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How one can safe a residential beehive in preparation for a excessive wind occasion together with a tropical storm or hurricane.
With a Cat 3 hurricane at present bearing down on our neighborhood, I spent a while yesterday securing our yard beehive in preparation for the storm.
I adopted the steps advised by grasp beekeeper John Morse, founding father of Gem Apiaries.
The steps had been fairly easy, because it seems!
It didn’t contain shifting the beehive in any respect, which might introduce an infinite quantity of stress to the colony.
For business beekeepers with a number of cellular hives with acceptable gear for transport, it is smart to easily choose up the hives and transfer them out of the realm fully.
For a residential beekeeper, nevertheless, this isn’t an possibility.
Securing the hive to resist excessive winds is the most effective strategy with as minimal disruption as doable.
To Feed or To not Feed?
There are totally different opinions on whether or not it’s a good suggestion to feed bees with sugar water.
My opinion is that, whereas definitely not very best, feeding the hive may typically be mandatory beneath excessive circumstances.
A hurricane doubtless qualifies as this kind of occasion.
Based mostly on John’s advice, I fed my hive a quart of nonGMO sugar water. This gives them with ample meals to final the 1-3 days of excessive wind and torrential rain when foraging wouldn’t be doable.
By no means ever feed your bees an answer of excessive fructose corn syrup or plain white sugar.
Each of those decisions are of GMO origin and certain include glyphosate residues that may get into the honey.
As well as, be sure you use filtered water to keep away from giving your bees poisonous chlorine, fluoride or different substances generally present in faucet water.
In different phrases, be sure you use nonGMO cane sugar blended with filtered water, in the event you select to feed your hive earlier than the storm.
One other suggestion is to make use of a wide-mouth glass mason jar with a nonBPA lid for feeding and keep away from plastic.
Securing the Hive
Crucial step in getting ready your beehive for the arrival of a excessive wind occasion like a hurricane is to safe the highest of the hive in order that it may well’t simply get blown off.
Including weight to the hive can also be essential to maintain it from getting knocked over.
That is completed with heavy-duty bungee cords or rope.
As you possibly can see from the picture above, I fixed two bungee cords tightly across the complete hive.
This contains looping the cords beneath and attaching the hive to the 2 massive concrete blocks that function its basis.
The hive certain along with the concrete blocks weighs it down significantly.
As well as, the placement of the colony is tucked away with surrounding protecting vegetation. Thus, solely the strongest winds may topple it.
Closing Off Air flow
A screened backside board (like this one) is utilized in Langstroth-style hives to extend air flow.
I preserve mine open many of the yr as a result of heat temperatures.
I shut it up when chilly fronts come by means of to help the bees in sustaining an optimum temperature contained in the hive.
Nevertheless, within the occasion of excessive winds, it would make sense to shut this off to forestall wind gusts from arising beneath the hive, by means of the display screen backside board, and lifting the hive away from the inspiration.
Actually, if the incoming storm was going to drop the temperature considerably, closing off the underside air flow would positively be a good suggestion.
As well as, relying on the course of the wind, it would make sense to shut off the doorway to the hive as nicely.
On condition that our neighborhood is not going to be experiencing a direct hit from the hurricane’s most ferocious winds, I’ve chosen to not shut off air flow.
As well as, the temperatures will nonetheless be round 80 °F in the course of the top of the storm, so closing the air flow may make the within of the hive too heat.
Nevertheless, I’d change my thoughts and do it rapidly if the storm makes a last-minute directional change.
What’s your technique for securing residential or homestead beehives in preparation for extreme storms like a hurricane?
