# PAINTING HIVE BOXES



## Alex Cantacuzene (May 29, 2003)

Hi,
I have built some supers, bottom boards, feeders, inner covers etc. The supers I painted on the outside with a white latex primer and then used latex house paint I had aroung here. The inner covers I tried with boiled linseed oil and the bees don't seem to mind. I think it important though to use "boiled" linseed oil because I read that the other has some toxicity. I think that I will use linseed oil on the inside of the next supers and latex on the outside next time. The inside of the Miller feeder is coated with Fiberglass Resin. Resin only and that seems to do a good job of keeping the seals for the syrup. Hope this gives you some ideas.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

No, I don't paint the inside of the supers. It allows the wood to breath a bit. The bees prefer wood sides to painted sides. They will coat it with propolis anyway.

Ian


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## Clayton (Dec 8, 2000)

I paint only the outsides. I use primer and latex paint in the color of what I can get the best deal on. Sometimes I use just several coats of latex and skip the primer depends on the funds and what I have at the time. I am thinking of trying deck paint. What ever you use make sure there has been no insecticides added.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

I agree with all the above.100% acrylic latex, on the outside only.Light colors if your summers are hot,otherwise whatever colors of quality paint you can get a good deal on.I have given up on oil based paints.They take too long to dry and even the best quality didnt hold up for me.I like to mix various colors in a 5 gallon bucket and spray paint if doing a bunch otherwise a brush is fine.My mixing usually turns up shades of grey,but one batch turned out pink,and I have been getting ribbed about the pretty pink hives.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

As everyone above says, only paint the outside.

If you REALLY want to protect the whole hive, you make a dipping/melting tank and use parafin and gum resin and dip the boxes. I've never done it but everyone who does it loves it.


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## wishthecuttlefish (Jun 24, 2003)

Newbie here...Per instructions from several books I coated my boxes inside and out with copper napthanate, which is a wood preserver. It turned the boxes a light green... Should I still paint them, or can I leave them unpainted? I live in Washington D.C. area, our summers are hot and humid...

Thanks,
Kai


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## John Buckner (Mar 27, 2003)

For you guys who like to use latex paint.
Stack your wooden ware about head high and use a paint roller.
Much faster then a brush.

JB


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Newbie here...Per instructions from several books I coated my boxes inside and out with copper napthanate, which is a wood preserver. It turned the boxes a light green... Should I still paint them, or can I leave them unpainted?

I consider a hive to be a food container. I have doubts about painting the inside of a hive with anything I wouldn't chew or eat. Copper Napthanate is not in that category.

Personally, I wouldn't put CN any on a hive and if I inherited any with it on them, I would probably use them for kindling. But that's just me.

Since you probably aren't going to do that, I don't know what would be better. I suppose you could paint them inside to try to keep the Copper Napthanate away from the bees.

I do know that CCA kills bees. CCA (copper chrome arsenic) is about 35% copper sulphate, 45% sodium or potassium dichromate, and 20% arsenic pentoxide. The arsenic protects the timber against insects (apparently including bees), while the copper protects it against fungi. The chromium is there to help the arsenic and copper bond with the wood.

None of the bee scientists I asked could say how much of this is because of the copper or how much is because of the arsenic but apparently the arsenic was added to be an insecticide. 

Copper Napthanate is listed as being a mammal repellent and a fungicide. Since they don't list any insecticide properties, perhaps it's not deadly to bees as the CCA is.
http://www.alanwood.net/pesticides/copper_naphthenate.html


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## Hillbillynursery (Nov 13, 2003)

Thanks for the tip about stacking and rolling the paint on. Everything I read said not to paint the inside with anything. I get my paint from Lowe's and Home Depot miss match paint pile. I have a few pink hives bodies that will go into service in the spring. I toned it down by mixing light grey in with that bright light pink. They are still pink just not bright. Why pay $15-$20 a gallon when you can get the same paint for $5 a gallon. We have hot summers so I only pick the light colors. My hives are eggshell(very light grey) with different color BBs and TCs(one has a sea foam green set the other a darker grey set). Even if bees are color blind as some say the shade difference should be enough to guide them home. Do you paint your hives different colors or paterns to reduce drifting?


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

I was at a meeting abiut 4 years ago and the speeker was Dr. Bill Wilson ( retired from a bee lab dont know witch one ) and he sugested painting the inside of the boxes to seal any cracks that the SHB coule lay her eggs in so it depends who you ask!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I stack mine and roll it on. I SHOULD paint the rim, but I never seem to get it done very often.

I have a variety of colors. I bought a bunch of boxes that were already an assortment of colors and then when my nephew was here and wanted something to do, he painted a bunch of boxes with whatever was around. Since I often paint tipis nice bright colors, what was around was bright red and bright blue.

So I can't say I did it on purpose, but I have quite a rainbow of box colors.

