National Bee Hive

[pennardesign]

Do any other forum members here make their 'National Bee Hives', here are some supers I made this week, the ones in th picture have not been nailed together just dry fitted.

 

[marcros]

i have made some bits in the past but more recently I prefer poly. I have given up my bees this season for the first time 20 odd years due to time.

 

[MickCheese]

My wife keeps nagging me that she wants to keep a hive but I am concerned it's a lot of maintenance and hard work, am I right?

Mick

 

[dickm]

Yes!

 

[marcros]

Yes!

 

[Droogs]

In what way? I thought you just gave them a house and came back to steal the honey later

 

[dickm]

In what way? I thought you just gave them a house and came back to steal the honey later

If only! My daughter keeps bees, and is still feeding the little blighters as it's too wet/cold/something for them to have anything spare for making honey. Apistan to control varroa costs an arm and a leg. And they still proceeded to sting her while she was adding the syrup.

To answer the OP, I've made a few hive bits for her; most difficult aspect even here seems to be getting suitably sized larch/cedar boards to make them. Probably cheaper to buy seconds kits in Thorne's sale! (but less satisfying, of course!)

 

[MickCheese]

Thanks, will keep my head down and hope she forgets.

 

[whiskywill]

Do any other forum members here make their 'National Bee Hives', here are some supers I made this week, the ones in th picture have not been nailed together just dry fitted.

I have made my own but cannot now buy cedar at less than the cost of one of these. http://www.caddon-hives.co.uk/National- ... -flat-roof

Do your lower bars, the ones with the tennoned ends, have a slope on their top edge to shed rainwater? Other than that a very nice job and where did you get the cedar, if, in fact, it is cedar?

 

[dean0866]

My wife keeps bees and she recently purchased a second hand hive which has a few issues I.e. some rotten parts. I therefore fear that I'm about to loose a number of weekends to making various replacement parts.

Did you use a set of plans and if so where did you get them from?

 

[marcros]

have a look on the downloads section of the Scottish beekeepers association. They used to be free there.

 

[Lons]

My neighbour has half a dozen hives and the little bu**ers don't like me or more accurately my lawn mowers, I've been stung a number of times and had to abandon my mower last time and let it run for 2 hours until it ran out of petrol. Added to that they always choose my trees to swarm into despite him having plenty of his own and even after treating them with Jeyes fluid.

He's finally been persuaded to move the hives away from my boundary so hopefully we can all live in peace as I like bees.
He's feeding them most of the time as well and says he could buy a hell of a lot of honey with the money it costs him to keep bees. :lol:

Bob

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Sometimes all that's necessary is to turn the hives 180 degrees, so their flight path is different.

 

[Max Power]

What time of year do you set one up ?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Early to mid summer ideally if you can get a nucleus or a swarm. It gives them a chance to build up supplies for the winter. Or in the case of this year, the rest of the summer.