What you never find in books - Brian Campbell

Brian has been keeping bees since 1989, assisting as a Seasonal Bee Inspector for some of that time. He based his talk on some of the ideas and techniques he has picked up during 30 years at the Apiary Face. This is a quick summary of the main points for you to ponder:

1. Add 3 supers to the brood box way before the Q runs out of space to lay in. You will see a massive reduction in swarming with this method. You can insert a sheet of newspaper between the upper empty supers to encourage the bees to fill the lower frames first.

2. Double brood boxes will help provide enough space for keen layers, it all depends on the Q and the weather.

3. Don't name your Qs or grow too attached to them. Culling aging Qs is a necessary part of the beekeeper's job.

4.  Cover over the escape holes in crown boards to stop the bees entering the roof space. This gives you extra time to assess the hive, and more roofs, acting as bases, to stack supers on.

5. When assessing advice from other beekeepers take into account their "hive years" of experience. Try to increase and broaden your own experience by assisting your colleagues.

6. Bees generally flourish whatever the beekeepers think they should be doing.

7. Don't forget to clean your tools and gloves in the handy bucket of washing soda. Also have a container with lid  for the hive wax debris.

8. Are mouse guards really necessary?

9. Float a piece of wood in the water trough or feeder container to prevent bees drowning. An old tea towel can serve the same purpose.

10. Refill your honey jars!