Chemical Free!
By ekpeach in Education,General | 6 comments
In order to be chemical free, there are some things you must do first.
1. You must train yourself to not think of what chemicals you need to put in your hive. You must think what can I do to help the bees overcome the chemical dependency.
2. You will want to think of ways you can encourage growth and strength of your colonies.
4. You will need certain modifications to your hive bodies.
A. Screened bottom boards.
B. Migratory top boards with a hole cut in top for a feeder jar (if a full sized hive or entrance feeder if it is a nuc. (There are various methods of feeding.)
Some of the other supplies and equipment you will need will depend on how you want to test your bees for mites: ether, alcohol, powdered sugar, screened jar, or closed jar, white pan or saucer. You also need some Small Hive Beetle traps to gage the amount of beetles you have in your hives.
This is where I will wait for your questions or input to this post before I explain what these things are used for. I really don’t know if I do have any readers or not, because I have gotten very few comments lately.
Until then, I will bid you adieu.
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Boyd | Mar 22, 2011 | Reply
Peaches,
We’ve emailed once before. I’m a Navarre reader that hopes to become an apiarist once I get out of an apartment and into my first home.
While I have no questions about this article, I did want to assure you that I read every one you write!
Boyd
ekpeach | Mar 22, 2011 | Reply
Thank you, Boyd. I guess that I am pretty thorough in my explanations. I suppose I need to continue on with the string of thought since you are reading. Next installment will be in two or three days. Will take me that long to compose and correct it.
Thanks again.
Peaches
Chelsea | Mar 22, 2011 | Reply
I am reading too! Yours was once of the very first blogs I subscribed to when I got interested in beekeeping. Please continue! I’m especially interested to hear about how you deal with varroa – they seem to claim a lot of hives around here.
ekpeach | Mar 22, 2011 | Reply
Thank you Chelsea. I do feel better now that I know that all yawl are reading. I’ll do my best to give you an answer about the mites that you can relate or at least try.
Peaches
Boyd | Mar 28, 2011 | Reply
I’m still living in an apartment in Florida. The time that I move into a house in South Carolina is coming up very soon. It will already be Summer once the move happens.
That said, I’m hoping to find a few apiarists local to my future neighborhood and asking them if I can observe or help in any way. I would love to begin with my own apiary in the next Spring or Summer.
Either way, I’ll still be reading your blog. I learn a lot from websites giving helpful tips, but yours is the blog I read when I want user experience (which I value much more!) instead of just facts and trivia.
Sorry for the wall of text! Thanks again for your willingness to write these posts and share your experiences with us.
Boyd
ekpeach | Mar 28, 2011 | Reply
I think you for your kind words, Boyd. My next post is about the mites and their destructive powers (virus wise).