oooops
You did actually say that
Sorry…
Mine has tended to go cloudy now, not sure why? Fermented maybe??
Just sugar and water? What ratio of sugar to water? It usually doesn’t ferment, although it probably could. Mine tends to grow strings of black or pink mold/algae. Honey-B-Healthy makes it go cloudy right at the start, from the essential oil emulsion. It doesn’t grow mold or anything else though with HBH in it.
The other possibility is that you have very hard water and the sugar is coming out of solution as it cools. That is usually only a problem with 2:1 sugar to water. I believe @Michael_Bush uses 5:3 sugar:water for that reason. His addition of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) probably helps to stop the hard water precipitates too, by acidifying the solution slightly.
Randy Oliver adds 5ml plain chlorine bleach per gallon of feed, and that stops all mold/algae.
Perhaps some ideas to try out.
if it hasn’t been completely dissolved, it only takes a few crystals remaining to begin crystallising again…
I have been using rain water but since being displaced from Cyclone Debbie today’s batch is town water see if that makes a difference. I’ve also made it at a higher temp for longer
I’ve just mixed 1:1 sugar water. Cooling down from a boil now. I read a lot about additives that may or may not help some. I have Maple, Vanilla, Almond, Orange, Peppermint extracts. Will any help at all? I even have Chili oil. Or just leave it all alone. What say y’all from Texas?
Whatever you do, just a tiny bit, like one drop per quart. Bees are incredibly more sensitive to smells than we are. I suggest peppermint - none of the others are good pheromone replacements.
The Chili oil sounds interesting
For you, but not for the bees! They have receptors which will respond to capsaicin (in chili oil), just like we do. Except they will probably respond 100x more!
There are some insect repellents which are based on Picaridin, which is many times less potent (fiery hot) than capsaicin. They are highly effective at preventing mosquito and tick bites. If you put chili oil into bee food, I predict that they may abscond. Don’t do it…
Thanks Dawn. Peppermint sounds reasonable.
Not that the girls have been introduced to their new home yesterday evening, they seem much more settled down. They were really unhappy yesterday. I used simple syrup[1:1] to cool/feed them on the way home. There are clumps of bees still in and on the cage today. I’m thinking they are interested in the sugar water dried on the cage. Is it OKay to leave them alone on the cage for a few days or shake them off and clean the cage and store it? When is the best time to check on the queen after installing yesterday evening? BTW, I’m using the round top feeder with simple syrup.
Any chance of a photo? It is hard to visualize numbers, and the type of cage you have.
Usual advice is 2-3 days after installation
They like chasing me away. A large pan of water lies 25’ away. No interest in that yet. Simple syrup doesn’t look as though it’s moving yet. I’ll fire up the smoker 2morrow 4 a closer look. A few dead ones on the front porch this evening. Any suggestions?