deep (with the slanted rack), to better find the queen and 8 less frames to have the opportunity to accidentally kill her ... the slatted rack was the best recommendation you’ve made, and has probably kept my hive from swarming after the plastic queen excluder almost-fiasco I had. THANKS for sharing about the temperament of the various lines of bees. Thanks for pointing out two critical issues (especially relevant in cities where there are so many wild and unmanaged hives) ... colony drift and always stressing testing, testing, testing. Sorry for such long comments ... but 66 truly a lot of great information.

[@mike-md]

Thanks Fred! No excluders when I start up my beekeeping experience next spring. Also, I'll try that parking space trick the next time my in-law is with me!! 😉

[@FrederickDunn]

:)

[@KarkoOO]

Good video, small note. Lazutin didn't say don't feed the bees. He said don't feed the bees sugar water. He advocated that you plant trees and crops that bloom in rotation to supply the bees nectar and pollen on a rotating basis. So your still feeding just doing it with plants.

[@FrederickDunn]

Ok, don't feed bees inside the hive :)

[@davidhoward5362]

I had 4 swarms come to my traps in the backyard. 6 gives going. First came in May. Wasn't really thinking I would have such luck. Neighbor s are cool so here we go lol. David, Eugene Oregon

[@FrederickDunn]

My youngest sister recieved her law degree there in Eugene! I should have made the trip up to see that place :) Sounds like you're doing great there David!

[@RyanMcDonnough]

Hey, Fred! Ryan here. Thanks for answering my question! In regards to sterilizing hive boxes, what about putting the box in the oven at 200* for an hour? Fire hazard? Set it on a baking sheet or two? Dunk it in bleach water? Your notes about nosema spore sterilization mention a temp of 135* for 10min. That’s why I ask. Maybe it’s enough to just steam-clean the entire surface?

[@FrederickDunn]

If you have a large enough oven, that could work.

[@BESHYSBEES]

I use peppermint oil emulsion as a mask, usually only for removals where I can’t smoke inside a clients house. Also been trialing geranium oil but haven’t used it enough to give a definitive result.

[@weasleoop]

My beeweavers you have to use smoke on or they come after you. The Saskatraz are amazing. I took an entire hive apart the other day and they did not send one guard bee at my face and I was deep into the brood nest. I am 90 percent on making all my hives Saskatraz.

[@pattischwebel8770]

Thank you for investing your knowledge in educating new beekeepers. Do you remove the bottom board during the summer? My bees are washboarding, temps are in the mid-80s, and they are drinking lots of water. I have a flow hive 2. Thank you again!

[@heididallapiazza4851]

Do you have a video to show how to do a sugar test? I put a second full box on my brood dox about June 6th. How long till I check to see what is going on in the second box? I don’t want to bother the bees... the less I have to open, I feel the better for the bees. I’m sure I’ll have more questions soon.

[@thegr8stm8]

Gr8 summation, Fred! Now approaching overload. Will be looking for a volunteer assistant soon? 🤔😉

[@mrcreditunion1]

My surviving winter colony is doing great! The upper deep super is 85% full of capped honey. Is there benefit of harvesting to reduce the chance of swarming due to a hive at max capacity? Should I instead invest in a small or medium box between the brood box and super?

[@sentimentalbloke7586]

If you like you can remove fully sealed frames individually then scoot them together in the center, before adding extra replacement frames to the outside, the bees will always fill the center frames first and work outwards.

[@noahzegart5190]

If I had a medium super above the brood box should I worry about the queen going and laying in the flow hive hybrid (flow frames and drawn wax )

[@noahzegart5190]

The medium super is acorn

[@beekeeperbrad6251]

On my third week and just put on a second deep super gotta love the saskatraz

[@ginomorris4873]

I enjoy your information ..I was using metal excluders and my bees were building wax and propolis all over..so I removed them about a week ago production has increased the queen fortunately doesn't seem interested in going into the honey supers as of yet. I'm wondering if I put them back on now if the girls will continue to be interested in continuing work in the supers..?? I'm in western Massachusetts and the flow is booming I hope it keeps going for a few extra week !!!

[@FrederickDunn]

HI Gino, why not just leave them off? You "could" put them back, but would then have reduced production, but of course, they now have the incentive to go up there again if you put the excluders back. Maybe try it and if it's bad, remove them again... trial and error in that case.

