poly nuc & thymolated syrup

[mcfletty]

hello, im about to feed my poly nuc and im not sure if i can put thymolated syrup in the side feeder without any issues, can any one advice me please thanks.

 

[drstitson]

it's fine.
you have painted it?

 

[Winker]

hello, im about to feed my poly nuc .

My Poly nuc doesn't eat much syrup but the bees inside it do

 

[itma]

hello, im about to feed my poly nuc and im not sure if i can put thymolated syrup in the side feeder without any issues, can any one advice me please thanks.

1/ I prefer not to use the integral feeder on the Payns nuc at all. Ever.

2/ Any poly feeder should be sealed internally with gloss (or possibly masonry) paint. Some sand in the paint will give the bees a better grip. Obviously, this needs to be done before bees go into the nuc! Similarly cleaning anything out of the integral feeder requires removing the bees. Better, I think personally, to pretend it isn't there by sealing it off.

3/ The Thymol should have no effect on the poly.

4/ The Payns nuc eke is just big enough to hold a round 4-pint rapid feeder. This afternoon I made up a beespace-framed correx coverboard with feeder hole... (I've put frame rails in all mine, so there is no longer any spare top beespace, hence the rim.)

 

[mcfletty]

as i did,nt paint the inside of my nuc i think i,ll have to go the 4 pint feeder and eke ,thanks for all the replies.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Thinking about this, the makers of the boxes raise and sell nucs in them with no trouble using feeders unpainted.

 

[itma]

Thinking about this, the makers of the boxes raise and sell nucs in them with no trouble using feeders unpainted.

The makers of the boxes send out a "care" leaflet with them - to quote -

Although you don't need to paint polystyrene hive parts, like the wooden equivalent, they will last much longer if you do. Exterior masonry paints or even the Cuprinol shades can be used. Painting the inside of the feeder is also recommended, especially if you are going to be using it for weak sugar syrup. Make sure the finished surface in the feeder is roughened to aid the bees in climbing. You can achieve this by adding sand to the paint.