how do I use a sticky board here???

[blkcloud]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/blkcloud/bee003.jpg

[Michael Bush]

I have no idea. smile.gif Can you remove the bottom at all?

[blkcloud]

lol..thats what I figured..I bought my 2 hives from a older feller and I guess he made them or something...nothing I ever do is simple..

[loggermike]

The bottom board needs some strips to get some space under the combs.We use 3/8 by 3/4 strips on ours which presents some problems in getting a sticky in.If you can pry off the bottom boards without breaking them(sometimes impossible ) you can nail some strips on them to get your spacing.Some use a 3/4 strip which would give lots of space to slide one in.Or just make some new screen bottom boards like some do.If the hives are strong I guarantee the bees arent going to like you prying their bottom board off!!Use lots of smoke.

[loggermike]

Are there frames in that hive?

[loryb1]

Hello blk cloud,

pry, smoke and get a SBB smile.gif

[ February 15, 2006, 10:51 PM: Message edited by: loryb1 ]

[blkcloud]

Yes it has frames and bees in it..what is a sbb??

[loggermike]

I was going to suggest transferring them frame by frame into a new standard hive ,then doing the repairs on the old one.I do this all the time-doesnt upset the bees as much.

[Dave W]

blkcloud . . .

Your hive photo looks a bit like a Top-Bar type hive w/ sides that slope from wide at top to narrow at bottom. I thought that was what you had. smile.gif

SBB = S reened B ottom B oard

[Michael Bush]

Are they standard dimensions? Outside 16 1/4" by 19 7/8"? How deep? 9 5/8"?

[loggermike]

When I was a teen ,my first job working for an old commercial beekeeper was to tie wild comb into frames from some boxes of swarms he had gotten from a farmer.The picture reminded me of those boxes.Gotta tell you those bees were vicious misbred devils!To this day I will not bother with saving anything with wild comb-not worth the trouble to me.Not that this has anything to do with the OP ,just brought back a memory.

[sqkcrk]

Did you want to use a sticky board to check for mites, or what? There are other ways to do that. Ether and a pint jar with a lid are a simple set of tools to check mite presence with.

Remove a brood frame with lots of bees on it. Look for the queen. When you are satisfied that she isn't there, scoop about 2 inches of bees into the jar and shoot a spritz of ether into the jar and slap the cover on. Shake the jar and let the bees fall to one end or the other. The mites, if present, will stick to the walls of the jar. There you are.