[@davidkoch733]

When you extract honey supers from a single brood chamber and you remove them from the hive, how do you handle all the bees from those supers into the bottom brood chamber. Then you treat for mites. Any comments on what to do with the packed brood chamber.?

[@FrederickDunn]

Normally when I remove a honey super, I have another box ready to go back on, and I do that in one visit. This satisfies any volume reduction issues with a packed colony.

[@shotgunbobby11]

I just watched your frequently asked questions video #8, about wintering the flow hive. In there you mention not to feed sugar syrup or honey bee healthy or oils after you put your honey supers on. My question is since you recently switched to spraying with sugar water and honey bee healthy when checking your hives, which I did today and it worked well!, but would you switch to smoke after honey supers are on? Or do you still spray?

[@FrederickDunn]

I would continue to use the sugar syrup with HBH for inspections even with the honey supers on. The reason being that your spritzing just a couple of ounces on for inspection and that would/shoud have no measurable impact on your honey stores. I prefere it to smoke unless the hive is unusually angsty. Thanks for watching!

[@shotgunbobby11]

Frederick Dunn thank you sir.

[@gordonmaurer5236]

I have had an ongoing battle with ants for years now. Both the big black carpenter ants and the small red sweet ants. I've went through the normal things like cinnamon, axle grease, Diatomaceous Earth and moats. None of these things work well for any length of time. Then I tried "Tanglefoot Insect barrier paste". This stuff really works.

[@ronfults3844]

I really enjoyed your talk about queen excluders. I think it's a subject not talked about enough especially with newer keepers. I'm certainly not expert but I try to pass on what information I have to new keepers in my locality. I often see them using excluders under their supers and I try to explain why they shouldn't do that. I do use queen excluders sometimes but never to keep a queen out of a super. Excluders are a valuable tool if used correctly. Incorrectly used and they hamper honey production. I'm not certain if I ever mentioned it here before but talking about the varroa resistant colonies subject, I had some of the anklebiters and I had to requeen all three. They were hands down the worst robbers I've ever seen. It was a robappolooza in my apiary all the time. It was nuts! Granted they were very varroa resistant but I can treat for varroa, I can't treat for robbers. And I list it with the kicking your mother-in-law out the car comment. Lol!

[@FrederickDunn]

:) I'm always very careful about the queen excluder issue because I just know that someone is going to leave them off and have brood throughout their colony and then... the anger comes (';') It's just something we all have to feel out way through. If I can see what colony has launched a robbing frenzy, I spray that hive down with sugar syrup and essential oil mixes... it settles their hash right away.

[@ursamajor339]

Hi Fred! Love your shirt... It's been extremely hot lately as we live near the same area... That said, my new bees have been doing a lot of bearding this week, even after dark they hang around the entrance. I know they have plenty of room so that's not the issue. I worry about ventilation. Should I put in the screened bottom boards, and or fully remove the entrance reducers to try and help them cool off a bit? Or am I just being a worry wort parent. Thanks for the help my friend, as always.

[@goodlittledo-bee4888]

Fred, Love the videos. I've got what's probably a stupid question. What do think about using my current langstroth deep boxes to make a long langstroth? Any reason you could imagine that couldn't build horizontal frame to hold deeps, then place them side-by-side, and open up the adjoining walls?

[@FrederickDunn]

Sounds like it would work... BUT... make sure to seal up all of the cracks and crevices so shb can't hide.

[@wadebarnes6720]

If you put water on top of the beehive and they will make more honey I did it on one late last year and not the other one and there is more honey in the one than the other one I didn't keep an eye on it but there's more honey and both of them's got good populations of bees

[@steelerdog1456]

Love your informative videos. Just now doing research into beekeeping. This might seem like an uninformed question but would it make sense to plant a bee garden somewhere on the property to help with pollen etc? I have several acres here in Florida and the wife has been bugging me about a flower garden

[@FrederickDunn]

It never hurts to plant pollen resources for a wide array of pollinators. :)

[@hrenes]

Dear Frederick, Do you think bees can/would wax paperwasp comb and use it?

[@FrederickDunn]

Great question, and the answer is no. They would more likely dispatch the paper and remove it.

[@E.lectricityNorth]

Hi thanks again for the great info and videos!

[@FrederickDunn]

Glad you like them! And thanks for submitting your question :)

[@E.lectricityNorth]

@@FrederickDunn It's up! I have a bit of pruning to do, but I will do a video and try to post it soon, so you can take a look. Thanks again.

