Moisture accumulation under the lid—check on it!

[susan rudnicki]

Beeks—we have had a lot of rain (for us…) and I checked all my hives today for the dreaded dripping water mess that can form under the lid when there is a combination of cold temperatures and rain. Sure enough, all had a lot of condensation and some had some mold growth. This is really tough for bees when they are trying to keep things warm and dry in the hive. They also can’t dry the nectar for capping honey. I dried off the lids with a old towel, and propped up all my lids with small sticks so a gap allows air to escape. This is better with a inner cover and telescoping cover combo, as with a migratory cover, there is a gap exposed to rain. However, I have only 8 with the migratory cover, so I will have to see if there is much water intrusion or, if on balance, the gap is better to have.

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