[BeeCurious]

A few times recently I've pulled over-drawn/fat comb and sliced them down to a more normal width. At times I use them in a new nuc.

How and when do some of you trim back comb in your brood chambers?

It's certainly not an activity for a period of dearth...

 

[mike haney]

"...It's certainly not an activity for a period of dearth..."
speaks the voice of experience, i gather LOL.
i just use a bread knife (long, serrated edge) that i keep with my bee tools, or just hack it out and let'em start over.
good luck,mike
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[jmgi]

With my brood combs, the only part that gets overly thick is along the top bar where they store the honey. It get's so bad sometimes that removing combs is difficult without crushing bees. I have tried trimming them down at the tops using a very, very sharp long thin bladed fillet knife, I shave off the excess into a small shallow pan and then feed it back to them on the inner cover, only to have them build it out again pretty much the same way. Most of my problem with frame removal is due to me not getting my brood chambers down to 9 frames from 10. I kept 10 frames in so I could get nice straight combs drawn before I go down to 9, which I am going to start doing this week!

 

[valleyman]

Why not do it during a dearth? Do they not continue to build comb sometimes on frames that they have started? Should you remove the clumps of comb/brood at the bottoms of the frames that is built to the top of the frame under it? It always tears when removing the frame, exposing brood.

So much to learn, so little time!

 

[BeeCurious]

"...It's certainly not an activity for a period of dearth..."
speaks the voice of experience, i gather LOL.

Well, this one I had figured out before it occured. I've seen that some things take a while to realize.

While I've trimmed the worse combs I can see that a bread knife would be something to keep handy.

 

[BeeCurious]

jmgi, why would you go to 9 frames in a 10 frame brood box?


Valleyman,

trimming the comb during a dearth would set off robbing.

 

[Beeslave]

It's not the trimming of the comb that causes the robbing. It's the honey that runs out of the entrance of the hive from the combs after they are trimmed. That honey attracts robbers that gather more robbers that................