Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[mickburke]

I am a new beekeeper and using a top bar hive. i have found that the bees are building above the bar. It looks like they actually started building off each side of the bar, and the one side goes above it and when I opened the hive, I saw wax foramtions on the underside of the lid, so it appears they built all the way to the top.

Is there an easy way to prevent this? I want to 'encourage' them to do whatever comes natural, but I think this would have to be disruptive to them!

Any suggestions or thoughts are much appreciated!

Mick

[J Smith]

Yes there is an easy way..... if you are talking horizontal top bar and not Warre- place the bars side by side tight together with no "bee gap" between them and deny them access above the roof bars.
Unlike stacking box hives, horizontal top bar hives are meant to have an enclosed hive box, no gap between bars and the follower board tight up to the last bar.

[flybry]

It may be too late too push the bars together now as bees may well have built come with a bee gap between them. If so stick strips of wood between the bars to close the gaps.

Bryan