I've been buying the nuetral exterior latex with no pigment in it. Makes a nice clear finish. I used it last spring for the first time, so I can't say how it will do in the long run.

I have hive bodies, painted on the outside, and the rim (but not the inside), that I put into service 30 years ago. They are toward the end of their life, but they are still in use. The wood is a bit punky and there are some rotten spots in splits that the bees can get in and out of now. Frankly I think the bees like old wood better anyway.

Of course the humidity where you live would have an affect. I had these in Western Nebraska and Colorado and Wyoming as well as Eastern Nebraska. All those western locations are an average of about 20% humidity and often lower. Here in Eastern Nebraska it is MUCH more humid than there, but still not nearly as humid as a coastal or lake area.


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## Dave W (Aug 3, 2002)

Greetings . . .

Silathane Alkyd Semi-gloss Enamel, a product of Bruning Paint Co., Baltimore, MD 

Recommended for "primed galvanized metal". "Ideal for machinery, tanks, equipment and vehicles under *extreame weather 
conditions*. 
Meets USDA criteria for use in federally inspected meat and poultry plants".
Sales lit. says its approved for "food contact".

When I painted my hives, they dried to-touch in about 4 hrs, but required about a week to harden.

------------------
Dave W . . .

A NewBEE with 1 hive.
First package installed
April, 2003.


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## Curry (Sep 22, 2003)

Like MB, I use a clear "base" laxtex paint. Walmart sells an exterior paint (McCloskey 7477 Accent Base) that is usually mixed with color, but I just tell them not to- it'll always get a raised eyebrow! I've used it for four years and still have good protection... I just love the natural look of wood. And it blends better in the woods discouraging vandalism and neighbors frowning (cause you can't really see them). Much more scenic than the vomit look of most apiaries:}


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

It's funny, but I was already kind of hesitant to paint those nice wood boxes and then I tried to buy white paint and accidently got home with two gallons of the neutral base. And I thought, maybe this is what I really want anyway. So I used it and liked it. But it was really an accident.

I have some boxes now that I haven't painted at all. I'm wondering if they will not last just as long or maybe longer without the paint. When you have a constant source of humidity inside, maybe it would be better if it can evaporate to the outside?


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## dickm (May 19, 2002)

How about this for another reason to paint inside. I burned the frames from 5 hives that had foulbrood this year. I charred the boxes and intend to reuse them. JUST IN CASE, I've thought about some kind of paint to cover any possible sites for reinfection. I haven't actually decided to do this yet. Any reactions?

Dick Marron


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

There are people who do paint them, so why not? I'd use a nice exterior latex and let it air out well. I'm guessing that the house bees who would have covered it with propolis wouldn't be feeding the young anyway, but it couldn't hurt under your circumstances.

But routinely, I wouldn't.


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## BillKP71 (Feb 3, 2003)

>Newbie here...Per instructions from several books I coated my boxes inside and out with copper napthanate, which is a wood preserver. It turned the boxes a light green... Should I still paint them, or can I leave them unpainted? I live in Washington D.C. area, our summers are hot and humid...

Hi Kai,

I had the same concerns about the humidity. I tried going with a natural-color wood stain (was trying to make my hives less obvious) followed with 2 or 3 coats of clear polyurethane (including the mating surfaces). Too early to tell yet, but so far so good.

BTW, I've been getting most of my woodenware from Dennis Miller up in east Baltimore. Makes everything himself and seems to be good quality. Do you have a local supplier down your way?

Bill


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## wishthecuttlefish (Jun 24, 2003)

Bill,
Yeah, I have been thinking about buying the rest of the woodenware I need from Mr. Miller. Down here in La Plata there doesn't seem to be anyone who sells it. I've asked a few of the Amish wood workers but no one is interested, probably because it's such a small amount. At this point all I really need are frames and some inner covers. 

I was thinking of buying my first packages from Mr. Miller. Have you gotten bees from him before? Do you have any recommendations? I'd prefer to buy local and avoid the shipping costs for everything.

Thanks,
Kai


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## fat/beeman (Aug 23, 2002)

hi all being as frugel as one can bee what I use is any color that I get for free mostly latex and some oil base.
I never paint inside boxes but do paint bottoms as there very easy o spot shb's if you get them.
my cost for paint is free or just give a painter some honey. most painter's have left over paint and would be glade to give it away I also get most of my plywood free from building sites for tops and bottoms.
happy free beeies
Don


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## BillKP71 (Feb 3, 2003)

>I was thinking of buying my first packages from Mr. Miller. Have you gotten bees from him before? Do you have any recommendations? I'd prefer to buy local and avoid the shipping costs for everything.

