sbb modification

[BjornBee]

I'm modifying some of my bottom boards to make them sbb. I ordered one and noticed the cut-out (screened) area is all but about 1 inch all the way round. That would be great if you originally made them this way. But, If I cut this entire area with a jig-saw on the existing ones, most of the stability will be lost, as the boards run side to side.

My question is - Has anyone done a study or heard something about the area needed to dispose of most of the mites through the screen? How effective would a 5 inch square vs. a 10 inch square vs. the entire bottom board being cut out? If the cut out area is in the middle beneath the main brood area, is this a maximum (hot) area in reference to the edges/front/back. Has anyone notices a concentrated mite fall in the center or are they evenly dispersed on the sticky boards?
Thank you.

[This message has been edited by BjornBee (edited November 14, 2003).]

[Dave W]

BjornBee,
My SBB cut-out is approx 11x16. I find mites evenly distributed on the sticky board. This may change once the bees cluster, I dont know. My opinion is, "bigger is better".

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Dave W . . .

A NewBEE with 1 hive.
First package installed
April, 2003.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

My cut outs are about 12 x 17 and are cut out of solid 3/4" plywood. I notice mites are scattered all over the tray, but mostly under the brood area.

If you want to salvage your BB's, you could use a 1x2 to cleat the screen down all around the edge of the wire. I would use screws, and glue inbetween the cleats and wire/bottom. Doing this you could still have an opening of about 11 x 16.

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Bullseye Bill
Smack dab in the middle of the country.

[db_land]

I modified my regular bottom boards to be SBBs: cut out about 1 inch from the rails and front entrace; staple 8-mesh over the opening from the top; nail 1 X 2 cleats on the bottom to reinforce the side rails. (Looking back, I should have used 2 X 2 or even 2 X 4 cleats with grooves in them for sliding in the sticky board.) Mites are scattered pretty evenly over the board - I agree with bigger is better in this case.

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