Here’s John’s recipe for an organic, thymol based treatment for Varroa mites. This is a great treatment for summer/fall, after honey has been pulled. If you need to treat for mites when you have honey supers on the hive, Mite Away Quick Strips (formic acid) can be used instead. Old […]
Register with Jackson County Vector Control to protect your bees from aerosol spraying for mosquitoes if you live in Jackson County. This is an important step for beekeepers within city limits as well as those out in the county. To register, call 541-826-2199 or use the Contact Us page on the […]
You’ve taken the classes, bought/built the hive components, and now it’s time to pick up your bees! Nucleus hives (nucs) are a great way to start your first hive. The nuc contains 3 to 5 frames of bees with a proven queen, lots of bees, and frames filled with brood, […]
Contributed by Ellen Wright It seems that whenever a community discusses urban beekeeping, the overriding concern is the fear of being stung by a bee, and the possibility that the sting might be deadly. The data on the true risk of a deadly allergic reaction to an insect bite gives overwhelming […]
Why do some farmers choose to grow GMO crops? Contributed by Dewey Caron Genetically modified crops – do you believe they are “good” for agriculture or are “bad” for us? Maybe you believe Monsanto and other big ag companies force farmers to use GMO seeds and then lose money because they unnecessarily […]
When do you check if a hive that has swarmed is queen-right? What about the newly hived swarm? Contributed by Dewey Caron QUESTION: Our one hive (of two last fall) swarmed on Easter Sunday. It was pretty scary for the neighbors at first as the swarm gathered in a rhododendron next […]
Contributed by Dewey Caron Mite monitoring is good bee stewardship. It lets you know precisely how the bees are doing and how successful everything you may have done for mite management so far this season has helped the bees. Monitoring means taking the pulse of the colony – are they […]
On April 16, the Medford City Council voted to approve the amendments to the Land Development Code that would provide for beekeeping within the city limits, although the 4 to 3 vote in favor necessitated a second reading of the amendments before approval. There were several SOBA members in attendance at the City […]
Contributed by Dewey Caron This has been a mild, dry winter for our bees. Let’s hope it continues [BUT we had a saying in Vermont, my birth state, ‘When March comes in like a Lamb it goes out like a Lion!’ ]. With this mild weather, I am sure most […]
Conbtributed by Dewey Caron The federal government has renewed disaster declarations for four counties in southern Oregon and all 58 California counties because of the lingering drought, which is entering its fourth year. In Oregon, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lake counties were designated as disaster areas. The designation makes qualified […]
Contributed by Dewey Caron Representative Earl Blumenauer, OR 3rd district (Portland east through Cascade foothills) and MI Representative John Conyers have reintroducted Saving America’s Pollinators Act. The legislation requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take swift action to prevent mass bee die-offs and protect the health […]
We are fortunate to have a national premier hive component manufacturer, Shastina Millwork in the Rogue Valley. Shastina specializes in custom hobbyist and commercial woodenware including boxes, frames, tops, bottoms, essentials, and clothing (basically, everything except bees), Shastina introduced the Revolution Box a few years ago – an improved hive […]
