Thoughts On Hive Winterization
A few simple things in the fall can really make a difference when it comes to winter hive survival.
The hard frosts I’ve seen the last few mornings really reminds me that it’s time to winterize those hives before our wet, cold winter sets in. These cool, clear and sunny days offer a great opportunity to go look at your hives and see what they have going on. I’ve seen a lot of robbing activity this fall from hungry yellow jackets and lost a hive a few weeks ago to robbing. It’s always the worst way to see honey bees die, especially in the fall. I feel like if we lose a hive in the fall/winter, it’s typically because of mite pressure or moisture. Sometimes it could be because they starve to death – this happens in top bar hives sometimes by accident based on how the bee cluster moves through the hive in the winter – thought it is rare. Fall robbing pressure can really take a strong hive and completely decimate them in a couple of dry, sunny days so it’s good to keep an eye on your hives. Here are some general tips I’ve found helpful when winterizing a top bar hive or a Langstroth hive. Also, make sure when you winterize your hive that you wear protective clothing as the bees may be easily upset during disturbance this time of year and yellow jackets may also be present.
Reduce your hive entrance – this will keep those pesky robbers out. If you have an entrance reducer manufactured for your type of hive, use it. It will keep robbers out because it will make the entrance much smaller and more manageable for the honey bees to protect. If you want to make one use natural items like small pinecones, pieces of chestnut, or sticks to help reduce the hive entrance. The native fir trees all over the Rose Village neighborhood put out a lot of small cones that work well for this.
Moisture control – burlap is your friend. It will help wick moisture and keep the condensation out of the cluster. The winter bee cluster still wants to keep quite warm even in the winter and that can create a lot of condensation which can kill the hive. You might be tempted to use something like a vapor barrier or plastic sheeting. I would advise against it. As an additional moisture measure, we do use an additional polycarbonate corrugated sheeting (I found an inexpensive product at the lumberyard called TUFTEX) to cover the entire hive. I’ve found this helps keep moisture out of the hives, as our top bar hives have a bit of a design flaw and moisture finds its way in pretty easily if you don’t cover them completely. They extended polycarbonate sheeting size on the Langstroth hives helps keep moisture out of the entrance area.
Insulation – not all hives have space for this but if your hive does, see if you can put some in. We have a lot of cold, damp nights in Vancouver and even a small amount of insulation seems to help. My hives all have space for insulation and we keep it in the hive from late October through February. I’ve never wrapped the outside of the hives with insulation or tar paper but I know some people have good luck with that. If you are in a place with really high winds you may benefit from covering the sides in tar paper as it will work as a wind break and is usually dark colored and that will attract additional heat on cold, sunny days. Tar paper also breathes a lot better than plastic. Speaking of wind, you should consider using a tie-down strap to secure your hive. It is always surprising when we get blustery winter storms but they can definitely happen in Vancouver. Using an inexpensive dog tie-out and a ratchet strap might save you a lot of headache when you find your hive has tipped over and you’ve lost your bees to the elements.
