# Black paint



## seyc (Jul 15, 2012)

It was suggested that I should paint my hives black to keep the temperatures up during the winter. I found two at Lowe's for a not outrageous price. Now, I am trying to figure out which one would work better. One says that it is livestock safe and the other says it is environmentally friendly. 

http://http://www.lowes.com/LowesProductComparisionCmd?catalogId=10051&langId=-1&storeId=10151&cm_sp=LowesProductComparisonCmd&NeParam=4294937087&NParam=4294857980&NttParam=&pcompitems=3470279,3508962&returnShoppingUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lowes.com%2FPaint%2FPaint-Primer%2FExterior-Paint%2F_%2FN-1z0yax1%2Fpl%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1%23!%26page%3D1%26nvalue%255B%255D%3D1z0yax1%26nvalue%255B%255D%3D1z10u2o%26nvalue%255B%255D%3D1z10wbp

The livestock safe and more expensive one appears to be >99% organic and cover twice as much area. Is there something I am missing? Are both types safe for my bees?


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## LeonardS (Mar 13, 2012)

It would be much easier to wrap the hives with 15 lb roofing paper. You just need to remove it in the Spring vs repainting the hives white again. Plus you get the bonus of some wind protection.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

The black might also cook them in the summer. That's one reason many are white.


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## rsjohnson2u (Apr 23, 2012)

Just an opinion, go with the livestock safe. You're only painting the OUTSIDE, right? Many of us here in Western WA paint our hives dark colors with no thought of painting them white for summer. With average summer temps in the 70's (and 90-100's extremely rare), white paint here is for traditionalists, not bee safety. "Oops" paint of any dark color is common used, especially greys, dark greens and blues, in these parts...


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## NorthernIllinoisPlumber (Aug 17, 2010)

Paint them brown, just like a tree trunk. Or Army green, man do they blend in against the bushes and trees. Mine are colored both, and the brown was in pretty much full sun most of the day.


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## chevydmax04 (May 11, 2009)

my hives are painted fun colors, reds, blue, green, yellow, purple. And of course my 3 year old grand daughter when I asked her what color her hive should bee, yup you guessed it pink! White hives were way to boring for me.


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## seyc (Jul 15, 2012)

NorthernIllinoisPlumber said:


> Paint them brown, just like a tree trunk. Or Army green, man do they blend in against the bushes and trees. Mine are colored both, and the brown was in pretty much full sun most of the day.


I got the suggestion from the local bee store to paint my hives any dark color, other than brown and green, because they are so hard to see. I guess that is what I get for living in a rainforest. 

My hives are currently purple.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Every box of mine is a different color. We mix half buckets and make new colors. The handles are a different color then the box. My daughter has even painted pink polkadots on some. Lids are other colors, entrance reducers are others etc. I am sure the girls are confused..


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

I've painted all of mine dark, chocolate brown. We almost never see temperatures above 85F here, and we have a ton of weather in the 60's-70's. In my region, I think you've got to do everything to maximize heat year-round.

Adam


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

In western Washington, painting the boxes a dark color to help the hives out in winter is a big plus. Summers here are not that warm that you need to worry about the hives overheating. A dark forest green is my preferance. Making the hives blend in to the enviroment is a plus in my book too. Less chance of someone haseling them. More important is to have good ventalation to let the moisture out. With 90 days of constant rain, moisture is our main problem in Western WA. Scott


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

>A dark forest green is my preferance.
>I've painted all of mine dark, chocolate brown. 

By painting your hives these colors you are, like me, in for a barrage of ridicule and harassment by member CharlieB. I am glad that a I am not alone in educating him about appropriate hive coloration.


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## Kirk Osborne (Oct 7, 2012)

Paint to your hearts desire, but have a reason that makes sense to you. If it works for you, and your bees, then it works. I painted mine to match my house, because they are so close to the house and I don't want to draw too much attention to them.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

I've been carpeting the landscape with white hives here in Maine and haven't found it necessary to paint my hives a dark color. Certainly, I wouldn't be painting them black. Mostly, the wrapping is to keep the wind off the hives. Last year, my losses were unwrapped hives in windswept areas.

Of course, I'm only in Maine and your idea of cold might be different than mine. 

Wayne


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

The very best color to paint a hive is "free paint" if you have that color the beekeeper really likes it and the bees don't seem to care so much. While I prefer a forest green color, I picked up free paint that the county recycling division was giving away. It is a blue gray color. Have been thinking of adding pigmint to darken it up, but that would cost money and it wouldn't be free paint anymore....

