Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
If you haven't already, replace the board that covers the screened bottom board, and
get mouse guards in place before mice move into your warm, dry, food-filled nesting
spot. The expandable, metal types with holes rather than a slot are by far the best. The
wood guards have slots, which are just not quite small enough to keep out a determined
mouse.
By late fall, at least a full month before winter arrives according to the calendar,
treatments should be complete and all assistance activities should be over. The last in-
spection makes sure there's a new grease patty in place, enough food is available, and
the cover is secured with a brick to foil strong winter winds.
If your colony doesn't have a good windbreak, you can build a temporary one to
help. A stack of straw bales on the windward side is one way, as is a temporary fence of
horticultural burlap and a few fence posts.
A word about ventilation—all during the winter, your bees continue to eat honey,
perhaps raise some brood, and move around a bit. These activities normally generate
heat (as does the very activity of clustering) and carbon dioxide and water vapor from
respiration. This process occurs all summer, but the bees are constantly ventilating the
colony for honey ripening, so it isn't an issue. In the winter, it can be an issue. Without
a vent for carbon dioxide and warm, moist air to escape, it will naturally accumulate in-
side. The carbon dioxide builds up, displacing some fresh air. But the warm, moisture-
laden air comes in contact with the unheated sides and inner cover and condenses—just
like the fog that forms on a winter's day window when you exhale near it.
A mouse that gets into your colony will cause all kinds of trouble. It will destroy comb
(even plastic foundation), defecate in the colony, and raise young in the nest material
it brings in. Be sure you don't put your mouse guard on too late in the fall and trap a
mouse inside all winter.
The water that collects there eventually runs or drips down back onto the bees. If
you can, imagine a cold shower on a cold winter day in an unheated house. The bees
struggle to stay dry, and keeping warm becomes even more problematic.
This situation can be avoided by what at first may seem a counterproductive tech-
nique. First, as you are preparing your colony for winter—checking stores, health, and
