Maintaining Beekeeping Equipment: Essential Winter Chores for Beekeeper

Winter offers a perfect opportunity to perform essential beekeeping equipment maintenance. With bees inside their hives, flying only on warm afternoons, it’s the ideal time for beekeepers to carry out necessary repairs and upgrades. During this downtime, you can make both exterior and interior improvements without disturbing the bees. Taking advantage of these colder months ensures that repairs are less disruptive for the hive and far less stressful for you as a beekeeper.

Winter beekeeping equipment maintenance is crucial to extend the life of your beekeeping equipment and maintain a healthy, thriving colony come spring. By keeping your hives in good condition, you’ll avoid larger, costlier repairs in the future, helping you maximize your investment in beekeeping supplies and equipment.

Hive Equipment Maintenance

Hive box repairs should be at the top of your list for winter chores in the beeyard. Since honey bees cluster together for warmth throughout the winter, the bees are mostly inactive, giving the beekeeper ample opportunity to carry out necessary repairs without causing unnecessary disruption. Performing beekeeping equipment maintenance during this time can help ensure that your hives are ready for the warmer months ahead.

Rotten Corners and Separated Finger Joints

Many beekeeping supplies, especially hive boxes, are made from pine. While pine is a durable material, exposure to the elements can cause it to degrade quickly. Over time, corners may rot and finger joints may separate. These issues, if left untreated, can allow moisture to enter the hive, leading to mold and creating an unhealthy environment for your backyard bees. Additionally, rotting wood attracts wood-boring insects that can further damage the hive structure.

To perform effective repairs, use exterior-rated products like Durham’s Rock Hard Putty. This repair solution is simple to use: just mix the desired amount with water and apply it in layers with a putty knife or paint stir stick. For larger gaps, create a thicker putty mixture that can be shaped into a ball. Push the putty into the cavity and smooth it out to restore the shape of the damaged area. The thickness of the putty will ensure that it stays in place while it cures, offering a long-lasting repair that helps preserve your beekeeping equipment.

Preserving Beekeeping Equipment

As a general rule, beekeeping equipment is painted or sealed with a wood sealer to protect the wood from the elements. However, as these coatings age, they begin to crack and degrade. Left untreated, your hive boxes will suffer further damage, which can require extensive repairs or even replacement. A good winter maintenance task is to repaint or reseal your hives, even with the bees still inside. Though some bees may be curious, the cold weather typically keeps them inside, minimizing the disturbance.

Repainting or Resealing Hive Boxes

Repainting or resealing your hive boxes is a key part of beekeeping equipment maintenance. A fresh coat of paint not only enhances the appearance of your hives but also adds another layer of protection against the weather. When choosing a paint, opt for a water-based outdoor paint. Water-based paints are ideal for the winter months because they dry quickly, which is important when working with backyard bees inside their hives. Oil-based paints, while durable, take longer to dry and can remain tacky for long periods. Though oil-based paints are best reserved for new equipment, you can repaint over oil-based surfaces with latex paint—but be sure to sand and clean the surface beforehand.

Wood sealants, like paint, help protect your beekeeping equipment but come with their own considerations. Oil-based sealants offer long-term protection but also take a significant amount of time to dry. Water-based sealants are a better option for winter use, as they dry faster and still offer strong protection. When applying either paint or sealant, use a large brush or roller to cover the majority of the surface area quickly, and then follow up with a smaller brush for detailed areas, such as around the bottom board and lid. It’s also important to pay attention to the hive entrance. If the weather warms up and bees become active, consider postponing the painting of this area to avoid trapping any bees in the wet paint.

Beehive Stand Maintenance

In addition to hive box maintenance, it’s crucial to check the stability of your beehive stand. This essential beekeeping equipment serves as the foundation for your colony. If the stand fails, the hive could collapse, leading to both damage to the beehive equipment and the potential loss of your backyard bees. Ensuring that the stand is stable and secure should be a priority in your yearly beekeeping maintenance schedule.

Testing the Stability of Your Hive Stand

A double-deep hive with two or three honey supers can weigh as much as 250 pounds during honey production. Since your hive will be the lightest in winter, this makes for an excellent opportunity to assess and make any necessary corrections to your hive stand. If the stand is damaged or unstable, consider replacing it with a sturdier option. Metal beehive stands tend to hold more weight and last longer, while plastic beehive stands offer a more economical alternative that is still somewhat durable. Beekeepers can find durable stands at beekeeping supply stores such as our own, The Bee Supply.

Beehive Ground Contact

A hive stand’s strength is only as good as the ground beneath it. As part of your regular beekeeping equipment maintenance routine, make sure to keep the soil around your hives stable and dry. Ants and other pests can destabilize the ground, while wet soil will weaken the hive’s foundation over time.

If you notice drainage issues around your hives, winter is the perfect time to address them. Dig shallow ditches around your hive stands and fill them with gravel. This will help direct water away from the hives, allowing the ground to dry more quickly. Gravel ground cover also helps prevent standing water and ground erosion beneath your hives. To complete this task, you may need to temporarily move your hives, but doing this during the winter months, when bee activity is minimal, makes it much easier to manage. For more tips on moving bees in cold weather, check out our beekeeping blog for expert advice. 

Conclusion

Beekeeping is an investment in both time and money. Regular beekeeping equipment maintenance, especially in winter, can help extend the life of your hives and ensure the health and productivity of your backyard bees. By performing simple yet essential tasks such as repairing hive boxes, repainting or resealing, and checking your hive stand and ground stability, you can avoid costly repairs and ensure your beekeeping supplies remain in excellent condition. With a little effort and forethought, you’ll be ready to welcome a thriving colony in the spring, all while maximizing the longevity of your beekeeping equipment.