After a few iterations, the 2019 Langstroth hive is ready for winter. Learned much helpful information at the September COBKA meeting here in Bend, Oregon and put them into practice. Here's what the hive looks like now:
-Two deeps in place, lower is brood box and upper is honey storage which appeared full. I did not open the hive to look at the brood box frames; assume from the bee traffic that it is as it should be--bees still bringing in nectar and pollen on warmer days.
-Over the two deeps, I placed duck cloth on top of the honey frames, then a medium that has a screen barrier about an inch from the bottom upon which I placed 100% wool fabric wrapped around a 100% wool rug. Those filled the box entirely. On top of that is an upside down feeder box, about 3" in depth filled with 2 layers of 1" hard foam insulation. Then I placed the inner cover on top of that to finish the vertical winterization.
-Around the outside of the hive is 1" hard foam insulation, taped and strapped into place. It covers all four sides leaving space at the front for an exit. The exit is about 3/4" square.
-The entire hive is now wrapped in thick plastic, taped down to handle wind and weather.
-When temperatures drop way low consistently, I will reduce the entrance further to 3/8".
-Since I had put the wool filled box on several weeks ago, I was able to check the dampness. Because there was one wet spot at the left front corner I redid the original plan. Previously I had the inner cover over the wool box without a foam insulation barrier and the telecoping hive top which has a metal covering and then a piece of foam insulation. That allowed cold to seep in through transmission by the metal I believe which caused condensation to gather on the wool. The 2" of hard foam insulation should prevent that occuring. I will check in a few weeks.
So, I am comfortable that the bees are comfortable!!
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