[@JakeBeesos]

Very good Q and A.

[@bradgoliphant]

This is helpful for I am contemplating using one. What if I left the queen excluder off for a few weeks, then made sure the queen was below and then added a queen excluder. Would the bees take to the excluder better? Or No?

[@FrederickDunn]

I don't know if they would take to the excluder better... but some do start without excluders until things get going well, then insure the queen is down below and replace it. Any larvae above the excluder will hatch and resume using cells for honey storage. It's pretty common.

[@bradgoliphant]

@@FrederickDunn Thank you Frederick. I'm going to follow your lead and NOT use them with my flow hive. Since all my frames below are already 18.5" deep, I might have a better chance with the queen stay down. I'm going to take my chance without it. Thanks a million

[@aberlend]

When we feed our bees, with a rapid round for instance, inside the hive who actually moves it from the feeder into the cells... the storekeepers or the foragers? If we're constantly feeding in the spring up until they start producing honey we'll take, are we negatively affecting their vigor, ability, and natural instinct to go out and forage? Are we teaching them to rely on us?

[@FrederickDunn]

Store keeper bees move it around inside the hive.

[@deborahweinstein1634]

Love your videos - very informative! Does oxalic acid treatment make honey inedible? Heard that it isn’t terrible, but not ideal either. Thanks!

[@FrederickDunn]

There is always oxalic acid in honey... because it's ubiquitous throughout the plant kingdom. It's nearly impossible to discern a difference between untreated and treated honey supers or honey comb. Randy Oliver came right out and shared that no one is interested in testing because it's a non-starter as a health risk. BUT, I still have to share that it's not currently approved for use with honey supers on.

[@mikeries8549]

@@FrederickDunn that depends on what country you're in. I've heard that in Europe it's aok. Perhaps I'm wrong tho. Internet information isn't exactly reliable.

[@wadebarnes6720]

I gave you a hard time about the better comb last year and they didn't use it last year but they are using it this year I have actually seen them lay eggs in it maybe they had to get it the way they needed it to use it because when I shut them down last year it looked just like it did when I put it in but a little bit darker I imagine because the dust but I actually seen bude in one this year

[@wadebarnes6720]

The artificial wax that better Combs made out of it should work on plastic frames what do you think

[@FrederickDunn]

I see no problem with that.

[@wayner.farmer9047]

By October last year all three of my hives had absconded leaving almost three deep supers of honey. We didn't have an extractor then. Now with an extractor available we took a look at our over wintered honey frames and noticed uncapped honey along the sides. I read that uncapped honey cells not fanned to reduce the moisture level will spoil. ??? Can we extract those frames with uncapped cells. Will they be spoiled and mix with the good honey and spoil everything?

[@FrederickDunn]

if you can test it with a refractometer, it may still be good.

[@weasleoop]

My Maximilian sunflowers are coming in and blooming now.

[@shevlin2650]

How far willte water bees travel for water? If there is a pond 300 feet from the hives, do you need to supplement water?

[@FrederickDunn]

They fly as far as they need to, but will choose convenient sites when they find what the need closer.

[@shevlin2650]

@@FrederickDunn Thank you

[@wolfie1461]

I notice you talk a lot about the plastic and metal qx, but what about the wooden/bamboo ones? Have you had any experience with those? Do they treat them similarly to the plastic ones?

[@FrederickDunn]

I haven't noticed those being offered through any of the suppliers, but think metal is easier to clean off and maintain.

[@wolfie1461]

@@FrederickDunn i ended up with two, but I'm going to try without to see what happens because I definitely prefer your way to do it, and it certainly makes more sense to me! ❤️

[@RonnieB230]

Hello Fred As a 1st year bee keeper i got a swarm in my swarm trap on a short wall by the house , I took it to my apiary aprox. 150 yards away ,The next day another swarm showed up on the wall ,so i put the nuc box that i bought my first bees in on the wall and they went in. After a few days i checked the frames and not much activity and not alot of bees ,maybe 1 1/2 frames. barely any comb drawn . they seem very weak, added a feeder still seem week. I looked for a queen and could not find one or any sign of eggs or brood. My question is can i combine this weak hive to the other swarm that is doing well? and what is the best way to do this? Thanks for all your videos and knowledge, Ron

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, you can combine them by placing your weak colony on top of the strong one, with newsprint as a barrier in-between... .they will chew through that paper as they become acquainted.

