# Best 'floaters' for open syrup feeders & location outside of the hive



## Canhona (Jun 11, 2015)

Most of the time, I admit, I just use dry sticks I find laying around. Or if I'm feeling proactive, I'll staple together pieces leftover from making boxes. Thin edges broken up and stapled together to make a ladder configuration. Nothing fancy needed. I don't even cut them to fit. Just break them.


----------



## johnmcda (Aug 10, 2015)

I haven't found a floater yet that bees don't drown in. I've gone to inverted bottle feeders or pail feeders. I no longer drown bees.


----------



## Apismellifera (Oct 12, 2014)

This stuff is perfection:

https://www.darice.com/store/details/catalog/wholesale-basics-plastic-canvas/33030-1

cut it to any shape needed, no rust, no hassle. Floats on top. I suppose if you had a large diameter container and a ton of bees feeding it might want to sink a bit, but I make a donut to use in the chicken waterers and rarely have a drowner. The bees will manage to get under it when it's dry, tho', so best to manage so that your feeder never runs dry, problem solved. ;-) Otherwise you've got to remove that piece and liberate them before refill. I also put a piece of hardware cloth blocking any entrances into the bottle for the chicken/dog/cat waterers. If you don't and it goes dry and they can get in there you will have a jar of claustrophobic bees to deal with before refill.

Oh, you can get packages of this at walmart in the crafty section.


----------



## jadebees (May 9, 2013)

Screen aroud the edges works better. Bees sink floats, better an "edge" with good grip, to the pool of syrup. Bees will still drown. Inner feeders are worth the effort, if you dont like drowned bees.


----------



## Canhona (Jun 11, 2015)

Wohaaa. I like what I see there. Great idea. I'm going to try them. Thanks Apismellifera.



Apismellifera said:


> This stuff is perfection:
> 
> https://www.darice.com/store/details/catalog/wholesale-basics-plastic-canvas/33030-1
> 
> ...


----------



## Apismellifera (Oct 12, 2014)

jadebees said:


> Screen aroud the edges works better. Bees sink floats, better an "edge" with good grip, to the pool of syrup. Bees will still drown. Inner feeders are worth the effort, if you dont like drowned bees.


My beef with screen is that it's either some kind of metal or fiberglas - and sugar syrup is hell on any kind of metal, and I really don't want fiberglas soaking in what they're consuming...

I contend you could do just about anything with the plastic canvas you could do with any other kind of screen. You could make a "can" shape with a round and a rectangle, use a heavy nylon thread to "sew" the pieces together. If you don't leave enough of a gap between the plastic and your feeder can large enough for the bees to get in there seems like it'd work well - it should float on top, and sink as the syrup level goes down.

I've tried a cone shape in a larger container, but bees always seem to get into the middle and drown even if it's only a few bee lengths to swim.


----------

