# How do YOU winterize your bees?



## Michael W. Smith

With winter coming upon us, I've been looking at how you winterize bees.

Seems to range from doing nothing, to "wrapping" the hive up like a package.

Option #1 - Do nothing. The hive is left where it should already be in a wind sheltered area. If they make it - they make it. If they don't - they don't.

Option #2 - Put somekind of insulating material around the hive. (Stacked hay bales surrounding the hive (leaving their opening available) with the idea that keeping them out of the wind and with more insulation, ensures they don't use up as much honey trying to keep warm.)

Option #3 - Put somekind of insulating material around the hive with the outer layer being tarpaper or black plastic again leaving their opening open. (The thought behind this is that the hive is insulated, but yet on days when the sun shines, the outer material warms up the hive so the bees are able to move to a new section of unused honey.

Option 2 would almost seem to disregard warmer days where the bees may be able to go out to a cleansing flight. With the insulating material blocking the warm weather from getting in letting the bees know they can move and take a cleansing flight. (The hive is kept at a more constant temperature, but the insulation may prohibite activity on warmer days due to the hive still being cold.) OPtion 3 almost seems like if you got a really warm heat wave during the winter, you could almost "bake" them.

This is my first year of having bees so I want to do the right thing. I realize that the most deadly things that can happen to bees during the winter is they run out of honey (sometimes in early Spring while getting the brood started), the temperatures stay so cold the bees can't move to more honey (they starve while right beside available food), moisture becomes a problem in the hive due to condensation.

So what do YOU do to winterize your bees?


----------



## jacqueg

Some people do wrap their hives. I'd be cautious about it, fearing it might lead to too much moisture in the hive. 

You don't say where you live. Bees are amazingly cold hardy, but if your area falls below zero (Fahrenheit) regularly, I'd think about building a shelter around the hive, to block the worst of the wind and wet.


----------



## FrankRichards

I'm certainly still a newby, but I've got a couple of observations:

I've lost several hives to extended autumns. Extra warm Novembers and Decembers can cause to bees to be more active, and eat honey that they need come February. Feeding them in Feb is too late, since it's usually too cold for them to break cluster to get the food. My plan is to make sure to keep the feeders full, so they don't draw down stores when it's warm enough to go up to the feeder.

Second, from reading the interwebs, Alberta seems to be black tarpaper central. Even North Dakota doesn't do it as much. Prairie winds and 30 below are far beyond my experience. It hasn't even hit 20 below here since I've had bees. The University of Alberta, as I recall winters its bees in an unheated building.

Frank


----------



## no1cowboy

Im in Alberta and I do nothing more then place 2" of insulation on top of the hive with top ventalation, other then that they stay in the same spot year round


----------



## alleyyooper

I've did the whole gambit of methods of winterizing bees. 
Tar paper may be fine for just a couple of hives but a pain in the kister for more than a couple. why not just paint the hives a dark color and caulk the seams?

Placed a empty deep above with flakes of straw to asorb moisture. Again what a pain if there is more than just a couple of hives.
Also placed straw bales around the hive. Since we do not raise our crops for our own straw that is to costly.

Today we make every attempt to place the bees in a natural wind break area such as a row of pine trees to the north, a big red barn to the north, a fence row where the farmer stacks huge round bales of hay behind north of the hives. and here at home a built privacy fence to block the wind.

We have found the colder the winter is the better for the bees. when temps stay in the 40F area and above during the day the bees are mnore active and consum more honey.

We have also found what a friend told us several years agho that bees today are dumber than they were 30 years ago.
They will starve today with 6 frames of honey in the box right beside them. During warm spells they don't seem to make an effort to repostion the honey or the cluster.




























 Al


----------



## AverageJo

Al, I noticed one picture looks like you have a spacer between the hive bodies with an opening and another looks like the top is slanted for top openings. What are the advantages or disadvantages with so many openings? Is the top opening between the inner cover and the outer one? Do you still have top openings for your bees during the winter or do you close it down to just the bottom opening? Do you use a reducer, mouse guard, or leave it alone? What about screen bottoms? Do you change them out for solid bottom boards? Also, why do you leave what looks like an empty honey super outside by the hive?


