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  1. #1

    Default Locations

    Hi, I would be grateful for any advice on keeping bees in Scotland, particularly how far north is practical (Depending on site I guess and sources of food), and also advice on midges - are these a problem for beekeepers and gardeners . We are looking to move around the Callander area and to have bees ( I have done the basic courses) and also spend as much time out doors tending the garden - hence the midge question.
    Many thanks for your help.

  2. #2

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    Avon "Skin So Soft" is the best midge repellant
    It works better than all the citronnela and other repellants
    Re Bees check if the area is still varroa free and buy the bees locally by joining the local association that should get you all the information on local forage honey etc
    Hopefully someone on here will come along with the LA info

    Sent from my LIFETAB_S1034X using Tapatalk

  3. #3

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    Thanks for your reply, I have read a lot about skin so soft to keep the midges from biting , am I right in saying that midges can get through mesh on a bee suit? I will join the local bee group as soon as we decide on location I appreciated all the help from our local group when I was doing my training.

  4. #4
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fawcettpark View Post
    Thanks for your reply, I have read a lot about skin so soft to keep the midges from biting , am I right in saying that midges can get through mesh on a bee suit? I will join the local bee group as soon as we decide on location I appreciated all the help from our local group when I was doing my training.
    Callander should be a lovely place to do beekeeping, and gardening. It is a mixed area with lots of mixed woodland. The nearest association is likely to be the one that meets in Dunblane, the Dunblane and Stirling Beekeeping Association. They're a large and friendly group covering a big area.

    There is a healthy population of beekeepers on Orkney so you'd be nowhere near the northern limit .

    Midges sometimes bother me in my lowland apiaries in Tayside and can be awful in the Angus glens. From some evening visits to the bees in the Angus glens and from trying beekeeping equipment on camping trips in Wester Ross I can confirm that veils are a *bad* idea. They go straight through then mass inside. But you can buy fine-meshed midgie veils from outdoors shops for gardening if you have to be out and static when they are.

    However in a garden you should be fine. Callander is not the wet, wet, west coast where the midgies are fierce. They might bother you in warmish humid weather (worst in the evenings) but once the sun is out they melt away. To be replaced in some places by clegs .

    G.
    Last edited by gavin; 05-02-2016 at 12:52 PM.

  5. #5
    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
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    Callander is a lovely place even if you're not beekeeping and gardening.

    Welcome.

    PS 'Skin so soft' ... now I realise why all Scottish beekeepers I meet have such fantastic complexions ... nothing like this at all

    walnut.jpg

  6. #6

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    Thanks gavin , that has gone a long way to easing my mind, it has been a dream of mine to have my own bees for quite a while now and now that we are able to move I just want to make sure this is the right place.
    Good advice about the veils .
    Oh the clegs I had forgotten about them!

  7. #7
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gavin View Post
    ... But you can buy fine-meshed midgie veils from outdoors shops for gardening if you have to be out and static when they are.
    ...

    G.
    My midgie veil or hood wraps far too close to my nose for me to feel bee-proof wearing it - so, on a few occasions last year the midgies were so fierce that I wore the midgie hood inside my bee veil. Not ideal, but it helped.

    There's a pine forest to the east of the Croft and each year as the forest grows higher, the midgies get worse.

    I've mentioned the midgie problem before, but there was no response - so I assumed the Scots don't complain about something as tiny as a midgie. You just get on with the task at hand, and it's only foreigners like me who complain! (Not quite true - this is my second homeland. I only sound like a foreigner.)

    Kitta

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    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
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    Apparently the blue bottle of SSS is the stuff to use ... and you could even consider replacing the mesh in the beesuit veil with 'midgie netting' which you can buy by the yard.

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mellifera Crofter View Post
    My midgie veil or hood wraps far too close to my nose for me to feel bee-proof wearing it - so, on a few occasions last year the midgies were so fierce that I wore the midgie hood inside my bee veil. Not ideal, but it helped.

    There's a pine forest to the east of the Croft and each year as the forest grows higher, the midgies get worse.

    I've mentioned the midgie problem before, but there was no response - so I assumed the Scots don't complain about something as tiny as a midgie. You just get on with the task at hand, and it's only foreigners like me who complain! (Not quite true - this is my second homeland. I only sound like a foreigner.)

    Kitta
    The vicous ones can bite you through A beesuit or a shirt never mind a veil
    Thymol might keep them at bay Kitta just stick some api life var in the suit pockets
    And you'll get some space at the bar during the lunchtime break as a bonus

  10. #10

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    Midges area natural phenomena like rain or wind. Choose your time and work with nature and all will be well. A bright day with a bit of wind will be midge free. A dull overcast day with a drizzle is impossible . I have a midge hat with a broad brim which keeps the veil off my face but it is too hot to work in
    I have kept bees on the sunny west coast in ullapool for 12 years and the midges and I have learned to coexist peacefully


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