Any particular paint for bee hives?

[Calv]

Hi all,

As mentioned in my first post, i am getting my kids a solitary bee hive this week. I was going to make one, but it's taking forever to cut the bamboo and since found out you can buy them lol, so i have settled on this one.



It's ok for starters to get them interested.

Anyway, i'm not sure how long the wood will last, or whether it has ben treated or not. I was thinking about possibly painting the outside white, but i wanted to check with the forum whether or not the bees will be ok with ordinary exterior paint?

Either that or a nice stain, not too sure at the moment. Same again though, i don't want to use a finish that will be either bad for the bees, or one that they won't come near.

Again, this is just for a few bees in the garden, should they choose to visit.

Thanks for any advice,

Calv.

[Jorn Johanesson]

If it is waterbased I do'nt think it will harm the bees. I have used waterbased house paint for my hives without problems.

best regards Jorn Johanesson, Denmark

[Troy]

I painted my first hives with a flat white, but flat seems to hold dirt more and mildew can get enough purchase on the rough surface to grow.

I've had much better luck since switching to a satin white paint. The smoother surface stay's clean and white longer. Semi-gloss would probably be fine too. (Latex, of course, as mentioned previously)

[Calv]

Thank you for your replies.

I know some hives are left in their natural wood colour, but can anyone tell me why so many are painted white?

Is it just a traditional beehive colour, or is there some use in it? I wondered if it was esier for the bee to see or something like that lol.

Thanks,

Calv.

[rancidgoat]

I know some hives are left in their natural wood colour, but can anyone tell me why so many are painted white?

The resident "old guy" told me his hives were white because that's what his father had left over from painting his barn some 60+ years ago. Since that's how he grew up doing it, that's how he still does it.

FWIW My own hives are a dark stain color to match the woodwork (deck/fence/shed) around my yard. Makes them less conspicuous in suburbia. The bees haven't mentioned it so I guess they don't mind.

-Rancidgoat

[gtbee]

You can paint any color you want. Majority tends to be white due to heat reflection. Down here in the South we want to keep as cool as possible.

[Calv]

FWIW My own hives are a dark stain color to match the woodwork (deck/fence/shed) around my yard. Makes them less conspicuous in suburbia. The bees haven't mentioned it so I guess they don't mind.

-Rancidgoat

Lol thats good....as after all the talk of white paint, i decided to go with a nice oak stain to match in with the garden.

Living in the UK, i don't have to worry too much about the heat.

Calv.

[sam838]

The reason they are usually white - it assists the bees in not working so hard to cool down their hive, i.e., if a dark paint or finish is used (just like our homes), the heat remains inside the box and the bees have to work harder to cool it down.

USE A NO VOC PAINT. Volatile Organic Compounds are in the paints we use - they are poison. So use a NO VOC paint which you can get at Home Depot or Lowes or most paint stores. Healthier for you and healthier for the bees.

[HONEYDEW]

Isn't beekeeping great, I was told the reason that beehives where originally painted white was because they contained a food product (honey) and that people wanted to convey an image of cleanliness of there product as far as paint for solitary bees, they don't seem to mind building their mud nests in the grooves of my t-111 siding and it is painted with an off tan water based paint. I heard you want them in as warm a location as possible without cooking them, so maybe a slightly darker color would bee fine.....