View Full Version : Couple nuc questions
Jack777
12-27-2005, 03:41 PM
Just finished building 2 nucs following some plans online. I'd rater not paint them but want to preserve the wood. We use linseed oil many ways and it works well; is it OK for inside as well as outside of nucs?
Also, should I provide an upper entrance for air circulation or is it unnecessary with a small sized box that won't be used in winter?
Michael Bush
12-27-2005, 03:45 PM
>We use linseed oil many ways and it works well; is it OK for inside as well as outside of nucs?
I'd just put it on the outside, but I don't think it will hurt on the inside.
>Also, should I provide an upper entrance for air circulation or is it unnecessary with a small sized box that won't be used in winter?
One small entrance is fine for access. I prefer a top one, but I have nucs with them all the way from the bottom to the top. Often just a hole drilled in the box. On the ones I'm overwintering, to stop robbing, I ended up with the entrance reduced down with 1/8" hardware cloth do just enough for a bee to get in. If you have hot summers, you might want to put a hole on the back and screen it with #8 hardware cloth for some cross ventilation. But here, I don't find it necessary.
bourdeaubee
12-28-2005, 04:23 PM
has anyone tried the new syrofoam nucs.I just got one for christmas it seems to have a good design.any input?
DChap
12-28-2005, 05:42 PM
bourdeabee; I started a styrofoam hive this past spring, so far I have not noticed any major differance from the wood hives other than weight. The bees appear to be wintering in the wood and styrofoam equally well.
Doug
Michael Bush
12-28-2005, 06:46 PM
>has anyone tried the new syrofoam nucs.I just got one for christmas it seems to have a good design.any input?
I needed a medium so I tried to put a piece of foam inside. They chewed up the piece I put in. :( I put five frames in it for the winter and mouse moved in and ate every bit of every comb and ever bee. :( Probably not the fault of the nuc, but it wasn't a great experience either.
sqkcrk
12-28-2005, 07:34 PM
Styrafoam nucs can overheat.
There is enough plastic in beehives already. What do you do with your hive when or if your bees get AFB? I don't think that you can scorch out a styrofoam hive like you can a wooden one.
What's wrong with wood? Isn't the styrofoam hive more expensive?
One thing about a styrofoam nuc, or so I have heard, is you can pour feed syrup right into the hive and the bees have direct accessto the syrup and no robbing problems. I'm not saying that there aren't other problems and I'm not recommending anything either. Just reporting what I have heard.
Mark
{What do you do with your hive when or if your bees get AFB?}
Soak if for 20 minutes in 5% hypochloride(bleach)/water solution. It will kill all AFB spores. Scrape all wax and proplis 1st.
I talked to Ray Oliverez last month (9,000 hive operation in northern California) likes em so much he order over 10,000. Manufacturer had to upgrade just for that order. I'm still on the fence as I just can't imagine trucking styrafoam or banging it around the way we do.