Golden Rod and Asters are the last
blooms of the season for bees to stock up their winter stores. This is the time you will finish up harvesting your honey and leave each of your hives with a brood box on bottom and a full honey super on top. If we have any supers that are light we will borrow from another hive to make sure the weaker colony has enough food stores.
Put mouse-guard/reducers on the hive entrance. Mice and other critters (bees) will be looking for a warm dry place to live in addition to food to eat and they are very destructive. We had mice in some of our hives last year and even though I thoroughly removed the wax and cleaned the frames my bees would not build new wax foundation where the mice had nested!
Besides mice, mites and wax moths are an issue! Listed below are treatments for Varroa mites and the best times to use them.
Late Season Varroa Mite Treatment Options
Product
Active Ingredient
Temperature Range
Length of Treatment
Supers On or Off?
Notes
(dribble or vaporization)
Oxalic acid
As low as 40 deg. F
Single dose
Off
For best results hive should be broodless, or nearly so. Requires special equipment to use as a dribble and during vaporization.
Thymol
60-100 deg. F
28 days
Off
More effective in warmer weather (70-85 deg. F) when bees are not in a constant cluster.
Amitraz
n/a
42 - 56 days
Off
Must be installed early enough in the fall so that the strips can be removed at the end of the treatment before winter makes opening the hive impossible.
Formic acid
50-85 deg. F
14 or 20 days
On
Best used earlier in the fall, rather than later.
Winter preparations
Feed your bees sugar water at a ratio of 2:1 until they stop taking it or temps are at freezing. After freezing temps have been around for a few weeks you can add candy boards/blocks to the top of your hives.
There are several different approaches to wind protection.
Positioning your hive that the entrance is away from heavy winds
Wrap the hive(s) with tar paper or purchased hive wraps
Surround hive(s) with a wind fence of 3' high and a spacing of 2' in front of opening so bees can come and go freely.
You can also use 2" foam board insulation on the top and sides
Moisture and Ventilation
Because moisture in your hive can kill as much as freezing temps, you want to prevent condensation from occurring in the hive.
Wood chips, quilts and pillows are common methods in controlling moisture
Have openings in the top and bottom of the hive for air to circulate in through the entrance and out through the top.
Keep the entrance clear of debris (branches, snow, dead bees)
Candy board/block recipe
sugar-10 lbs.
1.5 C water
1.5 tsp vinegar
2 T Honey Bee Healthy
4-8" square pans lined with wax paper
Mix wet ingredients first then add 5 lbs sugar and mix . Add remaining sugar and mix again.
Divide sugar mix between 4 pans, pushing down to pack. Mixture will seem dry, that is normal. For a harder block you can bake them in the oven for 2 hours at 140 degrees.