# Wax the bars or not?



## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

Do you have good comb guides? That's more important. I start out with wedges. I do wax the very tip of the wedge but that's it.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

"Waxing wood guides is not only not necessary but I don't recommend it. The wax you put on won't be attached as well as the bees will attach it."

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfoundationless.htm#whygofoundationless


----------



## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

I have done it both ways and from my observations, the bees could care less. Don't waste the time.


----------



## catbackr (Jun 5, 2010)

Yep, agree. Waste of time.


----------



## typhoontx (May 1, 2013)

if you already have bought the beeswax you can rub it or melt it and paint the insides and bottom of the hive, the wax smell is considered to help keep the bees from absconding. 

Regards, Robert


----------



## Stanisr (Aug 25, 2010)

I agree with Michael, the wax I put on is not attached as well as the wax the bees put on. Therefor, I don't wax my bars and have better attached comb.


----------



## crosscomb (Feb 18, 2015)

Is it crucial to rub or paint the interior with beeswax? Will they leave if they don't smell any wax?


----------



## stan.vick (Dec 19, 2010)

crosscomb said:


> Is it crucial to rub or paint the interior with beeswax? Will they leave if they don't smell any wax?


I don't, some old comb if you got it, otherwise just put them in, sometimes I will close up the box overnight and open it at sundown the next evening. make sure they have some sugar-water if you do, and take the sugar-water away when you open the entrance or they may get robbed. But I mostly do that for a swarm I've caught, a package not so much.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Is it crucial to rub or paint the interior with beeswax? 

Not at all crucial. But it won't hurt.

>Will they leave if they don't smell any wax?

It is unlikely they will abscond. Four drops of lemongrass essential oil will go further to keep them there than the beeswax, but the beeswax won't hurt if you want. The lemongrass oil isn't necessary either, but I have used it when a package kept acting like they were thinking about leaving. They kept clustering on the front of the hive and not in the hive. Lemongrass oil put them back in the hive. I've only seen this once and I've had at least a hundred packages over the years.


----------



## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

I had some gel-like "swarm lure" I bought on ebay last year. Whenever I hived a swarm or package or moved them to a new box I smeared a little of in a few places in the new boxes simply because "why not". Kind of hard to prove anything worked or didn't work, but I didn't have any problems with bees leaving.


----------



## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

beeswax on the side of the hive wall sure does make it smell like home, if you don't have a piece of comb to put in there. I waxed my bars on my first hive, and then scraped them clean so the bees could attach it better. After 2 years, the bees have finally removed all the wax from the inside wall of the hive. Can't say if it's necessary or not. (it made me feel better for doing it  )


----------



## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

Extra comb is one of the perks of having other hives; you don't need comb guides to start a new one, you just put a comb between every other bar and the bees will draw new comb between them nice and straight, plus it gives it that "hive smell" that bees like. I actually haven't needed guides on my bars for a couple of years.


----------

