[tetratilly]

I am getting a new shipment of bees in may and I am not sure what I need to do to prepare my old hive since this is only my second go round. I had some mice move in an take over 2 rows I have since taken those out but I still have the whole bottom box with honey and most of the second one as well. Do I need to clean these out and start over? Please help:s

 

[wags]

If you are putting new bees in that hive, then cleaning it out will directly help the new bees (they won't need to do loads of janitorial work after being installed).

I wouldn't want to introduce bees into a dirty uncomfortable hive, otherwise they might abscond.

At the very least, clean all the dead bees off the bottom board - and what you can out of the comb. Any left peppered in, the new bees should be able to take care of.

 

[tetratilly]

what about the honey?

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

Your new bees will be happy to accept honey that you already have. But if you have close to 2 boxes full, you might want to keep a bit of it for yourself.


(Be aware that if you don't know why your previous bees died, there is a (likely small) possibility that AFB was involved. If that was the case, then that existing honey could pass AFB to your new bees. However, if there is AFB involved, then the woodenware would likely be contaminated anyway. The odds of AFB are quite small, but If I don't bring it up, someone else will. Honey from an AFB hive is safe for humans to eat. )

 

[Michael Bush]

I'd probably pull any frames that reek of mice. Dump the dead bees off the bottom. Lightly brush dead bees off of combs. Put the new package in and let them finish the cleanup.

 

[tetratilly]

Thank you so much everyone is the honey safe for me though? We had a horrible winter here this year and a lot of people lost hives so I am pretty sure that is why I lost them.