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I just wonder if we do more harm than good to our bees when we examine them every week and poke around in their domain. I realize we need to be on the lookout for pests and disease as well as a laying queen, but there are less invasive ways to do some of these things without pulling frames every week or two. It seems all the smoke and damage to their inner area could be a negative if done too often. I am starting to watch the bees coming and going more closely than I ever have before hoping to pick up clues as to the colony's overall health. I only feed with a hive top feeder that I can refill without opening the hive. I use my oil coated bottoms to look for mites and I only pull the inner cover to see if there are any SHB in my traps. I want to try and keep the thorough inspections to no more than once a month. This being my first year, I was encouraged to look in the hive more often but as my knowledge grows I think my complete inspections could be less.
Any thoughts on this?
Any thoughts on this?