Pail feeder

[oregonsparkie]

Im looking at making a couple of pail feeders, I searched the archives and could not find what everyone uses as float in the 5 gallon bucket?


Any suggestions?

[Pugs]

Hi Sparkie!

Can't remember who, but I've read here that someone uses straw. Not sure how much. You might find it with a search on straw.

How's it going there on the east side of the Cascades?

Pugs


Pugs

[oregonsparkie]

Hey there pugs. Its been alittle cold and rainy lately but the weather is slowly warming up. I have several swarm calls already, had to pull the ad in the nickel newspaper because I have more hives than I really wanted

[Joel]

Sparkie, anything that floats will work. We've used pine straw and twigs down south, packing peanuts, and straw in the north. If you use straw us quite a bit as it will soak and sink and then many bees will drown. We like to stick an old bee package in first and then add what ever. The package gives them plenty of area to light on and it helps support the float material.

[oregonsparkie]

Thanks Joel,

I kinda remember the straw but was hoping there was some better ideas.

[Pugs]

Michael Bush uses a round board with some short cuts going towards the center like spokes. I can't find the picture he had on his website (I just went and looked).

Here is a link to his website for you to look over. http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bush/bush_bees.htm


I think the board was 1/4 inch plywood cut smaller than the bucket so it would have 1/4 inch or so around the edge between the board and the bucket.

Maybe he'll pick up on this and add his 2 cents (don't you hate that the cent symbol is no longer on keyboards?).

Start hiving up those swarms in nucs and sell them! Heck, if they were from the valley, I'd buy a couple as I want to get some feral stock to play with.

Pugs

[Michael Bush]

Yes its 1/4" exterior laun plywood. It's the size of the bottom of a five gallon bucket. (buckets taper) If I were doing it again, I'd cut the slots slightly biggger (by putting two saw blades in the saw) and not as long. The problems were that with just 1/8" cut and the rough slivers some bees get their heads stuck in the slot. Also cutting too close to the edge makes the float too fragile so I'd leave a larger margin around the outside. I was thinking of also adding an 1/8" hardware cloth lining to the bucket, but didn't get it done.


No matter what you use you'll have some bees drown. But floats definitely help.

The LEAST bees I've seen drown in a bucket were when my grandsons got carried away filling a bucket with long sticks that go from the bottom to the top (vertically). The bees would crawl up down the sticks to get to the liquid in the bucket.

[James]

Take my 3/4" wide white pine scraps 1/8 " or thicker. Lay them on some thick cardboard in a checker board patern. Staple ever other intersection .Cut to fit container. Use small short staples.

[oregonsparkie]

OK... I built some floats out of 2" thick high density foam board. I made a doughnut shape and put fiberglass window screen on the bottom... Ill let everyone know how they work.