September Beekeeping Guide 2025

by September 17, 2025

🍂 September Beekeeping Guide: Time to Tidy & Treat

With the honey harvest behind most beekeepers, September is a time of change in the apiary. The colonies begin to shrink, drones are evicted, and your bees shift focus to preparing for winter. It’s a quieter month on the surface, but your decisions now will have a big impact on colony survival.

🚨 Asian Hornet Alert

🚨 Asian Hornet Alert Recent confirmed sightings of Asian hornets in Ireland have raised concern in the beekeeping community. These invasive predators pose a serious threat to honeybee colonies, especially in late summer and autumn, when they target foraging bees and vulnerable hives.

To help monitor activity, we now stock VespaCatch Asian Hornet Traps – a chemical-free option to help you stay proactive. 🧰 View Traps →

📸 Seen one? Don’t release it. Instead, report it through the Asian Hornet Alert leaflet or at 👉 records.biodiversityireland.ie/record/invasives

Harvest Check

If you haven’t already removed your supers, now is the time. Any honey you’re keeping for yourself should be off by early September so that the bees can begin their winter prep without delay. If you’re leaving some for the bees, ensure the super frames are not empty — and if needed, begin feeding now (see below).

Remove queen excluders once harvesting is done so the Queen isn’t separated from the cluster when temperatures drop.

Final Inspections

Use these warm early September days to do your final inspections before temperatures start to dip.

What to look for:

Size of brood nest – is the Queen still laying?
Strength of the colony – ideally 5+ frames of bees
Presence of a marked
Queen Signs of disease – especially deformed wing virus (linked to Varroa)
Sufficient pollen and nectar stores

If the colony is too small or Queenless, now’s the time to combine weaker colonies using the newspaper method.

Varroa Treatments

This is one of the most important months for Varroa mite management.

If you haven’t treated yet, do so immediately. There’s still time to reduce mite load before winter bees are raised. Your winter bees need to be healthy and long-lived to carry the colony through to spring.

Popular treatment options:

Apivar (already in high demand)
Formic Pro (temperature-dependent, follow guidelines)
Thymol-based treatments like
Apiguard

Not sure where to start? Contact us and we’ll be happy to guide you.

Feeding for Winter

Feeding is essential if your hive is light after harvest. Aim for 20–25 kg of stores per colony by October. Tips:

Use heavy syrup (2:1 sugar to water) for autumn feeding
Use an Ashforth or contact feeder for ease
Feed in the evenings to avoid robbing
Fondant or candy can be added later in the year if needed

Tidy & Prepare the Apiary

September is a great time to clean up your beekeeping gear and prepare the apiary for winter.

✅ Clear weeds and long grass

✅ Remove unused equipment

✅ Check for leaks or damage to roofs and hives

✅ Fit mouseguards if your area is prone to mice

✅ Replace worn frames and foundation while it’s still dry

✅ Ensure entrances are reduced, especially for smaller colonies

What’s Still in Bloom?

While the heaviest nectar flow has passed, there’s still forage around:

Ivy (a crucial late source for bees!)
Heather (especially in upland areas)
Borage, sedum, goldenrod, and other ornamentals
Some wildflowers if mowing has been avoided

Looking Ahead to October

Colony activity will continue to slow, but you’ll still want to:

Finish feeding
Remove feeders
Apply mouseguards
Monitor entrance activity
Begin planning winter projects

We'll cover all that and more next month!

👩‍🌾 New to Beekeeping?

You’re in the final stretch of your first season! Take stock of your progress and don’t worry if everything isn’t perfect – this is the time to learn. If you haven’t harvested honey yet, you may get a small crop now.

Keep up your inspections, watch for signs of queen problems or disease, and start making a plan for overwintering. If something doesn’t look right – ask for help! Local bee associations and online groups are a great resource.

🐝 Irish Beekeeping Resources:

Federation of Irish Beekeepers Association – irishbeekeeping.ie

Irish Beekeepers Association CLG – irishbeekeepersassociation.com

Native Irish Honey Bee Society – nihbs.org

NEED HELP OR HAVE QUESTIONS?

💛 Thank you for caring for your bees - by giving them the right support this autumn, you're helping them survive and thrive into spring.

If you have questions about feeding, Varroa, or combining hives, give us a shout. Beachaireacht shona! 🐝