In spite of all the winter alterations I’ve made to my Langstroth hives, I’ve never done anything to my top-bar hive. Previously, when the temperature dipped into the 20s for more than a day or two, I’ve moved it into the garden shed, a space I keep in the 40s so things don’t freeze. I don’t like this method, mostly because I need help moving the hive, but also because I have to keep monitoring the outside temperature and deciding when to move it. And when the hive is in there, I have no room.
This year I’m going to do three things to the top-bar hive to make it similar to the overwintering Langstroths:
- Add a feeder eke above the top bars
- Add a woodchip-filled quilt box above the feeder
- Add ventilation holes to the gable ends of the roof
I’ve never needed a feeder eke before because the gabled roof is hollow, which provides plenty of space above the top bars for syrup-filled baggies, sugar cakes, and pollen patties. But adding a quilt box will close access to the “attic” space, so a feeder eke below the quilt box will be necessary if I want to feed.
Since the hive is large (approximately 36 inches by 20 inches) I am going to add two cross pieces on the inside of both the eke and the moisture quilt so they don’t fold into parallelograms.
The thing I haven’t figured out is how to keep the hive aligned when the finished parts are stacked in place. The roof is telescoping, but when you put a telescoping roof over a shallow eke, it gets kind of squirrelly and slides out of place easily. With two shallow ekes below it, it will be even worse.
I’ve thought of using a hook and eye on each end of the roof, but I don’t know if they come long enough to reach from the roof to the hive body. I’ve also thought of using a tie-down. It’s the raccoons and possums that are most likely to knock the roof off—and there are plenty of them around. So until the hive is propolized into a unit, I will need to hold it together somehow.
So I’ve measure the hive, drawn a sketch, and now I’m off to buy 1 x 3-inch boards. I already have a hole saw*, hardware cloth to cover the vents, and all the necessary fasteners, such as screws, nails, and staples.
This doesn’t seem like a difficult project. Besides deciding how to critter-proof the roof, the hardest part will be finding 1 x 3-inch lumber, which my local Home Depot doesn’t always keep in stock.
Rusty
*Please note: Microsoft Word keeps trying to make this read “whole saw.” I actually have a whole saw—a whole hole saw—but try convincing Microsoft of that.
Feeling your pain… I love Microsoft Word as much as I love my mac.
Got any pictures of a possum? – HB
Possums are like armadillos; the only time you can get up close and personal is right after they’ve been run over by a truck. I see them skulking around in the dark sometimes. I hear them knocking over the compost pail. But do I actually have a picture? No. There is something I like about them, though. If the cats leave dead things lying around, the possums clean them up during the night . . . no matter what it is, it’s gone by morning. Handy, that.
Question about quilt lids and TBHs. Our TBH bars sit snugly together, with no space in between. I thought about making quilt lids for the hives, but then figured that the benefit in having them (for ventilation) would be pretty minimal without space for air to flow up. We’ve tarped our hives and I may put some newspaper on top of the bars for an extra layer of insulation (and maybe stuff the spaces outside our followers with some insulation if I can think of something that won’t encourage mice to nest). What do you think?
Chelsea,
I removed a bar from my top-bar hive and spaced them a little to allow some air to flow upwards through the hive. I figure they are not making comb in the winter anyway, so burr comb shouldn’t be an issue. I can add the bar back in early spring.
Newspaper is an interesting idea. It can absorb a lot of moisture and it provides good insulation as well. I’ve never tried it, but if you decide to use it I’d be interested in seeing how it works out for you.
What kind of tarp do you use? And how do you support it? I think a tarp sounds good as long as moisture doesn’t build up underneath it. With good ventilation, I think it should work well.
Huh, that’s a smart way to do it, moving the bars apart a little. We’ll see how our outside bees fare this winter (last year, we only had bees on a covered balcony) and maybe we’ll make up some quilt lids for next year.
They aren’t insulated tarps or anything, we just wanted to try to shed a bit more water if we could. We just tied them down with bungees and put bricks on top to keep the tarps on and lids from blowing off.
Good thoughts on the paper. We’ll definitely give it a try and let you know.
1st year for hive… top bar hive.
Winterized similar to you.
– vent in gable ends (put them in when I built TBH)
– roof telescopes over the bars, body
– built a insulation box from 1 by 3, telescope over bars, body.
– Insulation box has 4 square pegs (extend up about 1″) at the inside corners. Roof will fit on top of box, pegs to keep them aligned,
– Insulation is muslin bag with wool fleece in it. Wool will absorb moisture and still be insulating.
Hoping for good winter-over. It has been mild in Maryland so far.