We have been running about 150 hives, and have been using an oxalic dribble for many years. This year we expect to treat the week of December 5, which is about normal. When treating we want temperatures in the 30/40 degree range...definitely lower than 50. At 50 the bees will come at you, which is a nuisance and slows down the operation. Our process is to use a team of two. We overwinter in a deep and a medium, with the deep on top. Usually the cluster will be in both boxes. To start, one person tips the top box (the deep) up on end, exposing the cluster in the bottom box. The other person follows behind spraying the cluster in the bottom box. When all top boxes are tipped up, that person puts the top boxes back in place for spraying. After the top box is sprayed, the 1st person puts the covers back on.

Tipping the top box is a good check on the weight. Hives that are judged to be too light (less than 65 lbs. of honey alone) are combined with a nearby HEAVY hive.

I don't think the brief exposure to cold harms the bees. The clusters are not really disturbed.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the input! I will definitely wait for some cooler temps then.

I do everything by myself and am a not terribly-strong woman, but I have found a few work arounds to help me with boxes. It would definitely be helpful to have a second person but my husband is actually quite afraid of my bees (even if it?s cold and they won?t be flying) and I doubt I would find any willing friends, haha. So do you do more than 50ml? Is that the max (although I think the Randy Oliver article said he will sometimes do more)? I was thinking I would remove and set aside my inner cover (and insulation and outer cover) and just do 5ml per seam from the top to dribble down over the cluster. I have three hives and two are 2 deeps and one is 2 deeps and a super. Is the 50ml total sufficient, or should I do 50ml per box then?

I guess I?ve never really fully opened the boxes during the winter other than to crack the top and slide in a pollen patty. In the cold temps, will they be completely unlikely to fly, even a really crazy bee here or there? If that?s the case maybe I can have my husband help me tip the boxes! I will guesstimate the weight but they had fairly good supplies going into the fall when I winterized them. I?m thinking I?ll probably slide a piece of fondant in, just in case, and then maybe crack the covers in February and add more fondant and a pollen patty?

 

Tipping boxes works great for a woman. The main reason I don't have mine on standard 4 way pallets is so I can tip them and not have to lift so much to get into them for management needs like this.
Here's a tip:
Use two hive tools-one on each side- to break propolis layer. If you have hives taller than 2 boxes, start at the bottom and keep top boxes glued together to keep them in tact while tipping.
Especially if they are extraordinarily heavy, after you crack the bottom seal apart, slightly offset them so you can grab the top boxes with your hands along the underside if the box, not just the handholds.


Tip the box and pull or walk it back slightly so the box will rest on the meat of the box below, not on the very edge where it can easily slip off.

They are top heavy in fall and winter so don't let them get away from you.

 

Lauri, thank you SO much for the tips and especially the pictures! I've always been so afraid to tip the boxes but this seems a little less scary seeing the visual. When I was placing MAQs earlier this year I used to spare pieces (I think they were two double screen boards) placed between boxes on the front edge and the back edge to keep them open just enough to quickly slide the strips in with my hive tool. Breaking the propolis layer (and keeping it front re-sticking) with two hives tools would be a great start and I think (hope?) I could accomplish keeping them tipped with one hand and holding the syringe with the OA in the other.

 

You are welcome. Sorry the photos are sideways. Not sure why they load this way.

 

A good plan clarekate. Good for you.

 

A few bees will usually fly up, even though it's cold.

The cold also makes it easier to assess the strength - at least here the assessment is based on temperatures around freezing temp. We always treat a full seam of bees with a set amount of ml, as the size of clusters can vary quite a lot. If your hives are good strength and more or less equal, I guess 50 ml per colony is ok.

 

I've dribbled the last couple years, usually in mid-late november. Its nice to have them clustered so you get a good judge of colony size. For me, the timing is dictated by schedule. I try to have all the bees stockpiled before the roads turn ice. Which could be anytime from early november to mid december.
Like Norbee said, we do more or less a set amount per seem of bees, so the dosage changes a bit depending on size of cluster.
How many colonies are you treating? In my experience, a syringe is really difficult to get a good even controlled stream. For less than 30-40 colonies, I really like using a pop-bottle with a small hole in the cap. Calibrate your stream by squirting into a calibrated container like a graduated cylinder (I use a shot glass with gradations on the side). Then its a simple squeeze and squirt while counting.

 

clarekate,

You mentioned doing a MAQS treatment this fall. I know my bees stopped producing brood fairly early this fall. What was your mite count prior to your MAQS treatment? And, after the treatment? I am wondering if you actually need to do an OAD treatment.

I have done OAD treatments every winter the past few years. I typically do them post-Thanksgiving but before Christmas. I like days above freezing when possible, the cluster is not so tight. But, I have done them in the upper 20's too.

Depending on the stores in the hive the fondant may, or may not be needed. If your bees do need stores you may not want to wait until Feb to replenish fondant. Food consumption will start to increase after Jan. 1. Also, Feb. might be a little early to add pollen sub. When/if you do add pollen sub it needs to be right above brood to be most useful.

Tom