# Olive oil to prevent burr comb



## Jeanette (Jul 7, 2012)

I have never heard of olive oil drying out, but it can go rancid (off). I don't know what effects rancid olive oil could have on bees, but there's a fair bit of hype about the negative health effects of humans ingesting rancid oil. Strangely enough, the only scientific study I could find indicated that many consumers actually prefer the taste of rancid olive oil (compared to fresh). http://bit.ly/UP1NIf

If the olive oil stays wet, is there a risk that bees might walk the oil into other parts of the hive and contaminate the honey?


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

The bees will clean up the olive oil and if they are going to build burr comb, they will still build it.

Also, as per Jeanette, olive oil is probably not the greatest thing to put in a beehive.

Your burr comb can be better handled by the way you set up the hive. First off, all hives have burr comb you need to get used to it, if there is a suitable gap the bees will fill it. However hives using combs built on comb foundation and having less than the natural amount of drone comb, build a lot more burr comb as they'll squeeze some drone cells in anywhere they can. If you allow your bees to have a comb or two of drone comb they will build a lot less burr comb. To let them have a frame of drone comb just put in an empty frame, no foundation. They will fill it with drone comb.


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## LT (Aug 17, 2006)

Parrifin will work nicely. Just melt it and swish it around in the feeders.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

drmanhadan said:


> Can bee's built wax comb over something lightly coated in olive oil? I'm not willing to try it, but I was wondering what the beek world thinks about perhaps oiling up the bottom of feeders so you dont have the issue of them building burr comb onto the bottoms of them. Does olive oil ever dry out?


Proper bee space aught to take care of it.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

LT said:


> Parrifin will work nicely. Just melt it and swish it around in the feeders.


I took the OP's questions about the bottom of thre feeder to mean the underside of the feeder, not the bottom inside. Is that right?


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## drmanhadan (Jun 13, 2012)

Yes, the underside. Parafin does work?


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Long term? No.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Wouldn't parafin on the bottom of a top feeder encourage burr comb?

Oldtimer, what do you thinbk about what I said about beespace?


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Yes beespace is what it's all about.


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