[daniel G.]

I know this has been mentioned before, but I could not find the thread for it.

Where does one find the number 8 screen or what some call number 8 hardware cloth. Hardware cloth goes by mesh sizes. Is this a cetain type of window scree? I ahve tried Lowes and Home Depot. No luck. Thanks Dan.

 

[MichaelW]

I have only found it at local Co-ops stores. Maybe try some smaller hardware stores too. I've never seen it at home depot or lowes.

 

[db_land]

Most of the bee equip suppliers have it, but they sell by the roll (100 foot). Try Brushy Mountain.

 

[carbide]

Some of the local Ace hardware stores have it. They normally let you buy it by the foot.

 

[drobbins]

I got a 50' roll of it at Ace Hardware for ~$60
MUCH cheaper than by the foot

Dave

 

[Michael Bush]

I buy it at the local Ace hardware. You can also get it at Brushy Mt or Betterbee.

 

[[email protected]]

In addition to Brushy Mountain and Betterbee, 8 mesh is carried by The Walter T. Kelley Co, and Simpson Bee Supply. I think they both sell by the foot.

 

[junglebill007]

I went to Lowes and bought 1/8" wire window screen. I used the powdered sugar treatments for VM this year and the little buggers went right through the screen onto the collection board.

I used a very thin piece of wood to "frame" the edges so they wouldn't fray. So far, since May, they have worked out just fine.

 

[Lively Bee's]

I just use 1/4" screen on mine and it worked out great.

 

[Sundance]

My understanding is that 1/4" screen allows worker bees to travel through it. This makes it a real possibility of the mites reattaching to the bees. Or bees becoming entraped on a sticky board.

Stick with 1/8" to be safe.................

 

[BerkeyDavid]

If your local hardware store doesn't have it, take a jar of honey in with you and ask to talk to the manager. Tell him what you want. He can order 100 feet of it for you. It will cost you about $100. If you don't want the whole roll, take in two jars of honey!

 

[Man O' War]

$57 a roll at this site for 24" wide
(2 roll min. order)

I bought 2 for $162 (includes tax & shipping)
(.81 per ft.)


http://www.twpinc.com/twp/jsp/product.jsp?type=4&itemId=6&page=buy

 

[[email protected]]

Man O' War, have you unrolled either of these rolls? How is the mesh quality? In particular, are the 'long' (warp) wires straight?

Do you know whether the product is made in the US?

AFAIK, no galivanized wire mesh is now made in the US because of an EPA problem with the galvanizing process. Six years ago, when we lost our then sole manufacturer, almost all of the wire mesh was made in China and the quality was terrible. What was presumably 8 mesh would vary all the way from 8 squares to the inch to 4! This meant is was necessary to cut out a lot of material, significantly raising the final price per square foot.

We are paying 3X the China price to import good quality from Europe, so I'll be very interested if you are getting good quality.

 

[Man O' War]

Lloyd,

I cut the banding straps on a roll and rolled out about 10 feet.
As far as I can tell, the quality is excellent!

The wires is straight throughout and is uniform in size.

To my surprise the wires are looped at the finished edges,
i.e. The 24” width is one continuous wire!

I cut out an 8” X 6” piece to examine more closely and it is
impossible to stretch it out of shape (from corner to corner)
as each intersection is “welded” very well.

The company offers samples on their web site.

As far as the country of manufacture, I don't have a clue.

 

[guatebee]

Lloyd:
I truly think it is completely unimportant for 1/8 " mesh to be well made with straight wires and true square holes. No one is going through them except for mites, debris and air.
I do share your concern for quality though, when searching for pollen trap screen. Exact measurement is an issue there, because precision milling does make a difference when bees may get their pellets through, or when bees themselves can`t get through.
Chinese made screen in my country is also the commonest kind, and boy is it poor quality stuff!!
I think the way around it is to make plastic sheets perforated with precision 5 mm punches.

[ November 04, 2005, 09:52 PM: Message edited by: guatebee ]

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks to Man O' War and Guateebee for your comments.

I am also astounded at the 24" width that Man O'War reports. I know a far amount about weaving and am impressed that some company is weaving to a 24" width. Think about it...a 'standard' loom is 60". While it can be easily set up to weave anything of a more narrow width, all the capital investment is there to weave 60" so the unused width represents an unused capital investment. There is no labor savings, so the only savings is in material.... which is a relatively minor part of the total cost.

I'll check it out.

As for the perforated plastic, perforated metal (aluminum) has been used for many years with mixed results. The principal problem has been that the hole punching leaves very sharp edges that cut off bee wings. Not pleasent. Is the plastic perforated before or after molding? If after, is the cost reasonable compared to wire mesh?

Lloyd

 

[Lively Bee's]

I see very few bees that come in from the bottom of my hives. Most use the front and rear entrance's

 

[Michael Bush]

The roll I bought a few years ago was also 24" with the "warp" running the 24" way with no ends, just loops and the "weft" running the long way but cut on the ends.