[JimD]

Where is the best utube or article on how to deal with this problem with double 10 frame deeps.

Most of my upper deeps are full of honey but I have too much honey in the lower box too.

In Houston area we do not have much of a winter and with my neighborhood there are things blooming most of the year.

I would like to read an experts ideas on the best way to fix this. Some of the utubes that pop up not the best info out there but I did not see a good article. If you have one or thee is one hidden in the old threads please let me know. Jim

 

[JTGaraas]

The solution is called “honey harvest”.

 

[JimD]

lol

I probably took too much honey out last fall and still left the bees plenty but it bit me in the butt during the spring when the bees refilled the deeps and did not do much for the supers. I got 6 gallons in July plus I did take a couple of deep frames.

The question is what is the best setup for the winter brood box for the bees and how much honey to leave so that they do well, have plenty of honey and room for the queen to lay.

In the Houston area I had about 10-15 days the bees could not get out some time in the day to fly around and in my neighborhood everyone has flowers plants most of the year.

Still wish that someone had a good article on this.

Have a great day. JimD

 

[Richinbama]

You should really do a full hive inspection. During this, you need to do a full honey harvest of all capped honey. Extract asap and let the bees clean up all frames away from the hives. Then give some clean frames back to the bees. If you need to feed during your late fall and early winter, all will be good. Just make sure that queen has room to lay. Bees can swarm in warm conditions, even in fall. Good mgmt. Begins with honey control. If there got too much honey, the may think it's time to split/swarm and take half you bees , and half your honey with them. Trust me I know this for sure.

 

[Richinbama]

Oh, also... If the brood boxes are full of honey, move some up and give em a few frames to draw out down there. Or if you have some oldnextracted frames, drop them in their place. Just a side thought... rich

 

[Jack Grimshaw]

I would ask why you have so much honey in the brood boxes?
No supers during a strong or steady
flow?
Waiting to long to add supers?( bees backfilling brood nest)
Q excluder?
(Sorry but I have to ask this)Are you feeding?

I'm in the north and most beekeepers up here would love to have a year round flow.
Right now our Qs are laying eggs for our winter bees and any conditions that would cause the brood nest to become honey bound would result in smaller winter clusters.

As others have mentioned,honey(hive) management is a skill picked up over time and all beekeeping is local.Join a local club and network

 

[retsofmit]

Howdy from Aggieland just north of you. I would do what the others have said....

Harvest all capped frames from the top box. If you don't need it, freeze it to use for winter/spring feed if need be. Move any honey frames up to the top box and fill the empty spaces in the bottom with either drawn comb or wax or acorn heavy waxed plastic foundation.

Up here in brazos county, our fall flow is going, so you should have plenty of food coming in for the bees to draw new comb if needed. If you don't, just feed a bit to stimulate this

 

[Roland]

The solution is to run a single deep, extract the other deep, and cry all the way to the bank.

Crazy Roland

 

[Locke2141]

My two cents, if you just can't extract right now, pull every other frame and back fill with empty frames. I believe its called checkerboarding.

 

[snapper1d]

The solution is called “honey harvest”.

Thats the quickest and easiest way to fix that problem!!! Then bake a pan of biscuits and sweeten a pitcher of tea and enjoy your day!!!

 

[JimD]

Lets say that 8 of the 10 frames in the top deep are full or hold a lot of honey.

If there is a lot of honey in the bottom box just how many frames would you pull on the bottom deep to give the queen room to lay? Two? or 3 frames checkerboarded in the bottom brood nest area. This late in the fall I am thinking old pulled comb and not new foundation.

If you had mixed frames with bees, brood, pollen and honey would you move some of these frames to the top box and pull some full honey frames from the top?

Thanks, Jim

 

[JTGaraas]

All beekeeping is local, but if your bees have virtually year-round nectar sources, AND you are intent on manipulating this hive, why not remove (harvest) all honey frames (save two (2)) and consolidate all brood frames in the bottom box. Put the two (2) saved honey frames in positions one (1) and ten (10). Slap on a queen excluder along with a honey super (or the second box with the wet honey frames).

Your hive will have room for both brood (bottom box with eight (8) frames available), and an upper area capable of holding newly arriving nectar (second box protected by queen excluder, but only necessary if you dislike mixing brood, pollen, and honey in any one (1) box). Removing/replacing honey supers, as appropriate, should preclude honey-bound circumstances.

In my apiaries in North Dakota, my goal is over-wintering hives with an 8-frame configuration of two (2) or three (3) deeps filled with about ninety (90) pounds of honey. The queen has sixteen (16) or twenty-four (24) frames available for all hive purposes, and highly unlikely will she be honey-bound (but it can happen). The bees will move the honey around as they determine appropriate, and the beekeeper should do no act to interfere with those decisions. Replacing a frame of honey with drawn comb (or foundation) at the wrong time may later kill a hive if the winter cluster encounters the “empty obstacle”, and starves, unable to move over the gap.