----------



## alleyyooper

Top picture by the pine trees. They have just been moved into that site (spring time), note the grass at the entrances reminding them they have been moved. There is a gallon of syrup on the inter cover with a deep hive body surrounding it.

Second picture by the barn. It is the start of summer heat, the outer covers are proped up in front to allow more venilation since there are upper entrances in the intercover.
Note the far right single deep. It is a swarm I had just collected and moved there, again note the grass.

All our intercovers have upper entrances. Open in the summer with the outer covers proped open, closed some what in the winter with the outer cover down and slid as far to the rear as they go.

Most entrances are 6 inches wide, they stay that way unless I see a robbing thing going on then I just place a reducer with a 3/4 inch opening till the robbing stops.
Mouse guards are 1/2 inch hardware cloth (screen) bent into a L then screwed to the bottom board. They are in place at all times except when I need to close the entrance to move bees or stack extra bottom boards.

Bottom boards are all screened. they have a slot for flashing to slide in and out of.


















In the summer we remove the flashing storeing it under the bricks, rocks or what ever that weights the outer cover down. In the fall we slide them back in place.

Extra hive bodies are stored between hives summer and winter where they are needed in the spring and fall. We have 12 out yards so I seem to always forget some thing we will need or never take enough.
We feed syrup in gallon pickle jars we get for free from the local pizza joints. The extra deeps are placed around the syrup jar.
then the outer cover placed on top.
We are slowly going to home built top feeders with a anti drowning rack to feed with. Running out of extra hive bodies to surround the syrup jars.










This is a spring split set up I did just for the taking of the picture.

 Al


----------



## AverageJo

Thanks for the explanations!! Now I'm thinking I might need to start modifying my equipment... Hummmm...


----------



## JRHILLS

Since heat from the cluster rises, you might find the most efficient place for insulation is between the inner cover and the outer cover. Try cutting a piece of Dow styrofoam insulation to fit inside the telescoping outer cover. Make sure your inner cover has an entry/ventilation hole and position the hole on so it's on the bottom front of the cover so moisture can escape.

JRH


----------



## JDog1222

alleyyooper said:


> We are slowly going to home built top feeders with a anti drowning rack to feed with.


How are you planning on making these?


----------



## alleyyooper

All ready made 12 and tested them. They work great with sugar water syrup but are a bit ockward when trying to pour cold honey in the front chamber.
thought about turning the chambers to run the long ways but would take more lumber to build them. Decided we don't often feed thich honey so will continue the ones I have did and tested as is. Only 88 more to make.

They hold a full two gallons.




















 Al


----------



## JDog1222

So, do you set this contraption directly on top of the frames? Would the bees then, crawl up the center opening and over onto the lattice looking thing? Dose the lattice looking thing float on top of the sugar water/syrup? This is my first year with bees, I have not clue here. Just want to do my best to keep them alive this winter.


----------



## no1cowboy

Yes it goes on top of the top super then your inner cover and top cover.
yes the the bees come up the center and feed off the floating "lattice looking thing"


----------



## JDog1222

Ok, looks like I&#8217;m going to have to set me up a wood working shop after all&#8230;.. My husband does new construction plumbing all the time; he can get me all sorts of scrap wood. So, looks like I&#8217;ll be making me self a few of these! How thick are the strips of wood used as the lattice? Looks like you have used some type of caulking. Is it just regular old silicone? I've been working on hive entrance reducers today.


----------



## JDog1222

In the winter do you use the 1" opening in the reducer for the entrance? The 4" opening is for spring or a weak hive, right?


----------



## alleyyooper

The contraption is simular to the hive top feeders you can buy. Only I have the float with spacings so the bees can get to the syrup with out drowning. None drown in the testing I've done so far.
the slats on the floats are 1/8 thick stapled to a 1/2 inch rail. Yes it floats nicly but still allows the bees to get the very last drops of syrup it appears in my test.

There called hive top feeders as that is where they sit. Your inter cover has to have at least a 3/8 inch lip or the bees can not get to the syrup. I know some covers are flat.

 Al


----------

