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Thread: todays news

  1. #2901
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pete L View Post
    Some leak some don't, it seems that thin syrup is the worst for leaking, but then i suppose it would be, we seal them with beeswax, warm up a saucepan of beeswax and pour into feeder, swirl around and tip surplus wax back into pan, seals them well and fast, plus easier than painting.
    Excellent suggestion, thanks Pete. Are there any downsides apart from using up wax? For example, does it encourage them to set up home in the feeder?

    I know that folk use paint sprayers to speed up the job of painting the outsides. Will probably do that myself for next season.

  2. #2902

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    Not really had much of a problem with them building comb in the feed compartment, Gavin, say two that have built a bit of comb out of 50, and they are all strong, so often a lot of bees hanging out in the feed compartment, I just slice off any small bits of comb if it gets in the way and prevents the wooden float from rising with the syrup when filling.

  3. #2903

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    Hi Phil
    Aldi had some big plastic boxes so we bought a couple and put all the spare mini nucs inside
    Not sure if that will be good enough but the nucs were well scrubbed with bleach first
    Mice seem to prefer apideas to keilers if they are given a choice of both which is annoying because they are much dearer to buy
    The ones with bees are (mostly) on shelves well above ground


    Sent from my LIFETAB_S1034X using Tapatalk

  4. #2904
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Drone Ranger View Post
    Ki Kitta
    Somebody used to advertise for wasp paper on here for an art project ...

    The picture is of the damage inflicted by the wasps before that on the side with the feeder slot
    I think its a bit porous (quality control issues)
    I wish I've known about that person, DR. It bothered me to throw away such a beautiful sheets of wasp paper.

    Like Gavin said, I think you should paint your poly nucs. They're still a lot better than softwood as far as the bees are concerned.

    I realised a few days ago that I did not reduce the entrance holes in my Paynes poly nucs, so I immediately turned the entrance disc to reduce it and just hoped that I've not caught a mouse on the inside. The next day I saw that a mouse had started to nibble at the entrance - but it was on the outside, so trying to get in, rather than out.

    Kitta

  5. #2905

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    ALL poly hive feeders MUST be painted internally (where the syrup sits) to seal them. End of story. Its in the care sheets most suppliers give out with them.

    Syrup forces its way between the beads in even the best made boxes, and even if it does not entice wasps to bore into the material it causes mildew to develop and they go grey and black. Applies to all makes.

    Our preferred paint for the interiors of feeders is the water based acrylic exterior masonry paint. Surfaces should be clean and dry and not primed.

    For exteriors we prefer a good grade of exterior gloss.

  6. #2906

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    Quote Originally Posted by Calluna4u View Post
    For exteriors we prefer a good grade of exterior gloss.
    Out of interest, why do you favour gloss on the exterior?

  7. #2907

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    Quote Originally Posted by alclosier View Post
    Out of interest, why do you favour gloss on the exterior?
    Gloss paint, with the recommended addition of thinners for spraying actually bonds to the surface of the polystyrene and becomes a part of the box. 16 years on from doing the first of them the coat is still absolutely sound.

    Water based paints do tend to flake and get very tired in the end when outside in the weather. Apart from rough handling or rodents a poly box will last for life, and not having to repaint them is a bonus, to us at least.

    Not painting them at all IS an option, but they do get very old and worn looking. If that does not bother you then fine. We have completely unpainted and unglued poly boxes still in service since our first experiment in 1997 with no losses of boxes at all, but they look way worse than the painted ones introduced in 1999. The bees are fine in them and will be for many years to come, but they do look grotty by comparison.

    Algae grow on the outside of the unpainted boxes, which in turn gets grazed on by slugs and snails. They have rough tongues and take an imperceptible layer off the surface when they do this. Some UV degradation also takes place which makes the surface even more susceptible to weathering or grazing damage. To get this in proportion however, from the rate of loss of external material it would take many many years, I reckon at least 40 or 50, for this to cause the box to fail. The wear and degradation is thus mainly a cosmetic issue.

    The mix of colours we use which can look very odd to some is mainly an anti drifting and orientation strategy. Matt paint (oil based for the outsides) should also be fine but we just chose gloss at the outset and have seen no reason to change.

    Most amusing to me was the guy who was very traditional in his ways but tried poly in a 'moment of foolishness'........sadly they did not respond too well to being creosoted. Of course this demonstrated that poly is no good.

  8. #2908
    Senior Member busybeephilip's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Calluna4u View Post

    For exteriors we prefer a good grade of exterior gloss.
    Not sure if it allowed or not on this forum , but, would it be possible to actually name the brand of food grade gloss paint you use for external poly painting ? I recall trying normal gloss on a piece of polystyrene before and it melting the poly beads
    Last edited by busybeephilip; 17-11-2015 at 10:55 AM.

  9. #2909

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    Quote Originally Posted by Calluna4u View Post

    Most amusing to me was the guy who was very traditional in his ways but tried poly in a 'moment of foolishness'........sadly they did not respond too well to being creosoted. Of course this demonstrated that poly is no good.
    Didn't know you could still get creosote Crikey that wasn't a good idea
    Still there are lots of interesting compromises that have to be lived with so the benefits of poly hives can be enjoyed
    I'm less keen now than when I first bought them

    Incidentally the chewed up nuc in the picture sat off the ground on a stand with 8 inch legs
    It was bought in Spring this year, used for the first time on 11th July 2015 to make a circle split, and by the start of October three months later looked like it does now

    Any box that is designed to house bees you would imagine might be reasonably proof against being chewed by them or their close cousins
    Obviously painting is the answer but perhaps it's better to just buy something more solid or make your own since some DIY is going to be called for in any case
    Plenty time for most folk to do it now Winter is looming

  10. #2910
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Drone Ranger View Post
    Still there are lots of interesting compromises that have to be lived with so the benefits of poly hives can be enjoyed
    I'm less keen now than when I first bought them
    I've tip-toed around the idea for a long time but not (so far) taken the plunge. Common sense (having spent some serious time living rough when I was younger) tells me that any compromises will probably be a good investment in the bees general well being and health in the long run. I don't need any convincing on that score.

    However in this location, having watched our permanently established mini-plus hives and the comparably sized boxes built from OSB3/timber for ten years or so, I doubt that there would be much if any added benefit to us during the winter and spring. Where I'm sure we would see a real benefit would be during the honey season, perhaps even catching short flows which we might otherwise miss.

    An example from this last summer, having been caught out due to other commitments a few boxes were left without their full compliment of frames, while the OSB ticked over nicely with some wild comb started the poly versions actually flourished.

    071.jpg080.jpg068.jpg049.jpg

    compared to the osb in the same time frame:

    057.jpg

    Which actually suited our purposes better for queen mating but that's another story of compromise.

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