Hi,
This is my first year of beekeeping, and first winter. Having managed to treat for varroa, and noenhaving fed my two colonies lots of thick sugar syrup, I’m thinking about replacing the mesh floors with solid floors, attaching mouse guards and putting a frame over each hive to protect against woodpeckers, which are to be found locally.
Are there any views on solid v. mesh floors over winter? And would the choice impact on the size of the entrance to which the mouse guard is fixed? I’m thinking here about ventilation. I understand that it is important to protect against cold winds, but wondered if this means having a wider opening at the entrance? The entrance blocks that I have have two “settings”: one about 6” and the other less than 2”, and I’ve had both on 2” due to wasps. Would I simply attach the guard to the existing 2” entrance, or should I flip the entrance block and attach the guard to the larger 6” entrance?
I’d also welcome any thoughts on how best to protect against woodpeckers. I plan to make a simple box frame and cover it in chicken wire, but if there are better ideas out there from experienced beekeepers, I’d love to hear them!
Thanks,
Newbee
This is my first year of beekeeping, and first winter. Having managed to treat for varroa, and noenhaving fed my two colonies lots of thick sugar syrup, I’m thinking about replacing the mesh floors with solid floors, attaching mouse guards and putting a frame over each hive to protect against woodpeckers, which are to be found locally.
Are there any views on solid v. mesh floors over winter? And would the choice impact on the size of the entrance to which the mouse guard is fixed? I’m thinking here about ventilation. I understand that it is important to protect against cold winds, but wondered if this means having a wider opening at the entrance? The entrance blocks that I have have two “settings”: one about 6” and the other less than 2”, and I’ve had both on 2” due to wasps. Would I simply attach the guard to the existing 2” entrance, or should I flip the entrance block and attach the guard to the larger 6” entrance?
I’d also welcome any thoughts on how best to protect against woodpeckers. I plan to make a simple box frame and cover it in chicken wire, but if there are better ideas out there from experienced beekeepers, I’d love to hear them!
Thanks,
Newbee