Should I leave the bottom tray in my flow hive all the time?

Hi Guys,

I am about to install a Nuc in my Flow Hive 2 for the first time.

I am brand new to beekeeping and am wondering if I should leave the bottom tray in my flow hive all the time or only put it in occasionally to check for pests?

I live in the hills north of Melbourne, Australia where it is currently not that hot and relatively cool at night.

Does the climate dictate if I leave the tray in the hive or take it out?

Thanks in advance,

Michael.

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I have been studying the flow2. I would leave the tray in full time, as well as keep the vents closed. The bees, in my view don’t need any added ventilation. The entrance reduced to about 15cm is all that is required. You could reduce it down a bit more during winter.

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Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it!.

Cheers,

Michael.

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G’day Michael, you’re most welcome. It’s warm on the Sunshine Coast at the moment. We’re supposed to get 32 today & 33 tomorrow. Then cooling down again for a few days.

I would never have an open bottom on my hive. Its a big opening for pests like SHB to get direct access into the hive where the guard bees can never patrol and in warm weather when the bees have cooled the air in their hive it just falls out the bottom (cool air is denser that hot air) which just gives them more work.

Cheers
Rob.

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Hi Rob,

Thanks for the advice. Thats great to be able to ask experts!.

Sounds nice Jeff. The weather is still fairly unpredictable down here in Victoria.

Cheers,

Michael.

Your climate might ‘bounce’ a bit but it isn’t extreme. Leave you tray in permanently and as Jeff says, you could close down the entrance in your Winter. Keep an eye open for SHB as the climate warms up.
Cheers

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Thanks Peter.

Cheers,

Michael.

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I agree with all of the great advice above. The only thing I would add is that the bees can’t clean that tray in the way that they would clean a hive floor. It will rapidly accumulate hive debris, like pollen balls, wax etc. You should probably empty and clean it every week or two, to avoid wax moths and even SHB from turning it into a breeding ground. :dizzy_face:

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I also would leave it in all year around.

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Thanks everyone.

Cheers,

Michael.

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Hi all,
I’ve just been reading this thread. I’m on a Flow Hives discussion fb page and most people suggest leaving the bottom tray out unless doing a shb inspection. My tray gets very mouldy when I put a light layer of oil in and I clean it every week. The other problem is I’m getting fly maggots and when it rains heavily on the Northern Rivers, the tray fills with water adding more condensation to the hive. I’d really like to know from the Flow Hive people what the purpose of the tray is and an explanation about the pros and cons of leaving in or out. Thanks!

If you don’t like the chore of cleaning the tray weekly because of the mold you get with using oil you could try using garden lime a mm or two deep in the tray and any SHB that get onto the tray will die. Others use dalmatious earth (dalamtious is probably spelt wrong), I haven’t used it myself but read good reports from those that do.
The purpose of the tray is to concentrate anything that you don’t want in the hive to make it easier to keep the hive clean, so there is the pro. The con is removing it can cause a build up of ‘litter’ under the hive which can then lead to an any issue or a bigger fly maggot problem and ants. So more time needed in keeping a clean hive.
Re condensation, with the recent continuous rain and high humidity it is a problem, I fit a hive mat sitting on the top of the frames of the top box and have fitted roof vents to increase the air flow thru the hive and find both a big help.
If your tray is filling with water in a weeks of rain I would wonder if your hive has an early version of the roof which was a real issue with rain water leaking into the hive, that is a lot of water in the tray from just condensation. I was not impressed with the early roofs for that reason so I replaced all of them with migratory flat roofs, it certainly made for a drier hive, and no mold internally.
Welcome to the forum Alison where you will find a lot here happy to give good advice. Your in a great area for bee keeping but keep an eye out for SHB with the warm humid weather you are have now.
Cheers

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It would be good to see a photo of those fly maggots. Hive beetle larvae could easily be mistaken for fly maggots. You don’t want hive beetle larvae in or even on the bottom tray of your hive.

It’s ok. I got my beehive mentor over straight away (he has 25 years exp) and he thought the same as you but he confirmed they were defn fly maggots.
Thanks

Alison Lucas
alison@lifeworkspilates.com.au
0415784214

Actually it just occurred to me that the maggots could be the larvae of Black Soldier Flies. They like to lay eggs in anything beehive related, stuff like slumgum with a bit of water mixed in.

I’m a fan of migratory lids as well as solid floors with the hives tilted slightly forward so that no water pools on the floor. My hives stay dry inside with that kind of arrangement.

Diatomaceous earth

Some people swear by it. Others even eat it themselves.

I never tried it, it’s out of my budget.

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I haven’t tried it, and for the same reason. I find garden lime works best for me when I need to.
Two tries to spell it right and failed with both but at least you understood what I was meaning.
Cheers

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Hi,
I’ve run an experiment leaving the pest tray out of my flow hives for the last year. I had trouble on and off with chalk brood and after leaving the trays out I seem to have had no trouble with chalk brood in that time.It may be a coincidence? The hives are nice and strong and seem happy enough without the pest trays in position so for now I’m leaving them out. I live in coastal central Queensland (hot summers mild winters)and we have had a proper wet season, perfect for hive beetles, but my hives have coped fine so far. Quite a few friends have lost hives to hive beetles recently. So far I haven’t seen any negative effects of leaving the pest trays out. Interesting!:thinking:

If there is decaying material under the hive? Then spores might be drifting up into the hive possibly adding to the chalk brood theory. Iv only had it once with a hive, and it was because of how damp it was around the hive, clearing branches and providing more sunlight really helped them recover. But it also transfers fro hive to hive using the same hive tool.

In regards to small hive beetle, I lost a colony a few years back to them and that season it was a constant battle with them. These past couple of years I have not noticed as many small hive beetles, and I havent done anything different, so maybe its seasonal. Definitely dont let your guard down, as it is easy access for them.

Oh another note is that a tray catches and kills the pest with a bit of oil, where as SHB getting knocked through the mesh would fall to the ground and have a spot to nest, especially as wax falls through the mesh too, so you might end up with larvae feeding on debris outside the hive and then burrowing down to pupate beneath the hive.

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