Kai,

When I first met Dennis Miller I had already ordered my first packages from Rick Derrick & Sharon Songer at Free State Bees in Galesville. Rick drives down south every spring and brings back pre-ordered packages. Since then I've mail-ordered a queen from Rossman Apiaries in GA. Haven't decided yet what I'm doing next spring. Rick & Sharon may actually be the closest to you at least of those listed at the MSBA site:
http://iaa.umd.edu/mdbee/mdbee.html 

Rick also teaches hive construction at the Anne Arundel Co. beekeeping course in the spring.

There also appears to be a club in southern MD (Calvert Co.?) You may want to check in with them if you haven't already:
http://gworrell.freeyellow.com/asmb.html 

Good luck!
Bill


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## Hook (Jun 2, 2002)

I only paint the outside, use the cheapest paint I can get, usually latex though. I build boxes from air dried hemlock, cut at a local sawmill. And like Michael, never seem to get the rim painted right! Also, I like different colors too!


------------------
Dale Richards
Dal-Col Apiaries
Drums, PA


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## Beeboy (Dec 29, 2002)

Never paint the inside of your boxes,waste of time and bees will not produce well, also never paint your hives "red", because bees can't see the color red and will have problems finding the right hive to return to.They do recognize shapes though.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I stained a hive red and it was the biggest producer in the apairy that year. The red stain has held up real well also. Be careful when making authoritative assertions about beekeeping, the bees will prove you wrong every time. What works well for one person in one place one time or more, might not work at all for the next person somewhere else.


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## Clayton (Dec 8, 2000)

I have alot of red boxes and find that the bees have no problems with them.


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## Clayton (Dec 8, 2000)

hey this won't let me edit!

[This message has been edited by Clayton (edited December 05, 2003).]


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>also never paint your hives "red", because bees can't see the color red and will have problems finding the right hive to return to.They do recognize shapes though. 

Why would they have trouble? I have a friend who can't distinguish blue from brown, but he can still find his brown house. If the hive is red it won't be invisible, it just won't be distiguishable from some other colors. I have several boxes that are red and never noticed any difference.

Most of my hives have always been white and there were no distingishing marks but the bees always found the right hive and I'm certain they couldn't tell any difference in color since they all were painted out of the same can. It's true if I moved the hive on one end somewhere else, all the bees in the row would be confused for a few hours, so I think they homed in on thier hive by counting from the end.


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## beeman 202 (Jan 8, 2003)

I have many bottom-boards painted red, the bees have no problem with red.


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## fat/beeman (Aug 23, 2002)

had to say just one thing about a post about red paint and bees don't see red. I been in this beekeeping longer then most people and to make a statement like that is little strange I run several hundred nuc's and hives of all colors.
bees find there way by color and magnitic lines never had bes get lost from red hives and all colors seen to be equal in amount of bees finding there way to right hive.
hope all not laffing as much as me.
JUST HAD TO SAY SOMETHING
Don


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## wfarler (Jul 9, 2003)

So why don't we paint our names on the hives in a transparent but ultraviolet paint. The bees could see it easily, thieves could not. You could train your bees to recognize your 'brand'. (brand awareness)

An ultraviolet spotlight could pick up stolen hives from a distance.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>So why don't we paint our names on the hives in a transparent but ultraviolet paint. The bees could see it easily, thieves could not. You could train your bees to recognize your 'brand'. (brand awareness)
>An ultraviolet spotlight could pick up stolen hives from a distance.

Not a bad idea, but I think the purpose of branding is to not have them stolen in the first place because the theives KNOW you can ID your hives and the Sheriff can ID them from just looking at them.

But it might keep the bees from wandering into other peoples hives.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Joe Traynor is distributing a few micro-chips to beekeepers that he contracts with for almond pollination.These are the same ones used to identify stolen pets and livestock.They can be hidden in a frame.Signs are put up advising potential thieves that the hives are permanently identified by AVID microchips.The chips cost 2.70 each in lots of 25 but may be obsolete next year when mass production of a paper thin chip for use by stores begins.The cost should drop to pennies each.(This info taken from 12/03 ABJ.)A lot of hives were stolen last year in Cal. so look for increased use of this technology.I am probably going to get some.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Well whaduhyaknow here is the info right here on Beesource: http://www.beesource.com/point-of-v...sletter/beekeeper-newsletter-october-25-2003/


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

loggermike said:


> Joe Traynor is distributing a few micro-chips to beekeepers that he contracts with for almond pollination.These are the same ones used to identify stolen pets and livestock.They can be hidden in a frame.


This might be a real option - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/trackr-bravo-the-thinnest-item-tracking-device-ever#home


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## Jackson (Aug 5, 2013)

fat/beeman said:


> ... most painter's have left over paint and would be glade to give it away I also get most of my plywood free from building sites for tops and bottoms.
> happy free beeies
> Don


Hi Don, 
How long does your plywood boxes last if you don't mind. By the way love your videos!


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## MajorJC (Apr 13, 2013)

I think Barry has been hacked!


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