How To Mix 2:1 Sugar-Water With A 25 Pound Bag Of Sugar

As humans we can over complicate the simplest things. Mixing sugar-water for honey bees is a prime example of this very thing. If you've been a beekeeper very long and you use the internet as your source for information then you have no doubt seen the evidence that a beekeepers greatest talent is not keeping bees alive...it's disagreeing with everyone about the best way to take care of bees. Don't believe me? Well, go to your favorite social media site and ask a bunch of beekeepers how to properly make 2;1 sugar water, then just sit back and watch how grown men and women will go at each other over this issue. It really makes me laugh.

I am here to help. I'm gonna give you the recipe using a 25 pound bag of sugar and a five gallon bucket. 

In the video I stated that I was going to be using my Ninja blender to mix the syrup. Well that didn't actually work. The blades messed up and it started throwing sugar water everywhere. So all I did was scoop sugar into the bucket two cups at a time followed by one cup of water. If you will look at the picture at the top of this article you will see how many cups of each went into the bucket. Also, you will notice that I took an outside measurement from the bottom of the bucket to where the syrup line ended up being once the sugar and water were stirred a good bit, just enough that all of the sugar was suspended by the water but not yet dissolved. The bucket was a typical five gallon bucket I picked up at Wal-Mart. 

So all in all, a 25 pound bag of sugar is 48 cups. For 2:1 sugar you will need 24 cups of water, or 1 and a half gallons. There you go, it is really as simple as buying a 25 pound bag of sugar, dumping it in a 5 gallon bucket and then pouring in 1.5 gallons of water. To stir I suggest getting a paint mixer that fits onto a drill to dissolve the sugar. Using hot water is another tip to help it dissolve faster.

That's it! I hope this helps someone. Y'all have a great day!

The Accidental Treatment-Free Beekeeper

My Awesome Dad!
Gardner Vaughn

I have been actively keeping honey bees for 4 years now. This is not my first exposure to beekeeping though. I want to tell you the story of how I became a beekeeper, but at the same time I want to tell you how I became a treatment-free beekeeper and why I remain treatment-free. My story may resonate with a few, may stir up anger in others, and may just be boring to others. Yet, its my story nonetheless.
My story starts with my grandpa on my mom's side. He bought himself a Langstroth Hive and some frames and foundation back in the mid to late 70s. He ordered himself a package of bees and viola he became a beekeeper. That lasted maybe a year, but I'm not sure it even lasted that long. The bees either died or absconded and that was the end of his beeking.
My grandpa's attempt apparently inspired my dad because the next year my he was buying a book, a box, frames and foundation. I recall helping (watching) him assemble the components to his new hobby. He would tell me things he had learned in his book about the bees. I found much of it very compelling, but I really wondered if my dad was only interested in the bees as a way to "one-up" his father-in-law. Dad never would confirm nor deny my suspicion even when I became an adult. Still, I believe it was a friendly competition in my dad's mind.
I was 10 or 11 years old at the time. I, like my dad had a real fear for things that sting....I still do actually. I believe that this fear may have been another of the reasons dad got interested in keeping the stinging monsters. As kind of a therapy to aid in overcoming his fear of the sting. I never got around to asking him, but I do know that it was a huge part of the reason I began beekeeping. It hasn't worked fully yet, but I retain hope!
Anyway, let me get back on track here.
Dad got his book finished and also finished building and painting his hive. Then after what seemed a lifetime, dad's package of bees arrived at the post office. To mom's dismay, dad was not able to leave work and pick up the bees and the post office was very demanding that someone get up there and get them. So she and I took a trip to the post office to grab the bees in our family station wagon. She put the screened package of bees in the back of the car and we headed towards the house. Now, I have no idea how the bees got out other than to say Murphy's Law came into play, but get out they did! I was so terrified!! I was begging mom to let me out and let me walk the rest of the way home. She would have none of that. Thankfully we made it home without a sting. Thankful because I was on the verge of jumping from the moving car, had I gotten a sting that may have actually happened.
Shortly after we got home with the bees dad got home from work. I don't remember what exchange may have taken place between dad and mom, but dad quickly got on his bee suit and proceeded to shake the bees in the hive body.
Fast forward a few days. I had been going to the hive a watching the bees everyday after school, but this particular day I saw the bees in a ball on a limb above the hive. I knew this was not a good thing so I went home a told mom. She called dad's job and he came home. But they were gone. All of them.
A couple of years later dad tried again with a similar outcome. We never really knew why. But he gave up never to try again.
So, what does all of this have to do with why I became an accidental treatment-free beekeeper? Well, in 2015 I asked dad if he still had the books from his days of beekeeping. All he had was a book he had copied onto copy paper with a xerox copier and a staple in the corner of the papers. It was called Beekeeping for Beginners. Catchy title huh!? In that book it told all about buying a Langstroth Hive, how to put it together, paint it, buy frames and put them together with foundation, and all sorts of other things I needed to know. It even told me to be careful of the dreaded trachea mite that was gonna kill of the world's bee population.
So with all of that information from that book printed in 1973 I went in search of bees. I had not done any other research on bees. I found a guy a couple of hours from me who was selling complete hives of bees for $275. I call him up and get directions to his house, drive there at night and buy the bees. Instantly I are a beekeeper!
Now mind you, I'm the kind of guy that gets an idea in his head, starts doing said idea, and then starts trying to learn how to do said idea properly. Yes, I am backwards! Always have been. That being said, it is at the point of purchasing a hive and having them in my backyard that I start learning all about bees from the internet. I start watching YouTube videos and reading articles about bees. All of these people keep talking about mites and how they are going to kill all the world's bees. I remember reading about that same thing in the book I got from dad. 45 years after that book was printed the bees were still around so I didn't get overly concerned. Then I read on Michael Bush's website that we had figured out years ago how to keep our bees from getting tracheal mites by using natural size comb in the brood chamber. So suddenly I became an expert on treating for mites. Tracheal mites that is. But then I started hearing every now and then about Varroa mites. Honestly, for two years I ignored the word Varroa everytime I heard or read it because in my mind I assumed that it was just the scientific term for the tracheal mites. Yep, that the kind of guy I am (LOL).
For those who don't know, Varroa was not an issue in the U.S.A. until the mid to late 1980s. I don't really know when the exact moment was or what the exact statement was that made me realize that Varroa and tracheal mites are two totally different monsters, but my reaction to that dilemma was, "well, if my bees haven't already died maybe they don't have mites." So I learned how to check for mites. Yep, my bees had mites. By now I was into my third season and had not killed my bees by not treating them for Varroa.  I have been making splits each year and I know that some people will say that doing so is doing a treatment. Maybe so, but they do that treatment naturally if allowed, I just do it in a controlled way as not to lose the bees.
As far as losing bees, I have had a few losses. This winter I lost 3 of 12 colonies. Two of them I lost because I tried to make a couple of two frame mating nucs in September to see if they would overwinter that late. They didn't. The other was a two frame walk-away split I did the same day. It didn't make it either.
So far the losses I have had were not from anything but my own experiments it seems.
I am continuing my treatment-free beekeeping stance at this time. For me it has been working. I guess ignorance is bliss. We all have to keep our bees in the best way we know how. I don't fault anyone who puts chemicals in their hive for the protection of their bees. However, I am glad that I didn't learn this from the beginning. It is late January 2020 and I currently have 9 colonies. I am only worried about one of them because the hive was turned over in a strong wind last week and they appear to be queenless because of it. Not only that, but it was rained in heavily that night. There are plenty of bees in that box, but they are loud and angry. I will let you know in a later post whether that colony requeens itself or not.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and thanks dad for accidentally making me a treatment-free beekeeper. I love and miss you very much!