Scott


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## WWW (Feb 6, 2011)

I paint my hives a light Grey and have them in a place where it is semi shaded by trees in the summer and when fall comes the leaves fall from the trees exposing the hives to full sunlight. I am really partial to grey as it really absorbs the suns heat.


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## AramF (Sep 23, 2010)

Why not consider multicolor based on the position of the box. Make deeps dark colors on the sides for the morning and evening sun and light color in front, for mid day normal temperature. The supers consider painting a light color cause the heat from the bottom deep will be traveling up anyway, so it will help with keeping it warm there. Free is good, but saving sugar and getting the girl out to forage 1 hours earlier in the morning and 1 hour later at night, might be a little better.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

I am thinking of painting my hive dark. and then painting only the southern side white again next spring. I have some different circumstances I am dealing with though. Even in summer when temps hit 100 or so.nights get very cool. Bees would not fly cool. I am toying around with way I might keep the hive temp up a bit and induce the bees to start flying earlier.


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

Many years ago I did some research on colors used for solar hot water heaters and dark green and black were the most efficient in heat collection.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Still not clear why it's even necessary to consider painting hives black in such a mild climate.


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## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

I'm staining my hives brown from now on, at least until the free stain runs out! I like the looks of stained hives. However I still paint the tops white to help reflect the heat. 

For those with kids, painting hives is easy, just give them a brush and some paint and they are in heaven and love to do that portion of the dirty work!


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

I paint mine a shade of green that blends in the with spring and summer foliage around here... makes them harder to see by thieves in the woods or edge of fields where I put them.


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## julysun (Apr 25, 2012)

I paint my traps with Camo colors and my hives some bright, light colors. Just fun colors but very light, most boxes are white. Heat gain is the big problem here on the coast.


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## seyc (Jul 15, 2012)

waynesgarden said:


> Still not clear why it's even necessary to consider painting hives black in such a mild climate.


If you consider 10 months of winter mild, sure. 

This past year, it was July before it would hit 50 degrees before noon, and put tomatoes out in the garden. Well, they were already out there, but had not done anything yet. Summer here is from about mid-July to mid-September.

When I moved back to this side of Washington from North Idaho, I had forgotten how fricken cold the winters are over here! I much prefer 20 degrees and sunny over 40 degrees and the rain coming in sideways!


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Like I said earlier, you and I probably have different ideas about what cold is. When I talk about cold being 20 to 40°, that's minus zero.

Last winter was mild here in Maine and I don't think it dropped below zero at all. My hives (all white) never got wrapped and the only weather-related losses were a couple of un-protected hives on an exposed, windswept hill.

Wayne


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## WWW (Feb 6, 2011)

We had a nice sunny day today and I got to thinking about this thread and wondered about the heat gain on my light grey hives, so I hung a thermometer on the vent hole of the condensation box of one of the hives. It was 1:00 in the afternoon full sun and 80 deg, the temperature went off the dial but I guessed it to be around 150 degrees, that's a lot of heat. I think I will send the hives through this winter without felt wrap and see what happens. (sorry for the tilted camera).


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

Waynesgarden,

To me, it isn't as much about winter as it is about the shoulder seasons. There is a lot of 50's and 60's in the Spring and Fall, as well as cooler days throughout the season. To me, the dark box is intended to raise the core temperature by several degrees. (admittedly, I don't have real numbers - I just guess). Over the course of the year, I believe those dark boxes will add up to a lot of extra hours of activity. During the coldest months, it might allow them to reach food. During the spring, it might allow them to raise a little more brood. In the summer, their days are a bit longer, and in the fall, they get just a few more cells packed with winter stores.

Maybe it's simplistic, but I believe it well enough to choose the paint color on it.

I got the idea from Erin Forbes of Overland Apiaries. She's in Portland/Falmouth Maine. She paints hers black. I started black but found they looked a little too unnatural somehow, so settled on dark brown.

Adam


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## steer53 (Nov 8, 2011)

Ran out of white this week, got lots of old colors in basement to bust out. Don't have to spend a dime!


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

I haven't been to Erin's place for a couple years now but I don't remember black hives when I picked up nucs or packages or queens, just greens and grays and purples and yellows and all shades of blues.

WWW: I don't wrap for heat gain. I wrap for protection from the wind.

Wayne


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## julysun (Apr 25, 2012)

SEYC, We like to say that we have two seasons here, Summer and Christmas.


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## WWW (Feb 6, 2011)

Wayne,
Yeah, I do understand about wrapping for wind protection if it is needed, my hives are in a protected place where the wind is broken up however if I see that I will be getting a sustained cold spell with winds I may just go ahead and wrap, I will take this little experiment on a day by day basis and see how it goes. The survival of my hives will for sure take priority with this experiment.


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