View Full Version : COTTON ROPE HANDELING
BEEn Stung
06-06-2003, 07:15 AM
Gooped up cotton rope is a mess. I mixede up the ingredients one evening and stired in the rope. I had to reheat it in the mornign to get all untangled. By then I was a greased up mess that was very difficule to wash off. Now what do I do with them? How do I store them? Whate do I keep them in? Where do I store them? How do I keep the cords neat and ready to use?
I used cotton welt but it is too thick and has a webing around it. I will replace that with some "mop head" rope , that I just got, soon as the sun shines again.
Maybe I am just good at complicating things, but that is how retired life here in Minnesota goes.
clintonbemrose
06-06-2003, 08:54 AM
I store mine in 1 gallon plastic ziplock bags.
I place the cords neatly in the bag.
Then pour the liquid into the bag and seal the bag.
Let it set for several hours then refridgerate
Using cold cords to place in the hives seems to keep my hands cleaner and my hands cleaner.
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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan
The next time you replace the cords have a 1 gal. plastic bag and put the used cords in it and the next time you soak up some more cords put them in and use them again. Works for me. Dale
I dump the cords and emulsion into a tupperware container after soaking the cords in the emulsion which I make in a tin baking pan. I save the baking pan and reuse it. I simply take the tupperware when I work my hives and use either a hive tool or a pair of tongs to pull out cords. Leaving the tupperware cont. in the sun usually softens it all up to a workable temp. Any extra goop usually sticks to the cords and I put it in the hive also. The bees getting the emulsion on them and then grooming is what gets rid of the mites.
BEEn Stung
06-12-2003, 03:27 PM
I mixed up a new batch yesterday.
All went a lot better thanks to info gained from beesource. I had gotten a big enough cast iron , at a garage sale, for 25 cents. I "cooked" it all up in the kettle which keept all hot for some time. I put in the mop head cords. By 3 pm all was cool and easy to handle and the sun come out for a while, so I gave them to the bees, using a plier. No fuss, NO MESS , and all is well in the household as now I have my own dedicated kettle. I am storing the extra cords in the same kettle.