Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

Sugar dusting...fast and furious

3K views 12 replies 12 participants last post by  RDY-B 
#1 ·
I'm putting 600 hives on screened bottom pallets this spring and am looking for a way to dust with powdered sugar as fast and effeciently as possible. Does anyone know if there's some kind of machine I could use that would blow the sugar up through the screen? I own a bee blower, I wonder if I could attach some kind of hose and reservoir for the sugar and use that to blow it up into the hive. Thank you.
 
#3 ·
This is really a wild hare idea but........ what if you were to use a shop vac filled with the powdered sugar and a long hose. You would blow instead of suck. Get a really long hose/tubing and keep the generator and shop vac in truck. Then just have someone start and stop shop vac as needed.. I don't know sounds even crazier after typing out. lol.:D
 
#4 · (Edited)
Traditionally, the powdered sugar (or Dowda) method of mite control has been known as time consuming, and not something done when you're working with a large number of hives. "Fast and efficient" this technique is not!

But... what if you had one of these?

Hopper Gun

It's an air compressor driven spray gun for textured ceilings and acoustic coatings. It claims a 4-liter hopper capacity and several nozzle settings to control material flow. And, while you'd have to run an air line or have a truck mounted compressor, I think this type of things is what you're looking for. Several other types are available from several other vendors, and you can find these by Googling "Hopper Spray Gun".

(Or, it'll give you some ideas for when you construct your own Venturi style sugar applicator!)

Good luck!

DS
 
#8 ·
Somewhere in the archives is Randy Oliver's 8-second dusting method. I saw pictures in Sacramento. It's an 8-mesh screen the size of the hive body. Top and inner cover are removed and the screen placed on top. Sugar, 1 cup, is spread across the screen and the beekeeper uses a bee brush to send in though the screen. Remove the screen and brush residue through the spaces between the frames.

That's about 8 seconds, maybe ten the first time.

Grant
Jackson, MO http://www.25hives.homestead.com
 
#9 ·
I made a sugar dusting screen after reading that same article that Grant refrenced. I used a finer mesh than the reference 8-mesh and backed it with chicken wire to give it strength. It takes no more than 1 minute to apply and I get the sugar really fine once it gets through the screen. The finer, the more it's going to get everywhere, the better it works.

The screen is fast, works beautifully and keeps the bees from escaping through the top until the treatment is done. My 8-year old does the actual dusting while I set up the next hive. You sweep the sugar around with a bee-brush and as it move over the screen it falls through onto the hive below. The bee-brush lets you move the sugar to any areas you might not have gotten to your satisfaction as well. The only drawback is you'd end up having to haul around alot of powdered sugar to do 600 hives. I only have 5. But from the looks of it you're going to have to do that anyway. Just my 2-cents
 
#10 ·
Screenede pallet

Pahvantpiper:

I'm curious about your screened pallets. Do you have any pictures. I also imagine the screened area is not the full surface area beneath the first brood chamber. Is that a correct assumption? Perhaps you could describe them if you do not have any pictures.

Jean-Marc
 
#11 ·
dusting

"backed it with chicken wire to give it strength" ithink i just found a use for my queen excluders! personally i use a flour sifter but i am gonna try this with window screen on top of a queen excluder and a brush. gotta love this board!:)
 
#12 ·
Your next step might be to make ALL of your inner covers with large screened openings for both ventilation and sugaring. We do this and it works great for pouring in winter sugar too. Also for checking inside the hive top without smoking or disturbing the bees. We even use these here in the far north in winter with a thin sheet of bubble foil "reflectix" insulation laid on top of the screen. I'm all for fast and easy.

Mabe
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top