[@RonnieB230]

@@FrederickDunn Thanks for the quick answer. will give it a try when the stormy weather breaks.

[@frankspataro9714]

The second swarm is most likely your mistake you cant move a hive like you did without a few tricks the second ones most likely came from 150 yards away out of the 1st swarm even if you combine em 150 yards away I bet half show back up unless they reorientation going through the new hive changes something

[@jasonrasheed7670]

Yes, agree with Fred and Frank here. Combining swarms using the newspaper trick works well especially if you make 6 or so 1-2 centimetre (half inch) slits running in the same direction as the frames. The bees sense an adjoining hive and by the time they eat through the paper they are used to each other and dont want to fight. To catch any returning swarm bees going back to the wall try placing another small 8 frame box 8 or nuc to catch them and bring them back. There should be fewer and fewer going back to the wall each day. Good luck.

[@nursesteve2004]

Fred I have a new Langstrof hive box with 2 brood boxes and one super. The top cover tat came in with it does not hae any notches on the side, should there be one? also, the bottom board is not screened....should I order one with a screen? My box is empty at the moment since I have not yet ordered a Nuc or caught a swarm.

[@FrederickDunn]

Those inner covers don't generally come pre-notched. You can try it without depending on the environment and temperature ranges you experience. The bottom solid or screened boards are a personal choice, again due to the environment. Both have advantages. I think I'll talk about this on Friday :)

[@noahzegart5190]

Would it be ok to just leave a swarm and let them find a home.?

[@FrederickDunn]

They have very low survival potential when left to themselves, but you "can" do that.

[@BeekeepingFromScratch]

Hi Fred, did you know that Ants are taxinomically very closely related to vespids.

[@royrodgers7031]

Question: I added another brood box to prevent swarming since my flow hive was back ordered. I used the “checkered” method with new plastic foundation frames and the old drawn out frames. The bees have extended the drawn frames a lot because the frame next to them were plastic and wax free. So now that the drawn frames are very wide, will they make the new frames very shallow and essentially useless? Or will they chew back the extra wide comb? Or should I cut it back? Thanks

[@FrederickDunn]

They generally won't groom back that comb, I would re-order the frames with the plastic frames side by side and the drawn comb next to more drawn comb. May I ask what brand of plastic frames you're using? The bees don't take to all plastic frames the same.

[@royrodgers7031]

Frederick Dunn they have put a shallow layer of wax across the plastic frames, but I worry that now I’ll be stuck with some very wide frames, and some shallow frames that don’t fit together very well. I regret doing the checkered method. I live in Bowling Green, KY and bought the frames from a local Amish man that makes a living selling pretty quality bee boxes and supplies. Should I cut the comb back? Thanks

[@wadebarnes6720]

That is true they will not eat sugar syrup when there is nectar I put it on the landing board and they walk right through it

[@richardrbrynerjr.7912]

Your a great teacher Fred, right in the same class as Jesus! If I wanted too test a few different samples of comb were do I send it and how much in each sample?

[@FrederickDunn]

Comb testing can run into real $$$ There are a few U.S. labs that accept honey comb samples for testing from beekeepers. These include: USDA ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. This lab offers free testing for bee diseases, including American foulbrood, chalkbrood, and European foulbrood. USDA ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, MarylandOpens in a new window www.ars.usda.gov USDA ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland National Honey Board in Mankato, Minnesota. This organization offers testing for honey purity, including the presence of antibiotics and other contaminants. National Honey Board in Mankato, MinnesotaOpens in a new window en.wikipedia.org National Honey Board in Mankato, Minnesota Honey Science Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. This lab offers a variety of honey testing services, including purity, adulteration, and pollen analysis. Honey Science Laboratory in Boulder, ColoradoOpens in a new window www.dailycamera.com Honey Science Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado Tentamus Group in several locations across the United States. This international company offers a wide range of honey testing services, including purity, adulteration, and nutritional analysis. Tentamus Group in several locations across the United StatesOpens in a new window www.tentamus.com Tentamus Group in several locations across the United States When submitting a honey comb sample for testing, it is important to follow the specific instructions of the lab. For example, some labs require that the comb be free of honey, while others do not. It is also important to include a brief description of the problem you are experiencing with your bees. The cost of honey comb testing varies depending on the lab and the type of testing required. However, most labs offer free or low-cost testing for bee diseases. I hope this helps!

[@richardrbrynerjr.7912]

Thank you!

