"At one time, we made the mistake of building floors which were watertight, 
thinking to save any syrup which spilled down, but found that, unless tipped 
forward (thus defeating the purpose), they accumulated water.  Over time, 
that water encouraged a fermentation which turned the floor junk into a 
close approximation to BeeGo.  That drove bees out of the weaker hives into 
nearby hives and caused dwindling. "

Man, is that true.  I use screened bottom boards with all my hives, but also have trays under each one for monitoring mites and general bee activity (e.g. you can tell where the cluster is in the hive in the winter by seeing where the chewed off cappings are accumulating on the tray and even gauge their consumption rate by how deep the pile is).  In the winter the trays help cut the wind blowing into the hives from the rear, too.  Depending on the direction of the storm, rain can collect on the tray creating a soupy, moldy mess if not removed quickly.  Another use for my hive tool.

Bill
Claremont, NH

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