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Thread: Mouldy hives

  1. #1
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Default Mouldy hives

    We received an email from our chairman warning us about mouldy hives as a result of our long, wet winter. We have a very good and considerate chairman, but I'm not sure about his advice this time. He suggested replacing the affected crown board and roof (that's fine) and increase ventilation through the hive by checking that vents in the roof and crown board aren't covered or clogged up with propolis. He also suggested adding extra ventilation by lifting the crown board with match sticks. With an open mesh floor air will then flow up through the hive keeping things dry in the process.

    I think he was mainly referring to wooden hives, but even in my polys I occasionally see some mould in the corners of inner plywood crown boards (meaning they fit inside the hive) and I'm sure I'll see mould on some of the outside frames of some hives when I open them in the spring - but usually the insides of the hives are nice and dry. I don't have top ventilation, and I don't remove the inspection trays (but there are openings in some trays and they're fairly loose-fitting).

    I don't want to reply to his email and squeal, 'You'll create a draught through the hive' (so I'm doing it here!) - but also because I realised that I don't have an alternative suggestion to remedy mouldy hives if, at the same time, I want to avoid a draught. I might suggest increasing the insulation above the crown board - will that help? Are there still people here using top ventilation?

    Kitta

  2. #2

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    Hi Kitta you can just leave an empty rapid feeder over the hole left by a porter bee escape in the crown board
    What happens is the moisture rises into the cone of the rapid feeder then condenses and ends up in the feeder not back in the hive
    That's the plan anyway

    Sent from my LIFETAB_S1034X using Tapatalk

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    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Thanks DR. That sounds like a good plan, and one I haven't thought of before.
    Kitta

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mellifera Crofter View Post
    . I might suggest increasing the insulation above the crown board - will that help? Are there still people here using top ventilation?

    Kitta
    I have placed poly cosies on top of all my wooden hive .. and an extra cover on my MB poly hive.to insulate roof and roof junction.. to prevent condensation. Works so far in a VERY wet winter..


    IMG_0127.JPG
    Last edited by madasafish; 16-02-2016 at 10:41 AM.

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    I got that email too Kitta and was a bit alarmed at the matchstick advice as I think its outdated.

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    Quote Originally Posted by greengumbo View Post
    I got that email too Kitta and was a bit alarmed at the matchstick advice as I think its outdated.
    "outdated" is not the word I would use.. but my choice is very rude...

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Sounds more than a bit 'BBKA'. I've never heard of a Scottish beekeeper advocating that until now.

    It will increase their use of stores, increase the risk of isolation and plain starvation and set back spring development. Insulate the tops, try to winter relatively strong colonies, dummy them down or shift to a nuc box if small.

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    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Default

    Thank you, everybody. That's a help. Perhaps Greengumbo or I can have a wee chat with our chairman when we next see him.

    That's a nice apiary, Madasafish. I agree about deep roofs, but I haven't yet made any. In my head I make all kinds of plans for an ideal poly hive!

  9. #9

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    Its an interesting subject though because the matchstick advice comes with a long history in print
    Being a Luddite I still haven't accepted OMF are a good thing
    I was chatting to a friend a couple of weeks back and a new Beek they had been helping had lost one colony out of two and the hive was very wet
    In that case the crown board was a bit undersized on a S/H older hive they had picked up somewhere

    Condensation relies on a temperature difference so rising warm air hits cold crown board etc
    Water has a nasty habit of wicking its way along edges and getting in
    It's easier to spot that happening in a chicken house because the bedding will be wet in one place (usually)
    Its surprising sometimes though how a bit of a tilt and a slight gap or crack causes so much aggravation
    Last edited by The Drone Ranger; 16-02-2016 at 05:41 PM.

  10. #10

    Default Ventilation and mesh floors

    Quote Originally Posted by gavin View Post
    .....Sounds more than a bit 'BBKA'. It will increase their use of stores, increase the risk of isolation and plain starvation and set back spring development. Insulate the tops.....
    I have put 1" insulation board into the roofs of my wooden National hives, cover the crown board escapes/feed holes and I have mesh floors. Largely I do not get condensation and am satisfied with this set-up - but this thread has reminded me that when I initially put in the mesh floors I was concerned about too much ventilation. In the very windy west of Ireland am I setting back spring development?

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