[@georgemogatron4272]

Quick question. Went to a local guy to buy a nuc. When I got there he wanted to get rid of a hive. he said that he can give 10 frames and bees from the same hive for the price of 1 nuc. I took the offer and put 5 frames in a nuc box and 5 other 5 in other nuc box. Will it be okay if the hive is separated over night. I am putting them back in a deep in the morning. Are they okay to be separate overnight. I put the boxes next to each other

[@FrederickDunn]

Overnight, no problem... they will still know each other :)

[@pantherman4699]

Hey Fred - When is a good time to do a mite count? I'm a first year beekeeper so I am not sure if I should wait til later? Do it now? Anytime is good?

[@FrederickDunn]

You want to perform initial mite counts ahead of your nectar flow so that you have time to treat in spring... if you've waited until later on, I would also try to get that in before the late summer nectar flow so you can treat if necessary in time for the bees to recover (if there is a heavy mite load) in time for developing those very critical winter fat-bees :) The informational count happens after treatment and you can do those anytime to check in on their load. A fall/early winter treatment can save them, but it's too late for their numbers to recover from heavy mite infestations.

[@pantherman4699]

@@FrederickDunn The ones I have are supposed to be hygenic and varroa resistant. I will do a check soon and see how they are.

[@emmanuelbutmankiewicz5342]

Fred hoping you can address this in your next video: I'm having a difficult time understanding or wrapping my head around the concept of providing enough space to prevent swarming etc. I keep reading and hearing folks talk about making sure to keep adding boxes when the boxes are full. Folks say single deep brood doesn't work or won't work well. But if your running double deep brood won't they eventually run out of space there too? There's only so many boxes you can stack vertically. I have no interest at this point in having more than two hives so what's the end look like here? Hopefully this makes sense.

[@FrederickDunn]

Friday :)

[@emmanuelbutmankiewicz5342]

@@FrederickDunn yes!!!!! Thank you.

[@damonlinthwaite4671]

Hello frederick Dunn was wondering if you have tried the gas vap for oav treatments? If so your thoughts? Also im running a couple double nucs as resource hives and am wondering how id treat them exactly since they are in a split deep box with 4 frame nucs above? I get a 1/4 tsp per hive body but what if they are in my setup? Thanks again! Love the videos very informative and a whole lot of help

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Damon, I explain my process in this video, also, I've gone to OAV with the ProVap110 exclusively as it fits into any hive configuration, including my observation hive. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnPXqpiOm5uZoMU

[@damonlinthwaite4671]

@@FrederickDunn awesome thank you for your help!

[@mihaiilie8808]

It depends on what type the gas wap is.Somme gas vaporisers that have small cups in wich you add a small dose for a single beehive treatment are good. But the gas vaporisers i wich you mix the oxalic with glicerin are not safe because they have a big tank and you can dose more or less than you need to treat a beehive. You want a vaporiser that doses a certain ammount of oxalic acid. A bigger dose of OA can kill the queen .

[@framcesmoore]

Great video Mr Dunn thanks for the tip on the penny. U have a wonderful day I look forward to the next video. I have a busy day ahead of me today I am taking the honey suppers off treating for mites and doing splits I live in Virginia doing walk away splits using the double screen board if the queen comes back great I have increased my numbers if they don't I will just remove the board and good to go I am doing walk away because I am afraid of the bees over heating in the mail like last year and wasting my money. I have learnt a lot this year, the main thing is do splits in the spring don't let your hive peak before the flow starts that why the bee weaver swarmed I spent close to 2000.00 on bees this year I bought 8 packages and 15 queens That is the most I have spent on bees so I did splits with the queens the packages carnies 2 queens were no good combined them and 1 package from mann lake sas a tras was not mated right, queen no good, combined them as well. I now have bees at 11 locations so I could have more hives I would like to make it to 50 and keep those 50 alive I do not know why, 50 is not a back yard bee keeper but I love doing it. It is hard to believe I got my first hive in 2014 I try to learn all I can watch a lot of videos on you tube. any way thanks for every thing hope you have a wonderful day hope u keep the videos coming. I watch the commercial bee keepers videos they run 2-3 thousand hives Kamon runs 3-400 I think that what he said he runs any way hope u have a great day and Thankyou again for the video.

