Disclaimer:

This blog explains how I keep bees. It works for me, it might not work for you. Use my methods at your own risk. Always wear protective clothing and use a smoker when working bees.

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Sunday, October 23, 2016

Late October bee work

Not much happening in the hives at the moment. Beekeepers are waiting for a little cooler weather to do Oxalic Acid treatments. Looks like that is about a week away. To be effective, the temperatures should be around 40 - 42 degrees out.  The day can warm up later, but at time of treatment it should be around 40 degrees. At this temperature the bees will be in a harder cluster so the dribble and vaporizer methods will catch all the bees in one concentrated area. If it is warmer than 40 degrees, the bee cluster is looser and bees are more spread out. The treatment for the dribble method in warmer temperatures, is less effective.
Some beekeepers are still scrambling to get more feed into the hives before the temperatures cool down. The bees are still taking syrup.
 Too soon for covering hives but that time is coming soon.
A waiting game for most of us at the moment. But in the next 30 days we should all be done with our hives until February.