Painting Feeders and Preventing Mould

[horrob0]

I purchased a NUC box earlier this year which has a built in wooden feeder. Whilst its good in that it holds 3+ litre of sugar syrup it tends to go very mouldy very quickly. It came painted in white emulsion which over time has virtually come off as I’ve cleaned it.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what (if any) type of paint might be more suitable for repainting the super. Ideally it wants to be a gloss/waterproof type of paint to seal the plywood however I am of course conscious of the chemicals etc.

Also, other than increasing the concentration of the syrup beyond 1:1, are there any tips for preventing the mould in the first place?

Thanks, Robert

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I won't try to advise you on paint as i don't use wooden feeders, but to prevent syrup going mouldy a drop of Hivemaker's thymol emulsion works wonders - search the sticky posts for the receipt

 

[itma]

... search the sticky posts for the receipt

Oh very Jennifer Patterson!


// I think a coating or two with diluted PVA glue might be the best sealant.

 

[coffin dodger]

Just as a silly thought, would a plastic food / freezer type bag fit into the feeder ? save having to paint / seal it and it could be replaced after each use.
Regards
CD

 

[madasafish]

I use home made wooden feeders in all my TBHs and so far in 2.5 years had zero mould.

All painted with yacht varnish inside and out and sealed joints with molten beeswax. The floats are, however, unpainted. No mould on them either.

But I do ensure that empty feeders are really empty - cleaned by the bees - or I empty them and wash them out.

If you leave old feed to turn mouldy and leave a trace of mould in the feeder, pound to a penny, more mould will come quickly. Also leaving feed in a hive which stops taking it will do the same. (I remove it asap).

 

[horrob0]

I like the ideal but not sure how it would work?

 

[horrob0]

Thanks, yacht varnish seem like a good idea!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Oh very Jennifer Patterson!

Are you trying to say I'm an overweight chain smoking booze swilling gourmet cook?

I gave up smoking five years ag i'll have you know!

 

[oxo]

interior gloss paint seals the wood and stops it going mouldy. About 4 coats.
To prevent mould 5ml of Honey B Healthy per 1:1 mix totally stops it.
You can get it from bee suppliers.

 

[horrob0]

thanks Oxo - is that 5ml per 1 litre of 1:1 syrup?

 

[Finman]

.
preventing mould


- keep syrup and box clean. Mould does not grow in pure sugar.

- give such amout that bees suck the syrup during 24 hours.


- if you keep one week, syrup gets condensation moisture and starts fermenting.

At same time hive has extra ventilation and it suffers for cold.

 

[oxo]

I add 5ml of honey b healthy to every 1 litre of water mixed with 1kg of sugar.
The bees seem to like it too

 

[Skyhook]

I've just bought my first poly hive (pa*nes) complete with feeder. MB say paint the inside with 4 coats of gloss, but ****** say no need.

Any thoughts? I was quite pleased with panes answer, as it looks right awkward to paint!

 

[madasafish]

Beware the feeder on P##nes. Our Association lost 1,00s of bees , drowned. You need to paint the sides with a rough paint (masonry) and use small bit of wood as floats and we added vertical sticks for bees to climb out before we found a cure..


Not unique to us I believe.

 

[itma]

I've just bought my first poly hive (pa*nes) complete with feeder. MB say paint the inside with 4 coats of gloss, but ****** say no need.

Any thoughts? I was quite pleased with panes answer, as it looks right awkward to paint!

I've very recently got one of the hives, but avoided the feeder.
Without any lid to the feeder (relying on the shaped underside of the roof), I'd expect the feeder to become stuck to the roof with prop. So I look forward to hearing how it works in practice!

Clearly the material's surface is waterproof (er, like the roof?), but I suspect that a hard coat of some sort of paint would allow you to better scrub it clean after use.

I painted the outside of the hive with B&Q water-based masonry paint. The paint behaved a bit oddly (not like it does on masonry/render). Very difficult to build opacity - the green kept showing through in blotches. Kyboshed the idea of an instant (but cheap) extra hive! Maybe some sort of priming would have helped. Or maybe PH's concept of using a solvent-based gloss is truly based on years of experience ...

 

[Skyhook]

I painted the outside of the hive with B&Q water-based masonry paint. The paint behaved a bit oddly (not like it does on masonry/render). Very difficult to build opacity - the green kept showing through in blotches. Kyboshed the idea of an instant (but cheap) extra hive! Maybe some sort of priming would have helped. Or maybe PH's concept of using a solvent-based gloss is truly based on years of experience ...

I've used Crown masonry paint on mine and it went on fine. Your experience may tell you more about B&Q than it does about Panes

 

[itma]

I've used Crown masonry paint on mine and it went on fine. Your experience may tell you more about B&Q than it does about Panes

The paint covers brickwork and render very well. (Which is why it was "in stock" in the attic.)
It just wouldn't flow nicely onto the plastic at all.
All "water-based masonry" paints are not alike in their versatility - glad your Crown went on well !

My fuss with Pains was not about the paint; it was about their not packing/sending the rails, strap and coverboard. And then sending just one pair of rails for two boxes... That told me something.

 

[madasafish]

I've used Crown masonry paint on mine and it went on fine. Your experience may tell you more about B&Q than it does about Panes

+1


I used Sandtex masonry paint on P's nucs. Was fine.

 

[rook66]

"Does anyone have any recommendations on what (if any) type of paint might be more suitable for repainting the super. Ideally it wants to be a gloss/waterproof type of paint to seal the plywood however I am of course conscious of the chemicals etc."

I have used bitumen paint and Thompsons roof seal, they are both excellent sealers

 

[Finman]

I add 5ml of honey b healthy to every 1 litre of water mixed with 1kg of sugar.
The bees seem to like it too

that stuff invite robbers

.