NOTE: Many beekeepers advise against adding top ventilation/entrances to hives. Opinions often differ according to the specific climate in question. We recommend consulting current scientific research and speaking to beekeepers in your region before deciding whether or not to add a top ventilation hole to your Flow Hive.
If you live in a climate prone to high humidity or rainfall, you might like to add extra ventilation to your hive. One of the most common places to do this is in the roof which can easily be achieved during, or after, assembly.
Using a sticker, mark the spot where you wish to place the ventilation holes on the front of each gable.
The example below shows where a Flow customer chose to place one ventilation holes in the front gable, and two in the rear gable.
Measure how far from the top and sides these sit. Use a pencil to mark their location on the inside of each gable.
Using a router bit on a power drill, create holes about 3cm (1 inch) in diameter.
Attach medium to fine gauge wire to the inside of the gables. These should be smaller than 2mm (2/25 inch), to ensure bees do not try to use this as a second entrance.
Reassemble roof to finish, making sure to reseal the paint, as needed. (In the photo below, our customer forgot to paint the ridge roof cap – make sure to paint yours!)
