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Artificial Heater for Bees

11K views 28 replies 13 participants last post by  sqkcrk 
#1 ·
I ran power to the back of my yard so my chicken waterer doesn't freeze during the winter. I also have a light bulb that comes on in the chicken coop during the days all winter long. It wouldn't be that much trouble to run an extension cord to my beehive and put a light bulb under the screened bottom board of my one and only hive. I know this concept won't be quite as feasible next year when I increase my hives to 4... and even less feasible the year after when my hive count will most likely increase yet again. I'm just wondering if there is an obvious problem that I'm not aware of or that I might be missing. My hive sits on two cinder blocks with no foliage within several feet of the hive.

If a light bulb is a problem, it could always be a heating pad or something. I'm just wondering if it would be worth the trouble.
 
#2 ·
If you do set this up to heat the hive, you should incorporate a thermostat in some manner. If you get the hive too warm in winter, bee activity will increase, and their food consumption will also increase. It would be a real shame to go to this effort, and then have them starve before spring due to increased activity! :eek:

From reading posts by Ian, who winters bees indoors in Manitoba, the target temperature in his operation is 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

I'm in Tennessee, not Utah, but in my opinion if you get the hive set up properly from a condensation/ventilation point point of view, there is no need to heat your hive in cold weather.
 
#8 ·
I was looking at something like this with a solar panel from harbor freight. i wonder with the winter sun being low in the sky and strength in se pa. how much heat it will generate? its such an unknown i guess you should have a thermostat.

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#14 ·
I never installed a heater in my hives. I lost 3 of 4 last winter. I'm not sure why i lost them. I still think it would be a good idea to increase temps. a little when its bitter cold outside. With the warm temps this year you might just break the cluster and increase food consumption leading to other problems.
 
#17 ·
Here's what you want.

http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovato...45528263&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=thermcube[/url

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Tank-He...28100&sr=8-17&keywords=under+tank+heater[/url

A strong hive can keep itself warm. A smaller hive may benefit from a little help. I did use this heater one year. I found it much easier to screen smaller hives and put them in my garage during cold spells and move them out for flying weather;

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?291483-Bees-in-the-Garage-for-the-Winter

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?295359-Over-Wintering-in-the-Garage-Update
 
#19 ·
How many of you all who use hive heaters are also Treatment Free Beekeepers? What long term benefit to bees is it to get a weak colony through the Winter? Perhaps doing so compounds mistakes made earlier in the year which didn't result in a strong colony and a well stocked hive.
 
#22 · (Edited)
For several years I have garaged many smaller hives from late swarms or late splits that did not get to size for winter. With great success I might add. These small "dinks" turned into power houses that grew to almost unbelievable size, my smallest was 2 frames coming out of winter it grew to two deeps, drew their own comb and a supper of honey. It then wintered outside the next year on it's own just fine.

By doing this the only thing I'm allowing to be passed down in the genes that could be late swarming traits. Which was most likely my fault. These feral survivor bees are a bit swarmy already. Even if I were to let these late swarms die I don't see I could breed this out of my open mated bees.

Many feral survivors also live in the walls of houses where they enjoy man made heat and many grow to be very strong old hives.

Allowing the spread of packaged bees and introduce of inferior genes in any shape or fashion to the feral bee population is far more detrimental than anyone could do by heating a few smaller hives for winter.
 
#20 ·
I am treatment free for my hives but had the state apiary inspector here both last year and this year. Both hive were pest free and healthy. MY 2 hives that were lost had plenty of honey but still died during the harsh winters of 2013 to 2015. Hindsight is 20/20 I wish I had tried a heater to help out.
 
#21 ·
EHB have developed a technique for keeping themselves warm in the winter, over the Eons ( millions of years). It's called clustering.

Some beeks may think they are doing them a favor by providing them auxiliary heat. It most cases it is likely not worth the effort, and may even be detrimental. In a few cases it may actually be making the difference ( areas with severe, prolonged cold).

If you can do it easily, and in a very limited way, it may help. Our winters, here, and my own experience, generally suggest it's a total waste of time. I might have saved a handful of weak hives, over the decades, by wrapping them.
 
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