How do you attract bees to a top bar hive?
A few drops of lemongrass, citronella or geranium essential oil may also help, but don’t overdo it. With luck, scout bees attached to a house- hunting swarm will be attracted by the scent and you will be rewarded by the unforgettable sight of ten thousand bees voluntarily setting up home in your hive.
How do you manage a top bar hive?
In a horizontal top bar hive, the bees will expand from the side out rather than vertically into stacking boxes. As the colony grows, slide the divider board, like a moving wall, down the hive cavity and add empty bars. In the height of beekeeping season, we recommend staying 3 bars ahead of their built out comb.
What kind of feeder do I need for a top bar hive?
I use BeeMax polystyrene hivetop feeders. They’re easy to handle, hold three gallons of feed and require no maintenance (don’t forget to paint the outside prior to first use). But most importantly, they have their bee entrance near the end of the feeder, instead of in the center as it tends to be in many hivetop feeders.
Where is the seal bar on a hivetop feeder?
The “topbar” on the far right is actually a divider board that closes the hive. The next “topbar” to its left is actually the seal bar glued to the feeder (made from an old topbar: note how the groove for the starter strip is pointing up instead of down). the next topbar to the left is an actual topbar.
Can you put Seal bars on bee feeders?
If a wooden feeder is used, they could be screwed or nail on. One secondary benefit of the seal bars is that when the feeder is taken off the hive for maintenance and put on a flat surface, the bars will keep the bee entrance lifted off the ground.
How big should a dado be for a hive top feeder?
Depth of the blade is set to leave a dado approx. 3/8″ deep (enough to allow room for expansion of the wall due to humidity when on the hive). I always test both the width and depth of my settings on scrap wood before making any final cuts. The table saw fence is set so that the dado would be approx. 2 1/4″ from the end of the board.