Equipment maintenance in Winter-Spring

The average winter losses in Nordic countries are around 15%. This means that you may lose some of your bee colonies during overwintering. Dead beehives should be removed from the bee yard immediately or as quickly as possible. If you are not able to remove the beehive, you should close the flight entrance to avoid the hive getting robbed by other bees and potential diseases being transmitted. Remember that it is useful to try to figure out the reason for the winter losses. Finally, the bottom board, hive bodies, and roof plate should be cleaned and sterilized by torching or washing them, depending on the material. Usually, the wax combs are melted, while the frames are burned or sterilized.