Feeding bees question; yeast issues?

[Nao57]

So...I was watching a Youtube Bob Binnie video on feeding. The video was titled 'feeding bees - who, what, why, when' etc if you need or want to reference it yourselves.

Anyway when i was watching this video he starts talking about yeast growing in the sugar syrup feeding containers being possible after 4 or 5 days.

I was so surprised because when I watch beekeeping videos nobody else had ever mentioned yeast problems growing in with the sugar syrup that's fed to them.

So is yeast really a thing? And is it still a thing if you put small amounts of vinegar in with it? (With fondant winter feed, they purposely put some vinegar in it.)

I hadn't even known yeast could be an issue with bees.

What do you think on this? And does it happen a lot? (And does this influence the mite counts also regarding the yeast?)

How do you avoid yeast problems, and how common is it?

 

[soarwitheagles]

Nao,,
Vinegar helps. We add 3 tablespoons of clorox per 10 gallons of sugar syrup...totally takes care of the yeast, and more importantly the black algae. We learned this from one of the most well known beekeepers/scientist around: Randy Oliver.

 

[Kalan]

Can you explain more on your 10g setup for bee feeding? I'm intrigued. Beginning beekeeper here and there's a lot to learn.

 

[soarwitheagles]

Can you explain more on your 10g setup for bee feeding? I'm intrigued. Beginning beekeeper here and there's a lot to learn.

No problem! It is super simple. We purchased one of the 10 gallon stainless steel boiling pots off of Ebay. Next, we purchased one of those large propane burners as well. The 10 gallon stainless steel boiling pot fits perfectly on top of the burner. I fill the pot about 6 inches full of water, then pour in a 50 lb bag of Costco sugar, mixing it up. Next, we allow the burner to heat up the solution as we pour in the rest of the water. I use a potable drinking hose with nozzle to add the water...it makes it super easy. We ONLY warm the water enough to melt the sugar...this is super important...because if you heat the water too much, the sugar caramelizes and this hurts the honeybees.

Last, we add 3 tablespoons of Clorox. Without the Clorox, black algae begins to grow inside the bottle and it is a pain in the butt to keep bottle brush cleaning the 1/2 gallon bottles [at times we are filling 60+ half gallon bottles per day].

I will try to take a pic next time we use the feeders. Right now, no need for any feeding because spring is in full bloom and the honeybees are bring in massive amounts of nectar and pollen. We will be picking up our remaining colonies from the almond orchards this week and next week we will retriever our colonies from the cherry orchards...

Hope this helps!