Top 5 Steps For Over Wintering

Another winter to get through up here in the North East! It has not hit the single digits yet, but has come close. Now that the Honey Harvest Season is over, now is the time to prepare for the Winter.

In doing so there are a few things to do in order to give your bees the best possibly chance of surviving the long cold northern winters. 

Step 1: Reduce

By reducing the hive size and the extra space, it gives the bees better chance to move their cluster and take advantage of the frames that are full of honey and pollen next to each other, rather then going from a full frame to an empty frame and starving during the winter. Start by taking out any additional space that is not needed. If you can move frames around to reduce the size of the hive, be sure to complete this before the weather gets too cold. In one of my hives, I was able to remove 5 frames that they built out but did not fill, and another 5 that were on the outside edges to reduce the hive down to two filled mediums instead of three sparce mediums.

Step 2: Angle

During the winter months, rain or snow can accumulate on the bottom board or blow through the entrance and become trapped inside the hive. Wind can even blow in a substantial amount of precipitation into the entrance, even though you might have a entrance reducer on. If you tip your hive forward, this allows the water to drain back out. By placing two pieces of small wood underneath the back two corners of the hive, this allows the hive to tip and angle forward giving the chance for the water to drain out the front entrance.

Step 3: Wrap

It is not required to wrap your hives, but it does help the bees a little bit by giving them some additional warmth to possibly break out of their clusters during the winter and move to over to more honey, their food source, during the winter for a better survival rate. The Connecticut winters can be brutal some times, so this year I ordered another Bee Cozy’s to wrap my hives, they fit a 3 Medium Langstroth Hive or a 2 Deep Langstroth Hive.

Here is the link for Bee Cozy’s and Winter Wrap Options from Better Bee

Step 4: Hay

Hay is the greatest installation you can use for your garden, and even your hives! I bought a few bales from the local Agway and  split them apart to place underneath the hives and around the back for a little more warmth.

Step 5: Weights

The wind can be a dangerous thing to your hives that are 3 or 4 boxes high. Two things I recommend any beekeeper do to help stabilize their hives. One way is cement blocks! You can get these at your local hardware store, they are great to place on top to secure the telescope cover from flying off. The second way is using Ratchet Straps! These are great to have handy, not just for the winter but for all year round. They are also available at your local hardware store and look like this: