# Plastic Hive Top Feeders



## artic (Feb 18, 2005)

I was having more or less the same problem with my plastic hive top feeder. What I did was add some segments of hardware cloth to act as little ladders from the frames to the feeders entrance. This helped to some degree, now I have one to three bees working the feeder at any given time.
My boardman feeder will be arriving today.


----------



## woodyard (Apr 12, 2005)

I have used the plastic hivetop feeders from Mann Lake the past couple of years.I have never had any problem with the bees not moving up to feed.Whenever I put one on a hive,I pour a few drops down the entrance to get them going.One thing I have done to the feeders is to run a bead of caulk around the edge of the screen. I have always had a few bees squeeze through and this fixed that.


----------



## Russ (Sep 9, 2001)

Also when you are feeding Bees I have found that if you string a little Honey around the feeder it helps the bees find the feed. [Inside the hive only. don't use the honey outside the hive as it will start robbing.] Dale


----------



## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

We bought 30 of them last fall and had very little success with them(in comparison to wood). Several of them cracked in shipment and they were not well accepted. We put them on in Nov. in 70 degree weather in SC and they were still full except for robbing and drowned bees in Jan. We had several weeks of warm temperatures for them to feed in that time. We thought the plastic was so smooth possbily the bees did not "explore" them. The method we use to fill would have splashed syrup onto the brood chamber and should have baited them up. I don't think we should have to, (and in our operation) would not have time to build extra ladders etc. I think a rough surface on the plastic would have been better. I know we won't be purchasing any more of these!


----------



## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

Take a serated knife and scrape the plastic a little. I gives the bees better footing. I do that on my home built rapid feeders. I have no problem getting the bees to feed, even in cool weather. 

Below are pictures of my attempt at a home made rapid feeder. It is constructed of a Sterlite box and lid from Walmart, $1.92, and a pint plastic funnel from Walmart, $.64. It is assembled with GE Silicone II glue. I cleaned the plastic parts with alcohol and sanded lightly to give it some teeth. The hole in the bottom is 3" and the funnel hole is about 1" after trimming it back. I scape the inside of the funnel with a serated knife to give the bees some footing. The cover is a 3# sized empty butter dish. I glued some scrap screen material to the funnel for footing. It holds about 2.5 gallons and fits pretty snug in a medium super. 

http://www.myoldtools.com/feeder/feeder1.jpg 
http://www.myoldtools.com/feeder/feeder2.jpg 
http://www.myoldtools.com/feeder/feeder3.jpg 
http://www.myoldtools.com/feeder/feeder4.jpg


----------



## David Stewart (Jan 22, 2005)

Ross,
Thanks for the re-post. I saw your plans before and had to try it. After one partial success (funnel too small) I LOVE the one I made. I went ahead and made a cone of plastic screen wire to cover both the outside and inside of the funnel for footing. My second funnel was cut a little long to use a butter dish, but I'm still pleased with it Truely surprised at the lack of drowned bees. After one week, I only had two drowned bees. Opened the top of the sterilite box and there were 20-30 bees lined up drinking away. A side benefit was the fact that they had drawn out so much comb in that week that I've had to go ahead and add another box. By my calculations I'm about three weeks ahead of where I expected to be.

Thanks again for the great plans!
David


----------



## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

OK Ross and Stewaw, you guys really need professional help! Ross does you're wife know what you're doing with her tupperware? 

Ross I'm assuming since you score your design that you either knew or thought the plastic was too smooth and would deter bees? If so did you see a notable change after scoring it?


----------



## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

I didn't score the first one and it still worked ok. I did think the plastic was pretty slick, hence the screening on the outside. The scoring was an idea that just popped up and seemed to make sense. Oh, no wife. I cured that problem many years ago,







or  depending on your personal circumstance...


----------



## peggjam (Mar 4, 2005)

I hived two more packages yesterday, and used the modified hivetop feeders and the bees moved right into them. I not only scored the sides next to the bees, but also inside the resivor where the bees climb down to feed. I also put in wiremesh ladders to help them climb up, and it really improved their abiliaty to move into the feeder. To bad I didn't know to do that with the first packages. Also the temp was in the 80's and that had something to do with it as well.

peggjam


----------



## jalal (Sep 2, 2004)

Please assist my ignorance!

In picture 4 I see a cool-whip packege.

Can't you just fill the thing up a couple inches and put the REAL top on it ontop of the hive with a hole in the top of the top board?

Or are you folks REALLY putting the whole thing into a super?