[@FrederickDunn]

Always happy to help Frances! You definitely have enough hives to keep you very VERY busy. I have friends with hundreds of hives and it's more than a full time job! The good news for them is that honey prices are way up and sales are excellent. It can be a real career when things go right :)

[@jamesgrissom3750]

Good evening Mr. Dunn , I was so sorry to hear that some of your bees had died .My wife and I have always enjoyed gardening. It useally full of lush flowering diversely of plants .I managed to get her to switch over to a mild dish soap . To use inconjuction with a bottle sprayer that attaches to the hose. However I did see her with a new bottle that claimed to not harm bees. Though I dont trust it. I'm going to order lady bugs I Hope's to flood the neighborhood .lol The reason I'm texting you is about my first pair of R R F . Back in May I ordered 2 more Rapid Round Feeders . Becouse the entrance tube didnt extend below the bottom of the first pair of feeders . These new feeder . Dims are 1) 0.445 " for the entrance tube distance , that it extends below the bottom . 2) Depth of cup measured from it's rim's edge to inside bottom surface is 1.685 " 3) The top flat surface of center entrance . To the lowest outermost step ,where the cup rest is 1.8620 " . Which if my math is correct is 0.177. I ordered them on Amazon ,but unfortunately they failed to include a Invoice or packing list. After checking my bank statement the only info I could find is that they were shipped from . S F Express 230-39 Rockaway Blvd, Jamaica NY 1141 The actual dollor amount was paired to Little Yee . Sorry that I dont have any additional information . Thank you for all you share and your cups and shirts .Jim.

[@DStewart2022]

Ah, we had a cold front a month or so ago where it got DOWN to the high 80s.....

[@FrederickDunn]

Very funny David (';')

[@BESHYSBEES]

Ants will force bees out if left unchecked, wood ashes can help ants don’t like walking on it it’s alkaline and burns them sprinkle around their nests

[@FrederickDunn]

I'll trust you on that, here in the north, I haven't ever had an ant problem. But I know it can be an issue in other climates. Ants forcing bees out would be an excellent video study that many would be interested in observing so we could learn more about exactly how that goes. Thanks for sharing.

[@BESHYSBEES]

Frederick Dunn I can probably arrange something for you, as it warms up here the ants go beserk and instead of destroying the ant colony I will sacrifice a small colony and a double colony, for the sake of science I’ll film them for you to analyse the behaviour and we can compare notes 👍

[@BESHYSBEES]

Art Bell yes both work until they’re wet then become ineffective, bees only go on the ground to drink or if a queen falls from a swarm, sometimes they beard and touch the ground but if that happens you probably have more important things to tend lol 👋 👍

[@shirleywickersham2764]

Question!! Do you know if anyone in Wisconsin who sell Bee Weaver bee's that have been acclamated to our climate? I usually purchase bee's from bee farm up north. But this year the bee's came from the almond groves in California and were covered with Mites!! I've been reading that I should buy from a keeper that over winter's bee's here in Wisconsin. Not finding any. :(. Not even at my local beekeepers meeting Frustrated! Just want to succeed with my bee's! My third year. Every spring I have to purchase new bee's for my hives!! HELP!

[@FrederickDunn]

I would put the word out to local beekeepers and see who is working with them and see if you can't get some splits from them? There are no other BeeWeaver breeders.

[@julieyang7]

Fantastic

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much 😀

[@wolfie1461]

I know you discussed a different app in previous videos back, but I found another app called hivebloom that I really like so far. Feel free to check it out. I really like the ease of use. It could use more features (I've given feedback for that), but it's 17.99 a year which isn't horrible at all. Very similar to the other app you talked about, but a little easier to use, in my personal opinion. I like both though! Just another option 😊

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks Jacki, I'm currently subbed to and using BeeKeepPal but others may appreciate your comment and check into HiveBloom. Thanks!

[@weasleoop]

I have not seen a single mite on any of my Saskatraz.

[@FrederickDunn]

You are very fortunate, I stopped working with them as they had the highest mite loads I've ever observed. But then, they are open mated and we're not all getting the same stock.

[@mikeries8549]

Plastic excluders no. Metal wire excluders yes. To get bees above the excluder let queen lay in a super, put queen in bottom boxes, then put excluder below the brooded up super. Whalla. Nurse bees up in the supers. Sometimes you have to trick them into using the attic. Upper entrances also promote pollen storage in the honey supers. No good.

