How to Avoid Smashing Bees with Layens Beehive Frames
4,394
Published 2023-07-23
#honeybees #beehive #beekeeping #layenshive
I grew up on a farm on the edge of the Nebraska sandhills. A cattle ranch that bears our family name, founded in the late 1800s by my ancestors, is still owned and worked by my cousin. Life events have put me in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area in middle America, where my wife and I have raised our two kids. It's in this environment that I work to make as sustainable a life as I can, converting much of our backyard to grow food, including a garden, fruit trees and bee hives.
I attempt to use natural methods, as much as is possible, in my gardening and beekeeping. I garden organically and continue to learn to work with the soil and the plants, without the use of chemical supplements, herbicides or pesticides, to improve our harvest. Our honey bees are sourced from local colonies through swarms, trap-outs and cut-outs, and are kept, using treatment-free, natural methods, in Layens horizontal hives.
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All Comments (21)
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My experience has been the same with regards to the bees coming out more readily when the gap between frames is about a bee or two in distance. I use both your technique and employ wild turkey feathers (either wing primary or tail) to move then down whilst moving the frames together. The last resort is smoke, though I rarely need to.
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I usually blow on them with my own breath as I move the frame closer horizontally. Bees don’t like human breath and move lower on the frame allows me to close it completely.
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Smashing video. 🥂 Slow down y'all!
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Terrific explainer. Well done, sir!
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Thank you, very nice video. I always have used the first method, a slow vertical drop when installing my Layan's frames. Will try your corner edge method next time and see how it goes.
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I have a cedar shake that use to gently coax them down. it just makes the space too narrow for them to come up when i get to that last poke their head up moment. I will give these techniques a try and see if it is more efficient.
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I joked about the bees that would hang out in the empty side of the follower board being the lazy bees. They never built any comb over there at all. Im happy you did this video. I could have used this info in the spring cuz i just found out about the slide down technique about a month ago. I didnt want to do inspections due to the horrible smash crackle sound when putting frames back together. Ty
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Thanks for the tips, I do struggle with this. I do not like to use my smoker unless they are defensive. I heard someone using a squirter bottle, have not tried that
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Great tips. This is something I struggled with, and the smoker was my only solution, but I don't always light my smoker when checking the bees as they are pretty tame. Will try these ideas next time
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Bought my first horizontal layens hive in January, set it up exactly like the instructions said to. Had a large swarm move into it in early June. After a week I went to inspect them and they had built comb on the lid in the open space. None of the frames were touched. Filled the hive with all 25 frames and they began to use them. Think bees just do whatever they want when it comes to setting up shop for their new home.
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Thats how i do it too, it was very frustrating for me to learn but love my layens . I use the touch technique with the drop approach. Use you get them hot it works well for me with a feather/brush and spray bottle if needed If you do foundationless and its soft not fully built out enough, i think the 2 method will possibly break it..
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I started out with the usual layens frame design, then dealing with the bee smashing issue and most of all not knowing how bees are doing in the winter and unable to top dry feed them, and since i build all my frames, I started to cut my top frame piece at same size as side which is 1"and just space frames with my fingers. Easy frame build and no need for router the shoulders on side pieces.
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Hadn't see ya in a while, had been wondering how your season has been going.😁 Have a wonderful Lords Day.
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Great subject, Awesome tips!
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Good ideas. I've had good luck rotating frames when pulling and returning to keep from rolling them on the sides. Someone suggested gentle blowing to get them out of the crack as an alternative to smoke, and although I was hesitant to try it at first, it's a go to for me now, esp if my smoker isn't lit, I'm just doing a quick looksie, or I'm at the end of a more involved inspection. Works like a champ, and doesn't stir them up as much as I thought it might.
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Glad I found your channel. Thanks for the demonstration.
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I'm choosing the vertical--Layens frames are the only thing I hate about Layens. I struggle and kill bees every time I work a Layens hive...and the bees let me know. Thanks for the tips...give it a try.
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Thank you for this video from France !😊
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I keep a spray bottle (ala plant misting bottle) at hand ..... usually some spray chases the bees down long enough to situate the frames.
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You can actually take put a couple few frames so you have more room. Good video to watch is. How to avoid smashing bees with layens behive frames by Suburban Sodbuster . Looks good so far. ;)