----------



## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

The bucket is to keep bees from drowning by keeping them very near the cone. It also keeps bees from flyin in your face when you refill it. I use an inner cover (a piece of plywood) with a 3 inch hole in it. I set the feeder over the hole and cover it with a super and a migratory top.


----------



## woodchopper (Apr 2, 2006)

Wish I had been smart enough to do a little research on this BEFORE we lost a package due to this. The girls had feed 3" from where they starved to death. Another lesson learned.


----------



## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

*Brown Plastic Hivetop Feeders*

I have about forty of them in both ten frame and nuc sizes. The only time they didn't use it was when I left the inner cover on. I forget why I did that, but it didn't work very well.  I think there was not enough bee space.


----------



## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

*Downside*

There is a downside though, when enough propolis builds up on the white plastic 'screens', they will pull off with the lid and let the bees out.


----------



## inga (Feb 21, 2007)

*Update links, please?*

Ross, those links don't seem to be working any more. If you still have those pictures up, it would be nice if you could send us new links. 

Thanks. 



Ross said:


> Take a serated knife and scrape the plastic a little. I gives the bees better footing. I do that on my home built rapid feeders. I have no problem getting the bees to feed, even in cool weather.
> 
> Below are pictures of my attempt at a home made rapid feeder. It is constructed of a Sterlite box and lid from Walmart, $1.92, and a pint plastic funnel from Walmart, $.64. It is assembled with GE Silicone II glue. I cleaned the plastic parts with alcohol and sanded lightly to give it some teeth. The hole in the bottom is 3" and the funnel hole is about 1" after trimming it back. I scape the inside of the funnel with a serated knife to give the bees some footing. The cover is a 3# sized empty butter dish. I glued some scrap screen material to the funnel for footing. It holds about 2.5 gallons and fits pretty snug in a medium super.
> 
> ...


----------



## IslandMountainFarm (Feb 13, 2007)

*Similar problem with the Beemax Styrofoam top feeder*

3 out of 4 packages didn't figure it out, the one that did figured it out big time. Talked with Chrissy and she suggested going to the feed and seed and buying some plastic chick waterers. Filled them with syrup and put them into an empty brood box with pebbles around the edge for the bees to prevent drowning.

All 3 packages looked pretty unhappy yesterday PM, this AM lots of activity so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I got them food in time. Tried baiting the top feeders with syrup and left them on. Still no action as of today. I'm hoping to use them as waterers this summer since I can change and add water without disturbing the hive. Time will tell if that experiment will succeed.


----------



## Limey (Feb 10, 2007)

I purchased the Plastic Mann Lake hive top feeder. I ended up with a 100 bees crammed into the bottom of the mesh in the syrup.. and worse, about quarter of the hive stuff up into the 1cm gap around the edge. I still do not know what they were doing up there.  They drank the syrup in the first few days and then stopped. Might have been because of all the dead bees.

I had the devil of a time getting the bees out when I decided to get rid of it. Syrup in both sides, quarter of the hive jammed tight underneath.. In the end, I poured the syrup into a tarp that was nearby and filled with rain water and then thumped the feeder down onto the top cover. Then left the feeder on it's side near the entrance.

If I get another feeder, it will be one with a FLAT bottom and a small opening to the syrup.. however, I just started using a baggie feeder. Will wait to see how that works out.


----------



## wfarler (Jul 9, 2003)

*ML plastic feeders*

I have good luck with them unless the wire is bent or not seated properly. Then you have the same problem as any feeder - drowning. The inside plastic is smooth and unless they can grab the wire they are lost. Gaps in the wire that allow bees to slip through create an ocean of dead bees - same with poorly fitting covers.

Surplus gallon pickle jars don't hold as much but are still about as simple, cheap and effective as you can get - in normal weather. In early spring and late fall where the temperature range is wide and jars leak like a seive. That's where the miller feeder style feeders excel. The other big plus is they have cut out the robbing.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

In cold weather I never see bees work a hive top feeder, where they will take syrup from a jar over the top bars or from a baggie feeder on the top bars. Flip the hive top feeder over and put baggies on instead.  Of course a one by two or one by three would have worked for that and been cheaper.


----------



## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

As requested, with warnings. The silicone glue doesn't hold more than about a season. You really should melt the cone to the box with a soldering iron and then seal with silicone.

http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/feeder/feeder1.jpg
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/feeder/feeder2.jpg
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/feeder/feeder3.jpg
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/feeder/feeder4.jpg


----------



## Sunflake (Jul 19, 2015)

Has anybody used Ross's feeder design? How well do they work? Knowing how sensitive bees are, could the silicone toxic? 

Sent you a pm Ross.


----------

