# jester nuc box problems



## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

If they are strong nucs and you seal them up they will be dead long before you get home.


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

I wasn't referring to sealing up the ventilation holes obviously, thanks for the encouraging word. John


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## SPRUCE BEE (Mar 14, 2009)

Cover them with something that ventilates such as some shade cloth or a light weight cotton sheet. That should keep most of them out of the drivers seat :lpf:


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## millerwb (Oct 31, 2011)

3-4" of duct tape to "lock" the lid down never hurt. I personally use about 4' of heavy twine and tie the nuc closed since I don't want my bees to get out until I am ready for them to.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I have been putting tape across the front and back bottom seam which look like big leak joints. Moving bees is reason 774b to have a truck or trailer. #775 is moving deisel cans.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

I bought some ? kind of meshed bag at walmart last year, only cost a couple of dollars each and the jester nuc fits in it just fine, also the old design needs the top duct taped down, and the little flap that covers the entrance duct close, run the aircond. on high. I always moved them in the pickup truck. also some of the frames may fall down as i had a mixture of frames not sure who the producer was. good luck


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

In a bind, tulle from a sewing shop is a cheap and easy way to contain bees that are escaping their confinement. I have had to stop and get some on more than one occasion.


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## jesterbee (Mar 10, 2010)

John,

The guy you are buying the nucs from is right about them leaking. Our normal manufacturer had a fire last summer and we had to have a batch made from a new supplier who did not do as good of a job. We have been working on these boxes for 4 years and try to improve them every year. You can rest assured that next year's boxes will be better and this problem will be fixed. We tried 4 different manufacturers in the United States and nobody could get these boxes right. We finally found a good manufacturer. The nucs from year before last were a little too long and the frames fell off the frame rest. Last year's model was pretty good. 

The problem this year with the bees leaking is a crack in the corner of the frame rest on the side with the lid. There is supposed to be a flap that fills the crack, but with the new manufacturer something was not quite right with it and we didn't notice it until mid March. The hole can easily be fixed with tape, caulk, or if you already have bees in the nuc wad up some aluminum foil and stick in the crack before loading. We also tried to improve the nucs by using a thicker plastic. It is a little too thick and the boxes are harder to fold and the lids don't stay closed as easily. The lid can usually be fixed by just folding it back a forth a few extra times. Once these two problems are fixed then this years model should be more durable and last longer than the previous models. 

We developed the EZ Nuc for our own use. Our main business is producing bees for sale. This is not just a product we make to sell. It is in our best interest for the EZ Nuc to be as good as possible. We welcome any suggestions or criticisms that will help us improve the box.

We apologize for the inconvenience to everybody using the EZ Nucs and will try to have everything right next year. Our original manufacturer is almost rebuilt and ready to start production. 

Kevin Jester 
Jester Bee Co.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Good for you for being responsive, adaptive and making your products here at home. Mistakes and mishaps happen, taking responsibility and doing better in the future is the thing.


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## quevernick (Feb 22, 2011)

I use duct tape and noseeum insect netting to keep the bees from getting inside of the car. I keep a couple of yards in my swarm grabbing kit since I've been stuck using a car to transport the bees home before. I just cover the entire box and kind of tuck in the ends under the box.


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

post, #9 & 10 , very well said.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

David LaFerney said:


> Good for you for being responsive, adaptive and making your products here at home. .



the last manufacturer was in India, he stated he couldn't find anyone in US that could make them


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## Bsweet (Apr 9, 2010)

King size cotton pillow case works pretty good. Jim


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

jesterbee, I picked up my nucs yesterday and got them home with just a minimal leakage of bees on a 11 hr. trip inside a vehicle. I see where there is that problem with the bees getting out on the frame rest areas, what my nuc seller did was caulk that area and it helped alot I think. I think you sell a good product that is very useful and if you can get that one issue cleared up for next year that would be great. Thank you for your timely response to me, I understand what happened much better now. John


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Great response, Kevin! 
And there are many reasons to have a spare roll of duct tape in the vehicle!
Regards,
Steven


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## scdw43 (Aug 14, 2008)

Honesty, a rare thing these days, way to step-up Kevin.


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## beedeetee (Nov 27, 2004)

I love these nuc boxes. I got all of mine last spring and have driven a lot of them around without any bees getting out. If you are looking for suggestions though, it seems that they are not as deep as my wooden nuc boxes. For most frames that's fine, but I find that if I want to take frames with swarm cells on the bottom of the frame and make up a nuc, I have to use a wooden box because the cell won't fit in the Jester boxes.


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