Controlling Moisture With Imirie Shims
This has been an especially wet and humid spring and summer. During a hive inspection I found mold growing inside the cover of the hive and also hints of it along one of the side walls. I cleaned up the mold with vinegar water and rinsed it a few times to remove any trace of vinegar. Then I put the cover in the hot sun to dry before returning it to the hive. (I used a piece of untreated plywood for a temporary cover.) To increase air flow I installed two imirie shims, one in between the two boxes and one just below the cover. To make them, we nailed together some scrap 2″ wood to match the size of the boxes, clamped them together and used a 1″ drill bit to drill through both shims at the same time. This way we ended up with a 1/2″ semi circle opening on each shim (see photo at right). These shims have remedied our mold problem and also provide extra entrances for our bees.
A little about the Birds Too
There have been a lot of bears in the area, so I set up a game camera that watches over the beehive. No bear pics yet, but a hummingbird seemed desperate for attention! Look in the top left corner. There has proven to be a lot more action around the hive than I imagined.
The Bees Are Home!
5-19-19
The bees arrived on May 6. I installed them, fed them and left them alone for a week. There were hardly any that had died in shipping and I was thankful for such a strong bunch since we had freezing rain and snow for almost three days after the day they arrived. I know that we’re supposed to keep ourselves a little detached in case our hive collapses and dies, but I worried about my new little family for three days straight. On day four, the sun came out and I nervously stood by the beehive for quite some time. Bees were busily coming and going from the hive. I had even more reason to be thankful. At one week since installation, I did a full hive check for health and was happy to find they had already built comb on most of the frames, cleared out the dead bees that had fallen to the bottom during installation, showed no signs of mites or illness, and there was honey. Beautiful, golden honey. Since I’m not that experienced in finding the queen among thousands, I didn’t see her immediately. So I took photos of both sides of each frame and loaded them into my computer to check for her. I think that I saw her on a photo that looked like a few cells had been capped. Of course, the photo was a little blurry so I’m not absolutely sure, I’m about 95% sure though and that’s good enough for me at this point. It’s snowing and blowing again today and I have a lot more confidence that the bees will be just fine.
4-21-19
Here’s an updated photo of the hive and the “bear cage” with a new electric fence and solar fencer. (The bees have been postponed by the supplier until after May 5)
How on earth do we begin to keep the bears out of the hive? Here’s what we have come up with so far. I’ve chosen an area at the edge of our woods for the hive so I need to keep the weeds at bay if I want to access the hive. We’ve laid out an old, heavy tarp that will be covered with plant litter (leaves, bark etc.). On top, we’ve built a 6×6 chain link dog kennel. There is also a panel to wire to the top for protection from above. We don’t have it installed in this picture. There are also t-posts driven into the ground and we will secure the “cage” to them. We’ve also surrounded the cage with cinder blocks for a few reasons. They anchor the tarp, I’ll fill them with soil and plant a few continuous bloomers for quick bee access, we are also wiring the blocks to the bottom of the fencing to deter critters that insist on pulling and bending the lower wires. Next to install is insulators and wire for our solar fencer. I’m excited and apprehensive about whether our work will help with the abundance of bears looking for sweet snacks. As the summer goes on, we’ll see what changes..
4-20-19
A peek inside the Flow hive and the artwork from our Christmas break project.
3-24-19
I have never kept bees. I have never harvested honey. Well, I’m about to try. I love honey and have always felt that the more local the honey, the more benefits it will give you. I’m going backyard local this spring! Here’s the deal, my husband is allergic to beestings but would still like to help me with the bees. Because of this, a lack of all equipment, and a strong curiosity, I’m trying out the Flow hive. I’ve been intrigued since the first time I saw one. They are spendy, but so is all of the equipment for extraction. I also don’t have a whole lot of room to store additional equipment. The Flow seems to solve those issues, so let’s see if we can do it!
I ordered the Arucaria 7 Frame. It shipped quickly from an American distributor and arrived in great condition. Our Christmas vacation project was to prime and paint the hive. My 6 year old is the artist and not only do we now have a protected hive, but we have some great memories of decorating it with Sharpies to make 3 lbs. of bees feel welcome. I’m not going to go into extreme detail on the Flow hive instructions since their website does a great job with instructions and video tutorials.
If you’re interested, check out the Flow website here. If you place your first order with my link, you’ll save $50. https://mbsy.co/honeyflow/46808625
As we jump into beekeeping head first, we’ll see just how user friendly the Flow is for a first timer. My bees are on order and are due to arrive later in April. In the meantime, I’ve been watching Flow hive videos and reading all the bee articles I’ve collected. I’m glad I started reading in December since there’s a huge amount of information to get through. So, there you have it, no tricks or special insider info. I’ll update as we go along!
Your doing an awesome job. I’m so amazed on what you’re accomplishments are so far. I’m glad too have you as a Daughter-in-law and teaching your family on your journey.