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minimising burr comb/mann lake top feeder

3K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  Crofter 
#1 ·
Is burr comb development under the mann lake top feeder normal? What are some ways I can minimise it?
 
#3 ·
Don't know about Mann Lakes but I had the same trouble with ones I had bought up here. Probably a violation of bee space to some degree. If you can perhaps shave a bit off the bottom of the feeders rim (if there is one) it might help. I just switched to different feeders. Everytime I wanted to check underneath a hive top feeder there was so much burr comb I was lifting frames from the box below it. One thing I have seen done is useing a home made garrot (?), those things the mobsters use to use to strangle someone. Piano wire and a couple of wooden dowels on either end to slice between the feeder and the box below.
 
#4 ·
Music store; guitar strings, not garrot strings, PerryBee!:razz: I have a roll of it that millwrights use for serious heavy plumb bobs.

I picked up a few Mann Lake top hive feeders and have made custom boxes that will bring their bottoms right down close to the frame tops. Cant remember the dimensions exactly but somewhere around 4 inches high and otherwise just like a very shallow honey super. That may make a difference but there is still lots of space for the little honeys to get creative.
 
#6 ·
I believe I started with a mann lake top feeder they was bad about building burr comb up between the 2 tanksto get to the top. You can remove there ladder but they will keep building it until you give up amd quit tearing itout or leave it until your done feeding.
 
#7 ·
I fed 3 hives with Mann Lake hive top feeders this spring, and had very little burr comb. I'm a truck driver and have very little time at home to build things, so I ordered the ML feeders with the boxes. There didn't seem to be any problem with violating the bee space, or maybe I just have well behaved bees. :lol:
 
#8 ·
A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and garrotte[SUP][1][/SUP]) is a weapon, most often referring to a handheld ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line used to strangle a person.[SUP][2][/SUP]
Iddee, just trying to pluck PerryBees string! Hadn't heard for a long time of the practice of garroting someone. That idea should work well too on separating boxes that have top to bottom frames badly bridged.
 
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