[Hoxbar]

Today I extracted my first honey. My supers and frames are really sticky with honey. Would it be a good idea to let my bees in the bee yard clean up my supers before I store them? I will not be putting them back on since our fall honey is very bitter and not edible. I was told it wasn't a good idea, but it seems like a lot of wasted food for my girls.

 

[honeyman46408]

I did put them out when I first started but it caused robbing BIG time so now I store them wet, if I were going to give them back I would put them on top on the innercover but have had hives fill them up there so the choice is yours it will bee another learning experance opcorn:

 

[fish_stix]

Set them out away from the hives and they'll be clean real quick. If you have SHB in your area don't leave them out more than a day or so.

 

[Hoxbar]

A frenzy for sure! I made a huge mistake and sat my empty supers on my front porch not a good idea!

 

[devdog108]

Put mine back on the hives, but when i do, I throw on an entrance reducer to that hive that gets them!

 

[clarkfarm]

I put wet supers back on the hive to be cleaned but I do not place them directly on the inner cover. I place an empty hive body on first and then the wet super. The theory is that the extra space between the inner cover and the wet super makes the bees more likely to consider the super not a part of their hive, reducing the possibility that the bees will begin to fill up the empty super. Works for me.

 

[Cedar Hill]

Put them out to be cleaned by the bees about an hour before dusk. Bring them in after night falls of the same day. They'll be clean enough to store and the robbing will be kept to a minimum. Works all the time for me. OMTCW

 

[beedeetee]

I have tried all of the above over the years. Putting them out in the open caused robbing and ripped up comb. I now store them wet. This gives the bees a good start in the spring. When you put web supers on in the spring they move right up and fix up the comb. Even if the main flow hasn't actually started yet.

 

[Bsweet]

Hoxbar, I'm new to Oklahoma (Tulsa) and am wondering about the fall honey you say is bitter ? what is the bloom that causes this ? thanks Jim:s

 

[NasalSponge]

Most fall honey plants make interesting honey that in years passed was considered inferior which is why they would harvest before the fall flow and let the bees back fill with that honey. These days many folks like and even seek these honeys. They include goldenrod and aster. For instace, goldenrod can smell like dirty socks when ripening.

 

[beekeeper1756]

I'm glad I read this thread. I've never heard of fall honey being bitter even with all the books I've read. Very intersting.

The cotton is still growing and stand about 12 inches high. It has yet to begin blooming. I'm hoping that the field of cotton within reach of my hive is of the type of variety that produces nectar. If the cotton produces for me, I should have a good bloom/nectar source till the first freeze in the fall. I really want to see what my girls can do with that kind of food source.

 

[devdog108]

I just checked mine on Saturday. They had been on the cotton for less than a week and I have 1 capped frame. 4 Almost Capped and have the others about 1/2 filled in the first super and we havent made it to full bloom yet in just the one hive i checked.. Still have about another 5 weeks, full bloom is in about 2-3....