# Don't use anything but pure wood!



## wltwine (Oct 13, 2009)

IMO Particle board is not something I would use to build a hive, it will not hold up to the elements and is nothing more than compressed saw dust with a bunch of chemicals mixed in. It's a good thing you transferd the bees to a new home or you would have had a big problem later on.


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## Littlestinger (Apr 21, 2011)

From my understanding, bees coat the inside of the hive with propolis so that wouldnt matter.

Regardless it's at least somewhat common to make hives/nucs from plywood and/or particle board. The big problem with doing that is protecting the hives from the weather, not protecting the bees from the glue in the plywood.


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## FindlayBee (Aug 2, 2009)

Particle board will not hold up outdoors. It will fall apart as it starts to absorb moisture. Particle board and even plywood might be treated with chemicals you do not want in your hive. However, people build hive outer covers and even nuc boxes out of plywood without much thought, and the bees don't seem to mind. I am sure different types of plywood have different chemical treatments depending on their usage.


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## melliphile (Aug 26, 2010)

I had considered building some equipment from pallets, but they are also treated with insecticide. I would stay away from particle board or plywood for the moisture and durability factors.


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## blist (Jun 15, 2010)

My top (roof) is built out of plywood, I would imagine they don't come in contact with the top very often though because of the top bars.


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## Dave360 (Apr 12, 2010)

i agree that partical board wont hold up but just did a cut out where bees were in a shed that had partical board inside (it ripped in to peices when we took out) bur lots of bees and they had been there for some time i dont thinlk you were poisining then but pine will hold up better in long run

Dave


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## DavesBees (Jun 2, 2009)

dehavik
You did the right thing...now cut the particle board hives down to 20 inches and make them into bait hives.


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## DeeAnna (Nov 5, 2010)

Particle board, plywood, chip board, etc. are typically manufactured with urea formaldehyde glues. Chip board and particle board are the worst offenders due to the many small particles of wood that have to be coated with the glue. Sometimes you can find these products made with less toxic glues, but you have to look for them.

In a new home where these building materials are used, levels of formaldehyde can be high enough to cause chronic eye and respiratory irritation. After a period of time (months to years), the level of irritating chemicals does "offgas" out of the building materials, and the formaldehyde content in the building air gradually drops.

If formaldehyde air pollution is not good for human health, it's also not going to be good for bee health ... and I wonder if it might also goof up their pheromone communication system.

--DeeAnna


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## WI-beek (Jul 14, 2009)

Pine boards would be better but you and your bees will not die from using OSB. I have heard people cry over and over how osb will absorb water and fall apart so fast. I used to use osb to protect siding on home from shingles and such when removing the old roofing material and it always lasted several years. I left the osb in the back of my trucks, rained on, snowed on, left on side of garage all winter, etc. It will fall apart and swell eventually but it holds up way better than plywood. People can call me out all they want, plywood will warp over night if it gets wet, osb will not, 

As long as you paint the outside of your tbh, it will be fine. The bees will put a coat of propolis on inside. You will get a few years out of it for sure. By then if you are still keeping bees you most likely will use langs anyway.


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## LampBurner (May 4, 2011)

I am in process of building 3 TBHs that are going to have plywood lids and plywood false backs. The lids I am not so concerned about because like blist, the bees don't relly have direct contact with the underside of it because the bars are between them and it with little to no clearance between the bars and under side of lid. The top side of the lid has sheet metal on it.
The false backs however, we all know how much they contact them.
Is there someting I could coat them with that would seal the chemicals away from the bees? The kind bees I have just don't propolize much to have confidance they would put a protective coat of propolis on enything toxic in there. My TBH in use has lauan board for for lid and false back. I suppose lauan is likely to be chemically treated like plywood is.
Far as coatings go, boiled linseed oil might be a good natural barrier except for that it remains somewhat sticky. Melted bees wax might be ok except I suspect it might prompt them to build or attach comb to it.
Someone here uses a mixture of boild linseed oil and melted bees wax for the finish on the outside of thier hives instead of paint or stain. I wish I could recall who it is to ask them what ratio they use. That might be a good natural protective barrier over chemically treated componants inside the hive as well. If anyone hear reads this and knows who it is please let me (us) know.


