Why I changed horses mid stream.

[Alleyyooper]

Second year with bees I saw this and freaked out called a near by member to the club who had some years of experience to tell me what to do.



He gave me a screen bottom board for to use to make my own from. I call them the Billy Bob boards because Billy and Bob put their heads together to make them.

They use 1/8 inch hardware cloth for the screen, the is a slot that Roof flashing slides in to open and close the hives up when fall arrives. Never had a problem ever with queens getting below the screen nor ants either. biggest problem was when I used Alumin flashing critters would chew on it and some times even pull it out. But all those have been replaces with the thicker galvanized flashing. Have some 15 years old the bees made a 2 inch strip all the way around with proplis so I put in the solar melter and it melted away.

   Al

[iddee]

I totally love it when my hives look like that. The most I will do is add another super. It tells me I have a great working hive.

[LazyBkpr]

What Iddee said, no SBB needed. 

[Gypsi]

I make my own SBB's and my own stickies. not fancy. just #8 hardware cloth for the sbb and sign board for the sticky.  Gets hot in Texas.

[brooksbeefarm]

I have both, in the Mo. hot dry summer when i see this i put a screen bottomboard on and the problem goes away. I left some open last winter and kept track of them and the ones with solid bottomboards that i lost, it was about 50/50 so i'm still on the fence about which is the best way to go? I do get a better crop of honey for them to winter on with the screen bottomboards, and a faster build up in the spring with the solid bottomboards. JMHO. Jack

[Jen]

"just #8 hardware cloth for the sbb and sign board for the sticky.

   Hey Gypsi, what kind of sign board are you talking about? I need something more solid because the plasic sticky boards get all warped.

[Slowmodem]

I started with SBB and have usually left them open.  I put slid the cards in this past winter to see if it would help the survival rate.  One made it, one didn't, so no conclusion.  I have left the card slid in so far this year because I'm too cheap to buy a solid bottom board.  But if they get to bearding, I may slide the card out.  I'm still experimenting with the bees to see what works and what doesn't.  (On second thought, that experimentation never really ends, does it?)

[Alleyyooper]

The finished one loaned to me to build my own.



My first one finished but not stained yet or screen installed.



Flashing size. I used alum roof flashing to start. but in out yards wasn't tough enough so switched to the galvanized stuff



This shows the slot and the piece I put in the front part to guide the flashing, later models didn't have that piece.






Screen bottom boards work well for me. Living between the lakes it is always humid when it is hot. 95F with 94% humidity is a common July August day and this year 80's in May already.

   Al

[hamptor]

Slomodem,  I did the same this winter - slid the stickie board in on top of the SBB to provide a bit of a wind break.  I can't really draw any conclusions about the success of this either because I lost one hive and one survived.  But I think I'll do it again because I like the idea of giving a wind break.   The other interesting thing that happened was that I used the mountain camp method to feed dry sugar on top of a sheet of newspaper above a shim.   As they shredded through the newspaper, it fell down to the bottom, landing on the sticky board and became a kind of cottony insulation.  Nice little by-product, but who knows if it did any good.

[LazyBkpr]

Problem goes away?  Probably because they are in desperation to keep their brood warm.   
   hehe, No, I am not against SBB's so I'll quit picking on them now.