Advice Needed....How to Defeat Nuc Robbing?

**Bee Draggle** · 06-25-2009, 07:11 AM

Next month I would like to make up four nucs and try to overwinter them. The main problem is whenever I make a nuc up in the middle of summer the strong hives in the yard pounce on the nucs and begin robbing them. It’s pretty chaotic! I feed the nucs with a division board feeder inside each nuc and the robber bees discover the sugar water pretty darn quick. I use robber screens in front of the entrance on all the nucs and that seems to only slow down the robbing but not eliminate it. I know the best thing to do would be to move the nucs several miles away but I don’t know any non-beeks who would take them for a couple months. Does anyone have an innovative ideas on how to defeat the robbers?

**BEES4U** · 06-25-2009, 07:19 AM

I do not know the number of frames that you nucs cover.
I would suggest making one divide from your hives so that they would be stronger to take care of themselves.
You might make nucs much earlier in spring when all of the bees can forage.
I made some two framers last spring and now I am transferring them into 10 frame singles.
Try to work the bees to the local flora.
Regards,
Ernie

**AR Beekeeper** · 06-25-2009, 07:43 AM

Try using frames of honey from your strong hives in the nucs and then feed the strong hives to replace their stores.

**jdpro5010** · 06-25-2009, 07:56 AM

Move the nuc's to a different yard. Ask people around your area you will be surprised at how many would like some bees at there place for a while.

**franktrujillo** · 06-25-2009, 08:40 AM

hello,I use a dog water bowl...placed some bark so little to no drowning maybe like 5 bees a day.....no robbing going on here." location :I place the feed were they are getting water....I have a small pond with gravel around it.

**deermaster** · 06-25-2009, 12:16 PM

I agree with the previous post......Use a frame of honey/pollen from a strong hive to feed them. I just made a nuc and the parent hive robbed all the feed in a couple of hours. I knew the nuc couldn't be taking it that fast and sure enough I watched the leaving bees go right around the corner and take the feed back to the parent hive. I quite feeding for a few days and just placed another frame of honey from the parent hive (since the parent hive robbed the orig frame of honey I placed in the nuc as well as the feed) haven't had that problem since.

**tecumseh** · 06-25-2009, 02:26 PM

I have found robber screens help. Invarible feeding sugar water leads to robbing in a dearth. I think Ar beekeeper advice would be mine also.

**B. Haning** · 06-25-2009, 05:09 PM

I have had good luck feeding nucs by closing the bottom entrance completely with 8 mesh hardware cloth. I just make an "L" shaped piece of hardware cloth and attach it to the front of the hive body with thumb tacks. Or sometimes I fold the wire in a "V" shape and wedge it in the opening. I drill a 3/8ths inch hole in the hive body for an entrance. The robbers seem to go for the big screened opening and ignore the small hole in the face of the hive body. Just my 2 cents.

**Bee Draggle** · 06-26-2009, 06:34 AM

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I will go with the suggestion that I feed the nucs using frames of honey from my regular hives plus continue to use the robber screens. Moving them away to another location is probably the best option if can find someone willing to take them in.

**TwT** · 06-26-2009, 07:01 AM

I always get better feed queens when I feed, it just always seems I can add 5 frames of honey to a nuc and 1 feedr to another nuc and the one with the feeder will have the best feed queens, the way I keep the large hives from robbing my nuc's is I put about 6 open feeders out (boardman) when feeding nuc's, with the open feeders going I dont have robbing problems and I use top feeders on my nuc's.

**Chick** · 06-26-2009, 12:23 PM

I had made entrance reducers for my nucs, and cut a hole about 7/16" square, for an entrance. After 2 days of not seeing any activity in or out, I took that one off and left a 1" wide opening. I am now seeing more activity, but am not sure if the activity is coming from robbers or from the bees in the nuc. How can I tell the difference?

**bfriendly** · 06-26-2009, 12:48 PM

Similar to what B Haning suggested,

I make my nucs with a large 3/4" - 1.25" screened vent towards up top -- and a smaller (generally 1/2") entrance hole towards the bottom

The robbers seem to go for the larger screened vent because lots of air flow/ smell goes out through there... and even a small nuc can do a decent job of protecting a single small entrance.

I also like this setup for overwintering, entrance and vent on the same side, (not cross flow)... The bees can propolize the top vent down to however small they want it. I use divided 10 frame boxes.

In extreme cases I have also made a simple robber screen (only works for drilled hole type entrances) with a piece of "U" shaped hardware cloth 2"-3" long stapled around the top of the entrance, stapled on the sides, and down with the opening about 2" below the entrance hole in the box.

Chick --- watch for robbers scanning the sides of boxes--- whereas returning foragers (sometimes with pollen) will know exactly where to land, they will come in quick without scanning back and forth. Also (I am sorry if this is confusing) often you can notice robbers because they look like their hind feet are drooping down while they do this "scanning back and forth" ... you do not otherwise ordinarily see bees flying with their feet hanging down like this.

**Bee Draggle** · 07-01-2009, 07:52 AM

TwT,

"the way I keep the large hives from robbing my nuc's is I put about 6 open feeders out (boardman) when feeding nuc's, with the open feeders going I dont have robbing problems and I use top feeders on my nuc's. "

By putting open feeders in the bee yard this time of year, doesn't that encourage or touch off a robbing frenzy that could even hurt the large hives in the yard?