[The Soap Pixie]

Tomorrow I have to pick up some paint for the new hive. When I took my beekeeping course they suggested we paint the hive with anything but white to not draw attention to it. I was thinking to be creative that the kids could help me paint it girly colors and they could draw flowers on it. My question is, if the bee suit is suppose to be white or light as to avoid causing aggression in the bees than why would the same not be true for the hive? Would my painting it different colors and letting the kids draw flowers on it cause any problems?

 

[no1cowboy]

in a word no, take a look at this site.

painted-beehives

 

[warbuk]

^ wild pics lol

 

[Brent Bean]

Since a row of identical bee hives is really not a natural abode arrangement for honeybees. When located in trees they could be miles apart. Painting the supers different colors helps prevent drifting. With a line of hives the outside hives will lose population the hives in the middle. Giving them a little space between hives or facing them in slightly different angles along with painting different colors help avoiding this.
I would suggest avoiding colors that absorb UV light like black or dark red, in the hot days of summer this could cause the hives to overheat.

The flowers are a nice decorative touch, after all the vast majority of the bees are female.

 

[peacekeeperapiaries]

Like others I suggest a light colored coat or two of exterior latex than paint the facy designs with some darker colors over that

 

[B Reeves]

craigs list is a good place to get multiple colors at a good price
Bob

 

[concrete-bees]

paint them any color you like - the bees dont care -

i think white is universal hive color since 100 years ago paint came in about 3 colors - barn red, white, and black

haha -- i remember hearing about Henry Ford making and selling his Model t cars - " you can get these fine cars in any color you like as so long as you like Black "

haha - but really paint a good primer on your wood then find a good 25 year exter Paint and put two coats on

i like different colors for different supers - i keep my hive bodies white

also on my bait hives i paint a larger circle around the entrence hole - that way they can see it better from a distance ( i hope)

 

[belsbees]

This is a killer for me and my sence of having things look right. TOOK ME FOREVER to not paint my hives white. I just like things neat and orderly. LOL Avoid dark colors if at all possible. A bit here and there wont hurt you but dont paint the whole hive body a dark color. Also a great way to get paint if you arent too concerned with color is go to the local paint store and ask for mis-tinted paint. Usually they have some and is a LOT CHEEPER than having it mixed. I bout 10 gallons of a beige/tan color for 7.50 a gallon. about 50% savings off normal price.

 

[jbford]

by chance i got a gallon of "oops" paint that is a light grayish putty color with a bit of blue and green in it. the hives blend right in to the background winter or summer and the bees seem happy.

 

[Sundance]

Getting "Opps" paint at your local Walmart, etc is
cheap for sure.

And by all means let those kids at them! Far from
causing problems the more unique each hive is the
less drifting will occur.opcorn:

 

[concrete-bees]

something ive been thinking of trying is to paint hives white on two sides (same corner) and the other two sides black (same corner)

reason ..... so that in the summer it has the white side facing the stongest sun and then in the winter months turn the hive bodies so that the black side faces the sun - to absorb the sun's heat

just a thought ??

 

[honeydreams]

I don't paint mine. I apply two coats of Jasco brown termin 8 and thats it. that treats the wood won't rot.

 

[MikeJ]

I don't know if it will help -
Freshly dried paint tends to want to stick to other freshly dried paint for a while - and when pulling them apart you sometimes rip the paint off one. When I painted my hive I rubbed the ends (those edges that come in contact with the rest of the equipment) with bees wax after your last coat dries. It will let you go ahead and stack them up without worrying about the paint sticking.

Mike