[@beckieeldred5816]

I work 6 days a week . Need on Sunday

[@sunsetheritage]

I love these videos! I learn so much every time. Last Saturday I drove to Ohio to get 4 Saskatraz Nucs. They’re doing great so far. Even though I’m new I’ve been thinking about not using a queen excluder. I have 4 FH2 with second deep brood boxes for each one. I was wondering if I let them fill both deep boxes for themselves before putting the Flow supers on, if that would be fairly safe to not need an excluder? I also bought Better Combs to use to help them save resources. Thank you Fred!!

[@FrederickDunn]

What you're describing with the two boxes and then the flow-super is what I do. I think it's worth the risks :)

[@sunsetheritage]

Frederick Dunn Awesome!! I know you do that method, but often say “new-bees” should use an excluder. I figured since I have 4 Flow Hives to work with, it’s worth taking the chance. Thank you for the support and I’ll be sure to let you know how things work out. I know they sure are busy. I was so excited to see some of them coming into the landing board with orange pollen in their pockets. So cool to see it in real life and not just in videos 😁

[@harleydicken226]

Hey Fred, I Am about 5 weeks into my bee journey and ive watched a lot of videos for a few months. My first hive was a cut out from a house i was contracted to renovate. I now have two a nuc and the cut out hive. I am very worried about the cut out, its been about 5 weeks i have had the queen the whole time there is very spotty capped brood, larva, and a few eggs. Most seem to be drones. The hive is for sure going backwards. I have also noticed a superceure cell with a relatively big larva in it. My biggest concern is that a good many of the bees are dead fully developed in thier cell a couple had the caps taken off and there are more that have just started turning colors. I had the president of my bee club come look and we decided im going to check back in a day or two and if the queen cell is capped or still looks viable im going to kill the old queen and leave it in their so they know shes dead and hopefully put all thier efforts into the new queen. Are the bees too old at this point? Is thier anything we arent thinking of? Any advice would be appreciated. i do not think its AFB. The larva is all white nothing gooey or stringy and the dead bees are fully developed. Thank you so much for all your work! Have a great day!

[@Bri_bees]

You can clean plastic queen excluder with xylene. It will devolve wax in a few minutes. I just put it in a garbage bag with xylene and then spray it with a hose.

[@FrederickDunn]

haven't tried that.

[@RainingOnMyParade]

You are the best Mr Dunn keep it up! love the videos! BK-votech

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much! :)

[@kamrulislamemad3036]

My name is Kamrul Islam, I live in Bangladesh, I want to buy flow hive, so how can I buy from you?

[@FrederickDunn]

I don't sell hives, but you can to to their website honeyflow.com

[@zecolmeiadaresenha]

Edevaldo apicultor ✌️✌️👍

[@wadebarnes6720]

Orange oil will run ants away and if you spray on them it will kill them

[@wadebarnes6720]

If the d Weaver's is on your yard and you have other bees don't they crossed with each other

[@FrederickDunn]

When they swarm, they can certainly cross breed... both have excellent traits. BUT remember that breeding/mating may be as far as 9 miles away and my drones can't cover that distance... so their chances of mating with my own line are rare.

[@wadebarnes6720]

I am a new beekeeper got a crash course yesterday at a bee yard I know I do not want to hotline will give it they may make good honey and protect the hive good not worth it to me. I bought a nuke bee in the state I live in South Carolina he said his bee was not a hot line I will see long time ago I boards some bees to pollinate my my garden and I never wore no type of bee suit did not know of it

[@beckieeldred5816]

Lost my queen

[@beckieeldred5816]

Going to bye a queen

[@Huntnlady7]

Horned lizards, AKA horny toads, feed exclusively on ants! Once I learned this, I left the ants out by my barn alone.

[@wadebarnes6720]

Have you ever met the fire ant they will kill and eat anything

[@FrederickDunn]

yes, I have indeed.

[@RichardH72]

Execute Q&A Sixty-six

[@RichardH72]

A little star wars humor there.

[@beckieeldred5816]

On capet brod

[@noahzegart5190]

I think ima try not to treat the bees for varrora

[@FrederickDunn]

ok

[@heididallapiazza4851]

Do you have a video to show how to do a sugar test? I put a second full box on my brood dox about June 6th. How long till I check to see what is going on in the second box? I don’t want to bother the bees... the less I have to open, I feel the better for the bees. I’m sure I’ll have more questions soon.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Heidi, do you mean a water percentage test? kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2OxnqGLmJiFZqs

[@heididallapiazza4851]

Frederick Dunn Apologies for not being clear. Sugar test video to show how to do it and check for how many Varoa mites the hive may have.