September To-Do’s

We did not have an August meeting this year so I thought it important to list your action items for right now.

Verify you have a laying queen – We have several members discovering they lost their queen recently. We are just hitting a point where drones will be kicked out of the hives and so waiting for a virgin to mate will be very risky. If you have a strong hive you want to stay independent, you’ll want to order an emergency queen or reach out to Angela for one.

Lift your Hives – Tip up from the back. A double deep should way over 100 pounds going in to the winter. A single hive over 50 pounds. If they are underweight, start feeding them right now with 2:1 Sugar to Water ratio. Add a tablespoon per gallon of citrus juice to keep it acidic and slow down bacterial/fungal growth in the feed. Bees will not take syrup below 55 degrees so now is the time to feed, don’t wait till October!

Keep Robber Guards On – Especially if your hive is smaller in population or if you are feeding them in the hive. Bees will lose a lot of winter stores to robbers.

Address Mites – If treating for mites is part of your management strategy, there’s still time to do a mite count and see if you need to treat. Remember, all vaporizing is very dangerous and requires special vapor blocking masks. Remember to use this resource to help direct you: Honey Bee Health Varroa Tool

September Meeting – Tuesday, September 29th 6:30 at the Flathead County Health Department Floor #2. We will stream on Facebook also.