Mayhaws and Henbits are Blooming

Spring is creeping up on us here in the south really quick, if not a bit early. Like 2-3 weeks early. I guess it has to do with the lack of winter temps and good amounts of rain. Temps have been averaging in the upper 60's with only a few dips into the 30's, one good drop into the 20's back in November, but all in all there has not been a sustained cold spell for more than 3 or 4 days before it is back in the upper 60's and 70's. This has caused my bees to be actively bored. They are warm enough to be out flying everyday but nothing to really forage on. So what do they do? Well they constantly check every person on the farm for flowers (LOL).

Henbit that bloomed in my front yard today 1-18-2020

Until this week that is. This week I have seen a drop in that kind of activity around the farm. As a matter of fact, I noticed the last 10 days or so that the bees have been bringing in an increasing amount of pollen between rain showers. Actually today I saw a whole bunch of bees bringing in bright yellow, dark yellow, and even a grey looking pollen. I don't know where these different colors come from, but I do know that it means there are at least three different varieties blooming right now. Two things I noticed today that are blooming are shown here.

Mayhaw blooming at my grandparents 

 The henbit is not considered a honey plant by the LSU AgCenter, but it is considered very important here in Louisiana because it is one of the earliest heavy pollen and nectar producers. This is what is needed before the heavy nectar flows begin so that the queens can start producing brood and build up the colony numbers so that there are more workers to bring in nectar and pollen to store. So, although henbit is a great producer of nectar and pollen, it is not really considered a honey plant here due to the colony populations being too low this time of year to actually store a significant amount. Nevertheless it is VERY important to the bees.

The other bloom I saw today was the Mayhaw at my grandparents old home. This is roughly 2 weeks earlier than last year and it causes me to wonder what this means for the nectar flow this year. We still have a few months of probable frost days. If the Mayhaw is two weeks early I'm afraid that means that the other blooming trees may be at risk of frost causing a short lived early nectar flow. Only time will tell. As mild of a winter we have had so far it may not be much of an issue at all. 

Another bloom I have been seeing on the increase the last few weeks is everyone's favorite, White Dutch Clover. I have not seen it here on the farm as of yet, though I do have quite a bit planted and growing here, but as little as three miles away and beyond I have been seeing many blooms of the wonderful bee food. I am starting to believe that this hill I live on has its own weird micro-climate inside of USDA Zone 8b. Its hard to explain, but things in about a 3 mile radius are just different than the rest of the parish. 

Well, thats all I have time for right now. Thanks for stopping by!

Place A Swarm Trap In A Tree Easy And Fast

Because swarm traps are heavy and I am nearly always carrying one in my truck in hopes to find a good spot to place it, AND because I am normally alone in my truck, I needed to figure out a way to put a swarm trap in a tree by myself. In this video I show you how to do just that.
The hive I am putting up is a Sam Comfort hive. Click here to see just how easy it is to build a Comfort Hive.  After watching that video you will only need to screw on a top and bottom and then follow the directions in this video post to see how to place it in a tree. Bait it with either Lemon Grass Oil or with Swarm Commander Honey Bee Lure, Both of these are extremely good lures for swarms.
I have many swarm traps set this year and they are all baited with Lemon Grass Oil. The link at the bottom of the page is the brand I use if you want to make sure and get the same brand.
I hope you enjoy the video! Please click the "Like" button. Thank You!!