Thanks, Alan, for near real-time chat. iza
Hi @isobella, I canāt find any posts from you where you either describe or have a photo of your hive setup so youāll have to interpret the following as best applicable to how you have your hive setup.
Ant trap/barrier suggestions:
- Diatomaceous earth can be used around the base of the hive. However, this will need replenishing as it breaks down/washes away
- Water trap (what I use). Will need topping up every few days/week or so in summer as the water evaporates. Drawback in winter is the accumulation of dead bees and the fact itās always full of water. Can smell a bit if you donāt empty/clean it out every few weeks in winter
- Grease/vaseline or similar around the legs of your hive stand. Ants wonāt climb over it. However, if youāre using vaseline, expect it to ārunā on hot summer days and reapplication will be required. I actually use vaseline around the collection bucket when Iām extracting honey to stop ants climbing up it
- Stand your hive in an oil trap (most likely one for each leg as opposed to a big oil trap akin to a large water trap)
They are just a few ideas to get you thinking. You can look at this thread for more discussion:
Something you need to be aware of is that Ant Powder is toxic to bees (and waterways). IF you have an ant problem in general around your place and are inclined to use Ant Powder use it very sparingly and do not let it come in contact with any flowers or surfaces that bees might land on. Alternatively, you could try pouring boiling water down the ants nests (note: boiling water is also likely to kill the roots of any plants, including grass, in the immediate vicinity. This is more of an issue for plants than grass)
Hope the above helps.
As a suggestion, take a photo of your hive and/or describe your setup on this thread:
https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/show-a-pic-of-your-setup/1
Posting information on your setup there will help other people when you ask for assistance. Also, that thread will let you see pictures/descriptions of different setups around the world.
Finally, donāt forget your bees also need a water source. When placing your water source make sure youāre aware of the fact youāll essentially get a second flight path between the hive and the water source, especially on hot summer days. You can get ideas from this thread regarding different water source setups:
What a remarkable information FLOW. Thank you to Alan, also to others eventually eg in advance. Yes, bees had water continuously over summer here in the West of OZ with less constant attention by moi through winter months.
Noted, a forum member uses pebbles within a shallow watering dish.
I am fascinated by bees since age five when NZ bumble bees showed too great interest in a multi-coloured jacket knitted by my gran. Later, at high school, a science teacher created a demonstration hive which was safely behind glass.
iza
@Charles- thought you might have some thoughts.
Posted on forum but no responses
I have only just put a wedge of wood in the door of my hive with a smaller opening in it for warmth and easier protection for the bees against robbers. I am confused about the core flute sheet I have in my flow hive which I moved from the bottom position to the top slot just before winter. The days here in Perth have been starting really cold but the days have been wonderful up to 23 degrees lately. So my question is - is all that ok or should I move the core flute down now its getting warmer or wait another few weeks for it to really warm up. And one more question - what isāa flowā when it comes to the bees foraging? How do you know when there is a āflowā and what does it look like?
Springa
Hi Springa Leave core flute in top position till starts to warm up a bit more at night . Entrance reducer basically do the same until you have at least 80% OF BROOD BOX FULL OF BEES.The honey flow is when you are seen a lot more honey and quicker in Frames. bees bringing in a lot more pollen and some times bees are completely covered in pollen ,
Charles
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Hi, My wife and I are in Stirling and are getting our FH and Bees today.
Any starter tips are welcome to help get them running into Spring. What are our main pests here and prevention for them?
How often should we be checking them to start with and what will the frequency look like over spring/summer?
I assume we harvest honey when the frames looked capped off, is there a waiting period or is it just as soon as all capped? Should we be leaving stores there for the hive or is that more a end of season thing for winter? Also an indication of how much honey to expect, how fast to expect the colony to grow etc will help gauge if the hive is doing well or not.
Thanks in advance (and yes I have searched/read a fair bit in this forum/in google so have some ideas but more local/specific advice would be very useful)
Hiya Sam, welcome to the forum. Unfortunately most of your questions dont have definitive answersā¦
My main pest, wax moth.
Donāt expect a harvest the first year.
Donāt add the super until the bees are overflowing the brood box.
My main inspections are visual at the entrance, preferably with a beer in hand. Remember each time you open up it sets them back. Having said this its an easier inspection when they are building up and are fewer in number. Being spring they can build fast, get a spare box or three, youāll need them 
Beware of the summer dearth.
Im obviously not in your area so am only giving general answers, someone 10 kms away was harvesting while mine were starvingā¦
First year is a study year I reckon and learn that its bees first, honey and wax later. 
Keep water around for them and good luck.
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Go here Beekeeping books I recommend. You need to read many books. The library is a good place. Then buy the book (or books) you most associate with as a reference.
