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The best way to protected a residential beehive in preparation for a prime wind tournament together with a tropical hurricane or storm.
With a Cat 3 storm these days bearing down on our group, I spent a while the day gone by securing our yard beehive in preparation for the hurricane.
I adopted the stairs instructed by way of grasp beekeeper John Morse, founding father of Gem Apiaries.
The stairs had been somewhat easy, because it seems!
It didn’t contain shifting the beehive in any respect, which might introduce a huge quantity of pressure to the colony.
For industrial beekeepers with a couple of cell hives with suitable apparatus for shipping, it is sensible to easily select up the hives and transfer them out of the realm utterly.
For a residential beekeeper, alternatively, this isn’t an choice.
Securing the hive to resist prime winds is the most efficient way with as minimum disruption as imaginable.
To Feed or To not Feed?
There are other critiques on whether or not this is a excellent thought to feed bees with sugar water.
My opinion is that, whilst in no way splendid, feeding the hive would possibly on occasion be vital beneath excessive instances.
A storm most likely qualifies as this sort of tournament.
In accordance with John’s advice, I fed my hive a quart of nonGMO sugar water. This offers them with plentiful meals to final the 1-3 days of prime wind and torrential rain when foraging would no longer be imaginable.
By no means ever feed your bees an answer of prime fructose corn syrup or simple white sugar.
Either one of those alternatives are of GMO foundation and most likely include glyphosate residues that may get into the honey.
As well as, be sure you use filtered water to steer clear of giving your bees poisonous chlorine, fluoride or different ingredients often present in faucet water.
In different phrases, be sure you use nonGMO cane sugar mixed with filtered water, if you select to feed your hive prior to the hurricane.
Some other advice is to make use of a wide-mouth glass mason jar with a nonBPA lid for feeding and steer clear of plastic.
Securing the Hive
An important step in getting ready your beehive for the coming of a prime wind tournament like a storm is to protected the highest of the hive in order that it will possibly’t simply get blown off.
Including weight to the hive could also be vital to stay it from getting knocked over.
That is achieved with heavy-duty bungee cords or rope.
As you’ll be able to see from the photograph above, I fixed two bungee cords tightly round all of the hive.
This comprises looping the cords beneath and attaching the hive to the 2 massive concrete blocks that function its basis.
The hive certain at the side of the concrete blocks weighs it down significantly.
As well as, the positioning of the colony is tucked away with surrounding protecting plants. Thus, handiest the most powerful winds may just topple it. The video beneath demonstrates this procedure.
Ultimate Off Air flow
A screened backside board (like this one) is utilized in Langstroth-style hives to extend air flow.
I stay mine open lots of the 12 months because of the nice and cozy temperatures.
I shut it up when chilly fronts come via to lend a hand the bees in keeping up an optimum temperature within the hive.
Alternatively, within the tournament of prime winds, it will make sense to near this off to forestall wind gusts from arising beneath the hive, throughout the display screen backside board, and lifting the hive clear of the root.
Unquestionably, if the incoming hurricane was once going to drop the temperature considerably, final off the ground air flow would indisputably be a good suggestion.
As well as, relying at the path of the wind, it will make sense to near off the doorway to the hive as smartly.
For the reason that our group may not be experiencing an instantaneous hit from the storm’s maximum ferocious winds, I’ve selected to not shut off air flow.
As well as, the temperatures will nonetheless be round 80 °F throughout the peak of the hurricane, so final the air flow would possibly make the interior of the hive too heat.
Alternatively, I would possibly exchange my thoughts and do it briefly if the hurricane makes a last-minute directional exchange.
What’s your technique for securing residential or dwelling house beehives in preparation for serious storms like a storm?
