November is a good month to take apart a bee observation box in order to clean it out and store the bee cocoons in a clean, dry cardboard box in a shed over winter. I do this, so that next spring the new generation of bees will have nice, clean channels to nest in.

Here are some easy steps to cleaning out your box. It can get quite messy, so wear your gardening clothes. You’ll need an:

• old table cloth
• small screw driver
• thin, metal skewer
• small brush
• cardboard boxes
• washing up liquid, only to clean the Perspex cover.

• Step1: Remove the insert from its exterior wooden box exterior and put it on a table covered in a white cloth. Do this in a cool area, like a shed or on a garden table.
• Step 2: Remove the small screws that holds the Perspex – revealing a clearer view of the cocoons in their mud partitioned cells or nurseries.

• Step 3: Carefully (I use a metal kebab skewer) get under the cocoons and scrape out the content of each channel – flaky mud, hard pollen, delicate cocoons and flecks of poo.

Step 4: Place the smaller, male cocoons at the front of the channels on one side of your white sheet and the large female cocoons at the back of the channels on the other side if you wish to store them separately. (Remember mum always lays male eggs at the front of the nest and females at the back so the males can emerge earlier in the spring).

Step 5: Take each cocoon and gently brush the flecks of poo off with a soft brush, like a paint brush or make-up brush and place in a cardboard box. I’ve lined mine with newspaper and separated what I think are the boys from the girls.

Step 6: Clearly label the box. We have a number or bee boxes that we manage for clients and are cleaning out this winter, so we’ve also put the name of the client on the box too. Close the box and put in a dry, cool place.

Step 7: Now, clean out the channels as best you can. Get as much as the debris out as you can with the skewer and then with a brush. It’s best NOT to use a damp cloth as the water could make the wood expand. The channels don’t have to be perfectly clean, just rid of poo, old pollen, any larvae that didn’t develop into a cocoon and may harbour disease, and any unwanted pests and parasites that may have laid their eggs in the channels too.

Step 8: Clean the Perspex cover with washing up liquid and a scrubber. Dry. Then screw back onto the wooden channels. (Photo to come). Store in a dry place over winter. Dispose of the debris in your compost bin.