Advice please. I set up my new Flow Hive last spring and kept all the honey collected during the summer. Of course I had to treat for Varroa (Apiguard Gel). All the instructions say to harvest honey before treating but with a Flow hive that is not so easy. I guess I could harvest the remainder of the winter honeystores before the next treatment which would clear out the Flow frames and then the bees can fill them again. Has anyone had any experience of this? Lots of posts about Varroa and setting up Flow frames but nothing that I can see about managing the two.
Wouldn’t you just take the Flow super off while treating?
Cheers
Rob.
1 Like
If you use miteaway you can keep them on. Have to watch temps though. Should not be above 85F the first few days.
Hello Geoff,
Sorry to hear that New Zealand is suffering from varroa destructor; I had thought that like Australia, you were mite-free.
Because we harvest cut comb honey, we have hosted foundationless hives, I. E. naturally drawn comb, which results in smaller brood cells and disrupts the varroa life cycle. We do not treat, as we do not have a varroa problem.
It’s definitely a different philosophy on beekeeping and supports vigorous bee health and genetics.
Michael Bush has a wealth of information on natural beekeeping here http://bushfarms.com/beesfoundationless.htm
1 Like