Austin had its first hard freeze last night and the temps dropped to about 27 degrees. This appears to be an isolated incident as the 10 day forecast has the lows back into the mid-40’s, but it is a good reminder that winter is just around the corner for those of us in southern climates.
By mid-afternoon it was sunny and back in the 60’s so I went to check on the girls. The top hive feeder was completely empty so I added another 2 quarts of sugar solution to make sure they have enough food for the winter. I didn’t go into the hive at all since it was so cold last night, and I want to disturb them as little as possible during these colder months. It may be back in the 70’s by next weekend so I’ll probably do one last inspection before closing up shop until next spring.
I also took this opportunity to install a mouse guard to prevent unexpected house guests in the hive over the winter. Here is a picture of me modeling the latest in mouse guard fashions.
After initially putting it on backwards, I finally got it right. It basically fits over the hive entrance and has 3/8″ holes that allow bees free access to the hive but keep out the meeces. It also acts as an entrance reducer so the bees were a bit confused at first, but quickly figured it out.
Urban Beekeeping in Austin, Texas 