Should I add a wooden bottom board under the screened one for winter?

[twinbee]

I have seven hives with screened bottomo boards and I know some keep them like that during the winter but what I wonder is if I should put a woodern board under the screens during the winter so as to reduce the cold inside the hive of course. It's getting into the 30s at night now where I live in WV.

[beemilk]

I am putting a sheet of quarter-inch plywood under by SBB....just sliding it in. Main reason is because I want to keep blowing snow out of the hives. I will do the same with my TBH.

[twinbee]

Thanks. Have you done this before and not had problems with moisture being trapped in the hive?

[beemilk]

I do not anticipate any problems because I have a half-inch ventilation hole (covered with #8 hardware cloth) in each of my supers...including the deeps. On the very top super I have a slightly larger hole that functions both for ventilation and as an entrance/exit for the bees (not covered with #8). In addition to that my inner cover, which is rimmed with half-inch plywood with a slot cut in each side, will be inverted over the hive during the winter. On top of that I made a wider (thicker) telescoping cover to accomodate a 1 inch thick piece of foam board for a little additional insulation. I even have ventilation channels cut about 3/8 inch in the foam board. All this is something new that I am trying this year for the first time. Hopefully I will have good results.

[Jim Koenig]

I leave my sbb's open all winter and have found this to be effective at managing the moisture.

[Cedar Hill]

I use old political signs which I cut to size and slide under the screened area. My sbb's have a slot for them under the screens. Both the screen and "tray" can be pulled out. I do leave about an inch opening from the front so that air can circulate up the front of the hive right through the 3/8" front top vent under one corner of the inner cover. I close the sbb's at the end of August when I remove the honey supers. It seems to encourage the queen to go to the bottom super when they fill the top deep with fall honey. OMTCW

[BeeCurious]

I close mine with the corrugated plastic "sticky boards". I use old political signs on my homemade SBB's.

[hilreal]

No. Not necessary and may collect moisture. If you feel the need to block some of the wine insert one of the plastic boards but I would leave several inches open.

[Ben Little]

I just did Oxalic Acid treatments and had sticky boards on my SBB and we had a bunch of rain, the boards had actually caused moisture buildup and turned a little of the top cover green , so i am leaving the sbb open all winter, i was told it wasn't the cold that killed the bees , but moisture . I am also making more top ventillation like Mike P. says to do for winter moisture venting.

[KQ6AR]

There are people in NY, & Colorado who never close them. & there are people who do.
I'm not sure its ever been proven to make a difference unless the hives are in a windy location.