Make use of the search box (top right hand corner) for specific questions.
Browse through the forum for general info. Keep in mind once you start in the forum you could get buried in reading for many hours.
Good luck with your start.
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WAAS are starting to run their introductory Beekeeping course too. They also have bee buddy groups across Perth.
When you register as a beekeeper with DPRID you will see on their website some useful documents too.
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Thanks for the tips guys!
The hive seems relatively established, they are filling up the outside frames already.
Im looking to paint the brood box and the super box exterior. Will exterior paint from bunnings do the trick or will this put the bees off/ keep too much moisture in the boxes??
How long do I need to wait before putting the super on after its painted and can I paint the brood box while the bees are in it??
Youāll get all sorts of advice about painting. I use a good quality exterior paint and paint inside and out and do 2-3 coats. I usually wait 2-3 weeks before using for bees to ensure it has cured properly. It is much easier to do without bees inside although it is possible but exciting trying to stop them landing in wet paint and/or guard bees becoming excited. Adam
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Hi Team and welcome to the newbees and returning Perth (WA, AU) forumites,
Iāve been away for 6 weeks and a check today, from the back, indicates that the majority of the flow frames look full.
Iāll do a full maintenance inspection this weekend and swap out a couple of the old brood frames for new, while I check if the flow frames are really full or if the girls are just tricking 
The removed brood frames will go into my long hive colony where it is easier to remove the frames once the brood has emerged.
The long hive colony has survived their first winter and I am feeling confident that I will be able to add flow frames to my long hive this year.
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Grab your can of spray on cooking oil from the kitchen and give a spray to where the ants are, they wonāt walk on it then. If you can track the ant trail to the nest and if it is in the ground you can sprinkle some ant dust onto the entrance, it works for me and doesnāt effect the bees if the treatment is on the ant nest entrance.
Cheers
If you want your boxes to last, and donāt we all, then it is important to seal the timber from moisture and the easiest way is by painting them. Some will advise painting the inside as well as the outside but I only paint the edges and the outside. The edges I paint because water can sit in the box joins and cause rotting of the timber. I leave it for the bees to decide on interior decor. Depending on the paint type you use as to how long before it can be used. I use water based paint and allow a few days to dry then they can go into use. With water based paint you can repaint with the box in use but I leave the entrance till just on dark so it is dry for bee traffic in the morning.
Cheers
Thank you Peter re cooking oil and ants, will do this. iza
Soā¦ It seems on my last inspection I wasnāt as careful as I thought or the plastic excluder is broken and I didnāt noticeā¦ The scales I recently setup had shown a big jump in weight over the last 3 days of great weather so I thought Iād jump in for a quick inspection after work tonight and swap a flow frame or two out to ensure sufficient space for nectar given what appears to be early days of the nectar flowā¦
ā¦ You can guess what I discoveredā¦
Brood throughout my flow frames 
I stopped after pulling the first flow frame given it was already after 5pm and cooling downā¦I guess Iāve got a bit of cleaning up to do in the next few daysā¦
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@M_n_E You seem to have withdrawn your post for post for some reason but I was still emailed the questionā¦
To answer what you asked (Could you just replace the queen excluder and let the brood hatch out??), the answer isā¦ Yes, sort of.
I basically need to first inspect the hive to see what is happening in the brood box. If there is no fresh brood it means I trapped the Queen above the excluder. If I have fresh brood above and below it means I have a broken excluder.
Thatās step 1.
Step 2 is to inspect the flow frames and try to determine the type of brood developing (drones or workers). Based on comments from others on here who have experienced this Iām expecting it to be all or mostly drones.
Step 3 is influenced by step 1. However, assuming Iāve got fresh brood in both the brood box and the Super I need to replace the excluder and then brush all frames off into the brood box and ensure the Queen is below the excluder. Iāll then be inclined to let all brood emerge. Given this will likely involve alot of drones I need to then facilitate a means of escape (i.e. Top entrance) as drones canāt pass through the excluder. Iāll need to monitor thisā¦
Step 4 will be to yank the flow frames, clean them up, and put them back into service. Thankfully Iāve got spare flow framesā¦
Iām happy to type more once Iām on my computer if you have other questions (this is on my phone) or if you want something explained better.
Oh, welcome to the forum.
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Oh bugger 
Could you replace the queen excluder add another super (if you have one) and let the brood hatch out of the flow frames? If not hope there is not too much cleaning 
Iāve collectedā¦
9 flow frames
2 hybrid supers
1 full flow super
2 brood boxes (I only actually use 1 brood box)
ā¦ You magically accumulate stuff when beekeeping Iāve discoveredā¦ My wife loves it 
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haha yeah sorry I deleted the original post so I could do a reply to your actual post 
Thank you for the welcome
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