A quiet month now when most of the work will probably be indoors - assuming that you have completed feeding, varroa treatment, putting on mouseguards and woodpecker protection, and generally made hives secure for the winter.  If further feeding is needed then use fondant.

If you have not treated for varroa yet (Oh dear!), then this is the time when you can use an oxalic acid treatment.  The safest way is to use a 3.5% solution made with a 1:1 sugar solution; use a graduated syringe to dribble 5ml over each seam of bees (a ‘seam’ is the bees between two frames).  The solution should be freshly made as the action of the acid on the sugar will produce HMF over time and this is toxic to bees.  Do not use oxalic acid after December as it will affect brood rearing in the spring with potentially disastrous results.

Time now to start cleaning up!  Really old brood frames are probably best burned, as there is little wax in them and the cost of recovery can be higher than the value of wax recovered, but if you want to have a go then the comb can either be cut out and rendered, or removed by steaming (cheapest steamers are wallpaper strippers from B&Q).  Wax can be rendered by bringing to the boil with water - either rainwater, or add vinegar to neutralise the lime in tap water - and then straining through an old pair of tights.

Frames can be boiled in a strong solution of washing soda, but again this is not economical unless they are in good condition.  Rinse them well afterwards.  Note that caustic soda is much quicker than washing soda, but can be very dangerous to handle.

Peter Edwards 12/11/2007