Yes some of our group call them Ekes as well.
How do you find the plastic covers @Dee - I have some that are not perforated and one that is - so I put perforations in some of the plain ones - I think I got them from Modern but they changed their supplier.
Have you use the Foam covers?
I need to make up an inner cover for a colony transfer tomorrow. I think Iāll eventually source some lino offcuts from somewhere. Meanwhile I have plenty of big woven poly chook food bags. Iāll cut one to the size Jeff H suggests and see how it goes.
Hi Dee, what Iām using is fairly typical over here. The vinyl mat was shown to me by a mentor. I wouldnāt be without one. Now that we have SHB, I find it an added bonus. As I mentioned in a previous post, the lid space is a good indicator of population growth. I donāt build my lids with vents because the bees propolize them up. However I have a few lids with vents if I ever have to keep bees locked up at any time. Probably the lids we use over here are more suited to our climate.
I donāt like the plastic covers. I much prefer a thick sheet of polycarbonate. I drill a hole in the middle which is covered up most of the year but is there for feeding. It is rigid enough to take a full 2l rapid feeder or a block of fondant. It also lets you look in on the bees any time without disturbing them. I have put them on all my hives.
I did buy some foam but havenāt used it. All the hives have 100mm PIR on the top.
Thanks Jeff. No SHB here ā¦yet
Hi Dee, our typical hive cover is not shb specific. A typical cover around here (my part of Australia, S.E. Queensland) would be a migratory cover with a recess in the lid of say 40mm with 2 screened holes on each end with a galvanised cover over all that for weather protection. A lot of my earlier lids I made with marine ply, so I didnāt worry about the gal lids for them. I never buy any bottom boards or lids, I make them up with whatever I can scrounge.
Yes polycarbonate sheets; the perforations in mine wonāt let the bees though but you can still see the bees. The perforations do stop condensation getting in or dripping down
My polycarbonate is 6mm thick. Has to be as my Nationals are top bee space.
No condensation ever if you have adequate top insulation. I hate the idea of top ventilation. Itās like having a howling gale blowing through the frames if you have an open mesh floor and even if you donāt heat is lost from the colony.
I havenāt had condensation it was a preventive measure. My polycarb is only 2mm thick but I have top bee space as well - mainly got the Polycarb so I can look through and not disturb the bees so much if the weather is crud - I looked at frame covers but decided they were too fiddly but I have used a tea towel if needed
Hi allā¦
Regarding the plastic or other material to place between the lid and the top of the framesā¦
At Bunnings they have a heavy plastic which is in fact intended to be used for water proofing. itās the correct width for a 10 frame superā¦
It seems to warp after a few years in the hive but it serves the purposeā¦
Itās relatively cheap also, at a guess it was about $40.00 for a 100metre roll. when it starts to look too untidy (which takes a few years) I just cut a new piece.
Iām sure there are more appropriate materials but Iāve been using this for years, the bees seem to be OK with itā¦
Hi Mark, I recently came up with an idea to combat mat curling. I glue 2 pieces together with contact adhesive with the directions they curl opposing each other. What I found is the mat is still nice & flexible with no curling. I use cheap vinyl roll ends from carpet shops. The last lot I got had that stuff on the back they use for shb traps. The bees also get their legs caught on that stuff so I definitely had to glue those back to back. Merry Christmas, bye
Jeff, I LOVE āthe Mat.ā What a simple, yet effective solution for so many situations! As I make plans for Spring, you can be sure that i will be incorportating āthe Matā in my setups!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
~M
Hi M, your most welcome, thank YOU & happy new year.