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## blist (Jun 15, 2010)

I don't even have my follower board in the hive. Mostly from what I've read people use it on initial week and then just move it to the back and/or when splitting the hive or something similar. Otherwise, I've only seen that it should be in there so the bees don't attach to the back. My bees aren't completely built yet and I had a weird space issue so I just pulled it out completely for now. I'm kind of wondering why I would even need it in the hive if I just put some sort of spacer on the back.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

I'd be surprised if a particle board hive would last one year outside, in a rainy climate.


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## dehavik (Jun 5, 2010)

Thanks for all the info. I wish I had known the potential consequences of using particle board before I built those two initial hives, but--c'est la vie. The bees are very happy in their new pine TBHs and I am glad to have chem-free pure wood to house them in. Well worth the small cost of buying pine boards. 
I don't think any problems would arise from using plywood for roofing materials. To save weight I used 1/4" plywood on a frame made of pine 1x2s. Like several people said, the bees won't be in contact with the roof at all, and all the roof surfaces have two coats of exterior latex paint. 
I have two Lang hives, but I love the ease of TBHs. When I transferred all the combs to the new hives, I was ecstatic to find that all the combs were attached to the top bars and nowhere else--no cross comb, no detatchments, none stuck to the walls of the hive. I figure once _that_ problem has been avoided, the rest of TBH care ought to be a breeze!


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## dehavik (Jun 5, 2010)

KQ6AR,
I grew up in Concord...miss the Bay Area like crazy. 
Q: Do you consider Concord a rainy climate? I've been living in the desert for the past eight years, so I know what a dry climate is, but I never considered my hometown a rainy one.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Hi,
I wouldn't consider this a rainy climate, but we get enough rain in the winter/spring to make particle board fall apart. Was thinking someone in the desert might be able to get away with using such building materials. I grew up in Ohio, but have been in the bay area about 30 years. Much better weather.
Take care,


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## DCowles (Apr 11, 2011)

From the Barefoot Beekeeper... 1 part beeswax to 20 parts linseed oil. Avoid "Boiled Linseed Oil" because it has a lot of additional chemicals in it for fixing.


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## LampBurner (May 4, 2011)

Boiled linseed oil is good for old gun stocks, but they stay indoors.
My TBH I have in operation has several coats of straight BLO all over the outside of it. I might have over did it but, I wanted to protect the wood and I knew it was going to be continuasly out doors in the elements. If I hadn't used so many coats, it might not still be so sticky to the toutch. I think that is OK because I ended up sanding it off the landing board before installing the bees. The bees are so light weight the stickyness might not have affected them anyway.
I just hadn't thought about mixing it with bees wax. Good Idea I think, but mind if I ask where you learned about it? It seems to me something that might have been done for perhaps many many years.
I have a possible regret about using the straight BLO on my hive, and that is I think it might not be letting the wood breath like it needs too. Of course I just put it no the outside, but the inside of the hive shows condinsation on the observation window and the wood (inside the hive) is kind of beginning to accumulate a blueish mold, but only in the back part of the hive and not where the bees are because their fanning their wings keeps that part where they are dry.; And I don't know, the boiled linseed oil might not even be to blame for that.
Barefoot Beekeeper 1. perhaps you might be able to tell me where in the world I can find linseed oil that is NOT BOILED linseed oil. I have been looking for it for years and I had thought all one can get is BLO. And 2nd, does the mixture you use of 1 beeswax to 20 linseed oil let the wood breath? I suppose it must or you wouldn't be using it. Shurly it must not be like the straight BLO I used. If you tell me it lets the wood breath, I will certainly use it IF I can obtain some real linseed oil and not BLO.
And hey, thanks Mark AKA Lampburner


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## DCowles (Apr 11, 2011)

Unfortunately, I cannot say anything about how well the mixture lets the wood breathe, however I have seen condensation on the windows when it has rained recently. I also can't vouch for how well it protects since the hive has only been out for a couple of months. As for where to find "raw" linseed oil, I did see it online (Amazon). I ended up buying "alkali refined" linseed oil from an art supply which I figured was close enough. A little goes a long way so I will probably just re-coat regularly with all that I still have.

Oh, the source is http://www.biobees.com/ in his free TBH plans (I actually built a Golden Mean hive).


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