How do you determine water content?
Bill
If you have a large volume, very accurate scale, and precise temperature control then I suppose you could do it by density. But that is very much more complicated.
If you know it was fully capped, you donāt need to, it will be ripe. Otherwise, as @chau06 writes, I use a refractometer. I think @JeffH has some easy way of testing ripeness using a glass of water, but I donāt remember what he does exactly, as I have a refractometer.
Iāve used @JeffH ās method and it works well. He has a video of it, maybe heāll repost it hereā¦basically, honey that is unripe will dissolve rapidly in cold water, as compared to ripe honey which pretty much stays in the same shape as it was when dropped to the bottom of a bowl of said water.
Hi Bill, thanks @Dawn_SD & @Eva. Here is my video of the simple test to determine ripe honey versus unripe honey.
cheers
I have a lot of ants on my hive and the bottom board. Is there a way to get rid of them without hurting the bees?
Ground cinnamon works great for me and the bees donāt care.
Hi Bill, if you want to get rid of ants, you can spray the underside of the hive, as well as the hive stand with cooking oil. Bees wont cross over cooking oil. I see thousands of ants at times, they never really bother me. On one location, I keep telling myself that Iām going to fix these ants one day, but I never get a āround tu-itā. Hive beetles are more of a concern. I squash them, but not ants.
Hello from Longmont. I installed a nuc in a Classic, 10 frame hive body Apr 25 and added a second deep mid-May (1st deep was appropriately filled). Added the Flow super Jun 26. Have harvested over a gallon of honey with more to come.
Question: once I have allowed the Flow frames to empty (harvested) should I take the super off the hive and lean it against the 2 deeps for the bees to clean (worried about attracting the nasty yellow jackets and wasps) ? The Flow super is full of bees so leaning the nearly empty super against the deeps seems logical to allow the bees to return to the mother-ship. Correct ? Once the Flow super is totally empty Iāll be putting it in a garbage bad and storing it in a warmish garage.
do Bee do Bee do and thanks, Eric
Eric, that is a fantastic result from a first year colony!! Well done bees and beek
At the end of the season I put the empty/sticky Flow super above an inner cover on the brood boxes and with the lid on. This works well for me, and after a day the whole super goes into the deep freeze for 24+ hours to kill off any pest eggs. Definitely do this - just yesterday I finally had time to rotate some boxes from the freezer to the shed (stacked with stiff plastic chicken feed bag sheets between) so my Flow super could go in after bee cleanupā¦it had been sitting outside in my garden cart with the roof on top, but the time and conditions allowed dozens of SHB larvae to hatch in a little bit of debris
After the freeze treatment Iāll put all the frames into a plastic garbage bag, nestled into the box, and stacked in the shed. @Dawn_SD does similar re the freezer routine, but uses burlap successfully to protect from moths in storage.
well noted and thanks Eric, do Bee do Bee do
I always heard to put stuff in a cedar chest to protect from moths. Wonder if it would be an ideal storage container. thoughts?
If it worked for wax moths, cedar hives wouldnāt have any. I can tell you absolutely they do, and the larvae will even eat the cedar of the hive box.
In my experience, the best thing is do as @Eva suggests - freeze first, then store somewhere protected from moths. I use burlap because it is breathable and less prone to mold. Our warm California winter is pretty encouraging of mold, so I donāt use plastic or garbage bags.
I have also been reading about using vinegar in the hive. The bees like it, wax moths and shb, not so much. Wax moth repellent list | Beesource Beekeeping Forums
This is where I was reading. Not sure how right they are. Seems like another option to freezing and trash bagging.
Iām glad I have another year to get my flow storage setup going. I purchased a small freezer. Itās a few months out.
These traps seem like a good idea too!
Yes the freezer is your best bet. I had wax moths last year and took out my hive. I put the frames in the freezer and cut out the wax moth infected area.
My hive is doing awesome this year, great honey production for my se one year.
Bill
Hello CO Beeks.
I am emptying/harvesting my Flow super ahead of the fall and winter. Itās mid-August and I am in Longmont.
Question: Should I leave the Flow superās cell āopenā allowing for more drainage and celling by the bees?
I am worried that the bees will reenter the cells and be able to move into the open channels between the framesā sides and get trapped.
do Bee do Bee doā¦Eric
I only leave the cells open when harvesting. The rest of the time, it is best to leave them closed.
thanksāclosing them up now. Eric
Hi Bill,
Iām in Fort Collins too - this was my first season with a Flow Hive, Iāve been keeping bees about 8 years. Have you harvested this year?