# Drowning Bees in sugar syrup how to avoid



## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

Your joking right? 60 K bees in a hive and you have 25 that drowned? More die just flying around in a day than in your two weeks of feeding...obviously your feeder is working pretty well. Be happy.


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## tct1w (Jun 6, 2008)

Yeah,its hard to see the girls dead. Sounds like your open feeding,not in the hive. I have never done it outside of a hive but I am a big fan of baggie feeders. Just fill a gallon ziploc baggie up half way or so and lay it horizontal,then put a few slits in the top of the bag and the girls will just walk up to it and have a field day. I feed all my hives this way,but inside them with an empty supper. Hope this helps. Take care Dave


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Hive top feeder, mason jars over a 3/4 to 1 inch hole. I can tell from a distance when they need refilling. They are $6 for a case. The bees do not drown. I have never had a problem with rain leaking in or jars getting knocked or blown over with wide mouth jars. The 1 to 3 gallon plastic pails fit over the same hole if I want to feed heavy.
http://americasbeekeeper.com/more_splits.jpg
http://www.americasbeekeeper.com/USF splits.JPG


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

I've tried all kinds of feeders but the best one for me has been a 2 1/2 gallon plastic bucket resting over a hole on the inner cover that I covered with 1/8 inch hardware cloth. The girls feed right through the hardware cloth. I put a super and top cover on to protect the bucket and preserve heat. I just lift the top cover to check the bucket without disturbing the hive. You don't have to brush the bees off the bucket when you refill it and you have no bees flying around at all.


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## merdoc (May 4, 2010)

American Beekeeper 6.00 sounds good I only have 2 hives paid 2.50 for a jar at dadant.Rossman gets 13.50 case.These kind of jars and lids are hard to find also how do you cover the hole when not feeding?


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## Growing Boy (Jan 28, 2009)

I open feed with a big cake pan with a couple of bricks in it.
In the last few weeks I've had maybe five in there dead and as far as I know they died of old age.
It would be interesting to actually know how many bees dies everyday from old age.
I guess the percentage would be akin to the number you see during an orientation flight.
Depending on the time of year it could be ten or a few hundred.
Just a thought.


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

I dont have a hive of 60K. I dont have a huge force of foragers. I have, if I am lucky, 2 frames of brood, not full, and few capped cells. I lost my queen, or she is failing, not clear if she is totally dead or not. And no I am not joking. I do not know how many foragers there are relation to the overall population of the hive, hence the question.

I have placed the cake tin inside, on top of the bottom hive body frames. I added an empty super and put the cover over the top of this. So it is two hive bodies, bottom one full of frames (many empty), top super no frames, with cake tin. They are working the syrup but in addtion to drowning, I see many that fell in and are covered with syrup. I wonder if they can fly or not. Other bees are grooming them, but I can see what appears to be dried crytal or mostly dried crystal sugar on their backs. 

Thanks for the replies.

Dan


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## Ray4852 (May 27, 2011)

what you could do, put on a wider platform for your bees to lay on. drill some holes in the platform for the water to come up. I have the cypress top feeder. No dead bees so far. Dadant has it.


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## Growing Boy (Jan 28, 2009)

That is a totally different story. When enclosed in a super the bees have to walk to the feed. That reduces their ability to escape especially in the midst of the feeding frenzy that usually takes place.
I think I would spring for a hive top feeder in that case or just go with the baggie method. Feeding outside the hive as I do even if they fall into the syrup, normally they can fly out of it. With it enclosed in the super they don't have that option.


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## Scottyd (Apr 17, 2011)

My advice would be get a jar (spaghetti or apple sause jars are great and it's recycling) poke pin holes in the cover, fill with sugar water. Make sure you tip it upside down off to the side until the suction is made. Place on the inner cover, put hive body and top cover on. Bees fed with no drowning.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Wal Mart has the jars and replacement lids. It could be seasonal, with more available during canning season. i get them from the Air Force Commissary as a retired Marine. If you cannot find them let me know what size you want. I have every size for my bee workshops at USFBG.


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## beefarmer (May 2, 2010)

I like to use the 5 lb. jar, on the boardman feeder, set it on the inner cover over half of the hole, put an empty deep on top cover with telescoping cover and this works great. only drawback you have to lift the cover to check amount in jar, usually though bees won,t even fly up at you when you lift the cover to peek in.


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## johnpfaff (May 12, 2011)

Fill your pans with marbles, glass beads or stones to the top of the syrup and they will stop drowning.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Dan, the old guy that I know stuffs grass or straw in his feeders.


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## Kazzandra (Jul 7, 2010)

Adamant, how did that happen?


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## Hawkster (Apr 16, 2010)

with the screened in feeder like that you need to not put on the inner cover and make sure you have a tight seal with the outer cover. as long as bees cant get in from the outside you should be fine


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## Hive Onthehill (Jun 11, 2011)

I also have a top feeder similar to adamant's picture(not screened in like that though) that uses float boards. My hive is also on the weeaker side right now and I'm also concerned about drowning bees. Everytime I've filled the feeder I've found 25-50 dead bees. should I just carry on with this method or seek an alternative meathod??


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## Risky Beesness (Dec 29, 2010)

I have a couple of those top feeders and somehow a few bees seem to get in the syrup. I have snugly fitting top covers, so I'm not sure, but they may be finding a way around the screen. I have been using some 5 qt pails on 3 hives for the last month. Jury is still out but I like the ability to easily wash them. and zero drowning.


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## Hawkster (Apr 16, 2010)

with the floats i most often end up drowning them when refilling the feeder, if you take the floats out and make sure the girls have left i don't think you will find as many drown. also make sure the floats don't get "stuck" to the feeder so that they don't float


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